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News for business analysis professionals throughout Washington
November/December 2012
In This Issue
Poll: Meeting Attendance
Events & Announcements
Certification
Chapter Sponsors Wanted
Get Social
Training & Employment Notices - Policy
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Links for BAs
Quick Poll

Your IIBA® Seattle Chapter Board

President

Vicki James

VP Membership

Dan Kruger

VP Marketing & Communications

Uma Singh

VP Programs

Donna Rodgers

VP Education

Jim Blum

VP Special Projects & Events

Cathie Groesbeck

Secretary

Robert Koester

Treasurer

John Clemmons

Past President

LeAnn Morgan


Chapter Initiatives

The following are the prioritized initiatives of the IIBA® Seattle Chapter Board. Stay tuned for updates on progress!

  1. Reevaluate membership fee for possible reduction - DONE
  2. Develop student member / meeting rates - Affiliate and first timer policy applies
  3. Create first time visitors fee policy - complete - see coupon below
  4. Develop corporate member / meeting rates
  5. Update and document member renewal process including board duties - In process
  6. Create a market outreach program to include presentations to interested groups - In process
  7. Study group with goals for certification & follow up - In process - see article
  8. Determine feasibility for virtualizing meeting across state (go / no go only) - DONE No go at this time
  9. Conduct outreach to educational providers
  10. Plan an open house for orgs/BAs/PMs/PMI - On hold for now
Greetings!
I hope that this holiday season finds you well and your job fulfilling. I continue to be excited about the news and information we have to share and hope you find this newsletter useful and relevant. 
Events & Announcements

Upcoming Events

IIBA Seattle Chapter Meeting

Tuesday December 4, 2012 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM PST

Achieve Project Success by Delivering Business Value - Vicki James

Bellevue College

 

IIBA Seattle Chapter Event

Tuesday January 22, 2013 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM PST

Agile & Lean Project Management - Larry Schuiski

Bellevue College

 

IIBA Seattle Chapter Event

Tuesday February 26, 2013 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM PST

Usability for Business Analysts - Dave Flotree

Bellevue College

 

IIBA Seattle Chapter Event

Tuesday March 26, 2013 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM PDT

TBD

Bellevue College

 

IIBA Seattle Chapter Event

Tuesday April 23, 2013 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM PDT

TBD

Bellevue College

 

Volunteer Opportunity

 

Vicki says, "HELP!" 

 

Position: Newsletter Editor
Time Commitment: 5 hours a month estimated
Duties: Proof read and edit articles, compile and format information within Constant Contact, aid in finding articles of interest and request reprint permission as necessary. 
Contact Vicki at president@seattle.iiba.org to volunteer or for additional information.

 

Certification: What is holding you back?
Each year we host a study group for business analysis certification. Many of you have participated one or two years yet have not taken that next step. There are three milestones in the pursuit of certification.
  1. Study
  2. Application
  3. Test
You have bitten of a big chunk, so let us help you take it a step further. Yes, the application is long and tedious and the test is nerve wracking. We can help.
 
There are many resources online to help you get your application ready. One of the challenges of the application is recording your business analysis experience. Watermark Learning provides many free tools and templates to help you down this path including application worksheets specially designed to help you record those pesky hours. Do you want help with your application? Contact me at president@seattle.iiba.org and I will help you strategize your approach or review your application.
 
So you application is complete and submitted and now it is time to think about the test. There are many resources online to help you. Watermark Learning mentioned above is one or you may consider joining the CCBA & CBAP Exam Prep discussion group on LinkedIn. Discussion groups are a great way to learn of other's experiences firsthand and to pose questions. 
 
My pledge to chapter members! Get your application in and I will provide you one-on-one assistance to plan your study and test writing strategy. You will get one hour of my time either in person or via Skype to discuss your study habits and learning strengths, concerns in test taking, and develop a plan that will help you build confidence to pass the exam. Below are two blogs I have written on certification exams to help you get started.
Already a CBAP? Please let me know if you are willing to volunteer your time to support our members and I will refer future exam takers to you as well.
Seeking Chapter Sponsors
The IIBA® Seattle Chapter board has recently approved a program for chapter and meeting sponsorship. This is an opportunity to raise additional funds for the chapter so that we can invest in value added activities and perks for our members.  Please share this information with your organization.

Sponsorships are a great opportunities for business to spread the word on how they support the local business analysis community and support the potential of the chapter's growth in terms of membership numbers and opportunities for our members. We are offering three levels of sponsorship with varying levels of visibility and term.
  • Premium (annual) - $500
  • Gold (annual) - $350
  • Month - $125
See the IIBA Sponsor Program for details. Please contact president@seattle.iiba.org for additional information or to secure your sponsorship