Keep up to date in the BRM space.
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Understand Your Passion and Put It To Work
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Adding value to BRMs around the globe through existing BRMs that know and love what they do... It wouldn't be possible without our volunteers!
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Gain Professional Membership
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Professional members LOVE the Online Campus. This is a place for BRMs to learn from other BRMs, collaborate, share frameworks, tools, techniques, processes and leading practices.
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August 2015
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One of the fantastic benefits of the BRM Explorers™ membership is this monthly periodical, which is chock-full of data, insights, and perspective that are absolutely essential for today's Business Relationship Managers. If you are a member, we hope you thoroughly enjoy this month's edition. Be sure to forward it to other members of your team who could benefit from joining BRM Explorers™, our FREE membership!
Are you new to the field of business relationship management? Did someone share this newsletter with you? Are you curious to learn more? If the answer to any of those questions is yes, get ready to embark on the exciting journey of professional development and accelerated career growth today! Become a member of our rapidly growing BRM Explorers™ community now for FREE, and stay informed on the latest BRM trends and events alongside over 12,000 leading business executive professionals around the globe!
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Business Relationship Management is Not About Services OR Customers
John Krogh
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 BRMI (Business Relationship Management Institute) body of knowledge is becoming the de-facto go-to source for developing BRM organizational capabilities and Business Relationship Managers. BRMI membership is growing by leaps and bounds and there are now hundreds of certified Business Relationship Management Professionals (BRMP) worldwide.
The market is clear. Organizations are trying to figure out how to turn technology into an enabler of overall strategic intent, a clear marker of differentiation between themselves and their competitors, and a means of access to otherwise remote. Furthermore, organizations have leveraged the innovative application of technology to disrupt the market and gain huge amounts of market share, or even to create new market demand. Even when there is no competitive advantage to the use of technology, the technology itself needs to be secure, reliable, and readily available based on organizational requirements.
This comes back to creating value from technology while reducing value leakage. This is where Business Relationship Management becomes very important.
>>Read more
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BRM Value: What It Means to You and Your Organization
Arnie Wetherill
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 When we think about the value of the Business Relationship Manager (BRM) role, what often comes to mind immediately are "Delivering Value" and "Measuring Value." While these are key aspects of the BRM role, there is another aspect of value that is often overlooked: the value of the role to your organization, and its value to you, as a BRM! This aspect of value is often less visible because it seems to be a given, since your organization has already committed to the role and selected you to deliver it. However, in this article, I'll focus on how this value is a strategic direction for your organization and directly ties into the reason you were specifically chosen for this role. We'll come back to "Delivering Value" and "Measuring Value" in future articles.
When you think about it, your organization has made an investment by committing to establishing a BRM capability. Furthermore, as a BRM, you know that in order to make an investment you must first assess its value, whether this means strategic value, monetary value, compliance value, competitive value, or some value criteria. No matter what, there must be a clear value-added benefit to rationalize the investment.
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BRM and BA Collaboration to Maximize the Value of IT Investments
Melissa Whitsett
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 Business Relationship Management and Business Analysis both focus on the technology needs required to support the business. While the BA may concentrate on a process or system-specific objectives, the BRM looks across the IT service offerings, seeking to bring the strongest technology capabilities to ensure IT/business convergence.
The BA pays attention to the capabilities of a service offering within the scope of a specific system or project. In order to achieve service and project success, BAs may engage in business process review and documentation, requirements elicitation and documentation, and user case or user story creation. Their work is limited to a portion of a service or a project team to deliver the desired outcomes.
On the other hand, the BRM should position themselves for early engagement in the process to shape demand for the IT pipeline. They utilize their broad understanding of the organization to implement the right activities in support of strategic goals. Since BRMs are specifically interested in the health of the IT-Business relationship, they may use customer satisfaction surveys, interviews, and service reviews (SLA performance, customer feedback, etc.) to identify value-add opportunities.
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August Member Spolight:
Jackie Zizic
by Larissa Pienkowski
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Introducing Jackie Zizic, the new Client Account Manager within the IT department of the Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries Corporation and proud member of Business Relationship Management Institute! Jackie can best be described as a BRM powerhouse, as she has utilized the discipline throughout the better part of her career in areas such as strategic planning, human resources, and now account management.
When Jackie talks about business relationship management, it's clear that this is exactly what she's meant to be doing. We asked her about what draws her to the field, and she hit the nail on the head when she replied, "I really like the opportunity for diverse groups of people to sit down together and collectively find a way to meet all our goals. The conversation always reveals information that someone will find useful to their situation." She describes herself as a "big-picture person" with an affinity for the "bird's-eye view," and she finds constant inspiration in the very nature of her work.
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First Steps for Your BRM Journey
Linda Hornung
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The Business Relationship Management journey from Level One Ad-hoc and Level Two, Order Taker isn't easy, especially if you're alone or in a small group and leading the change. Here are some small steps to get you started.
We all know change isn't easy, and even when a situation isn't satisfying, we're more comfortable with a bad one because it's what we're familiar with. For example, at Level One, you may have no way to prioritize requests other than loudest-in, first-out, so you deal with unrealistic business partner expectations instead of making your service schedules known.
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BRM Training Needs Assessment
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We are asking for just a few minutes of your time to tell us about your experience with finding and, if applicable, completing a BRM training and certification course. Your feedback will help us improve availability of training and certification courses. Thank you very much!
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BRM DNA™ is the term for the BRMI competency model for the BRM role. The acronym DNA stands for Develop, Nurture and Advance ---- a reminder that successful BRMs constantly develop and hone their skills, nurture their business and provider relationships, and seek to advance both the business and provider agendas, thereby advancing their own value and career opportunities.
BRM DNA™ features six competency groups, each building on an inner core.
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We Welcome Baxter Thompson Associates!
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 The IT Business Relationship Management competency is in its nascence and growing fast. Although the industry is still learning about best approaches, business and technology leaders are in desperate need of IT BRM. It's exciting, it's challenging, and Baxter Thompson Associates is excited about the opportunity to be at the center of it, so they're incredibly happy to partner with BRMI in this endeavor.
Jon Baxter, the founder of Baxter Thompson Associates, is a passionate believer in IT Business Relationship Management. Having been in the field for over 13 years in one guise or another, he has experienced many successes and trials within this competency.
Established in 2009, Baxter Thompson Associates has always specialized in Information Technology Services. They bring together an intricate blend of both experienced and interim managers and consultants who have delivered tangible results while working as Business Relationship Managers. Their aim is to be an industry innovator, respected as a thought leader by their peers, and seen as a trusted partner by their clients. Their goal is to help you gain a competitive advantage through enabling IT Business Relationship Management, and they do this through an approach they call Reconnaissance for IT.™ This helps identify opportunities and plan the deliverables required to improve the shared value of information technology with business strategy. They typically help corporate companies within Europe, but are equally at home working with smaller and growing companies.
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Jubilant Pharma - Spokane, WA
Are you looking for a business relationship management opportunity? Or looking to hire a business relationship manager? Check out our BRMI Job Boards!
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Events
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BRMI Webinars & Events
Member Privilege
BRMI members can view any archived webinar at any time! Not a member? Join now!
*Please note that these events or course listings are hosted by the sponsor, and not BRMI.
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Ask an Expert!
Extracted from BRMI Online Campus
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Question:
I'm working in an organization in which its PMO is adopting PRINCE2 in their project management. There is always confusion defining the role of the BRM in projects. Could you share your experience to resolve this conflict?
Our Expert, Vaughan Merlyn, says:
It really is a matter of business demand and IT maturity. At low maturity, the BRM is going to be focused on supply-side issues ---- IT service management and solution delivery. As maturity increases, the BRM role shifts to demand-side focus, thus shaping demand for the highest business value.
So, there is no 'right answer'. It all depends upon your context and the way your BRM role is defined. However, what is important is that the BRM role ---- and all key roles in your IT Operating Model ---- be clearly defined. In other words, you really can't define the BRM role in isolation ---- it has to engage with and orchestrate other key roles including Project Manager, Program Manager, Business Analyst, Enterprise Architect. So, each of these roles must be defined. Then interaction models should be developed showing how these roles interact. Finally, RACI charts should be developed showing which roles have what Responsibilities, Accountabilities, which roles are Consulted or Informed as you move through the end-to-end life cycle from an Idea to a retired solution.
We will be developing examples of Interaction Models, Role Descriptions (you will already find some of these in the BRM I BOK), RACI charts and more over time.
Again, there is no right answer ---- you have to work with the Project Managers and collaboratively define who does what, when. But do so with an eye to the real goal of your role. I don't think you want to get stuck too deeply in the supply side ---- otherwise you become another supply resource, and that opens up the BRM role to the challenge ---- "Where is the value? Is this role just another name for a Project Manager?" Let the Project Managers manage projects while you help the business decide what projects are needed, how they will lead to measurable value, and then help orchestrate the supply side roles to deliver the solutions needed.
Our Expert, Aaron Barnes, says:
This is a good question and a typical challenge organizations will have defining the BRM role and the role's interactions with various teams inside the organization. Adding to the response from Vaughan, if your BRM role is focused on shaping demand for highest value adding projects, the involvement in projects should look like the following:
Ideation (pre-project) - BRM is fully accountable for this phase, working with the business to define and refine the scope, prioritization, and the value of an idea. The BRM will define how the idea fits into the short or long term three-year business capabilities roadmap. Project - Once an idea becomes an approved project where a PM begins moving the project forward, the BRM shifts to a key stakeholder and involved in all steering committee meetings. The BRM is involved in any meeting where project scope is being discussed or issues are being escalated. The BRM will focus on overall delivery assisting the PM as needed, clearing roadblocks, to keep the project moving forward and on value. Value Optimization (post-project) - Working with the business and VMO (Value Management Office) to ensure projects deliver the value defined up front. Tracking and reporting against defined value KPIs and the adjusting/optimizing the business to get back on value or greater value where needed/possible.
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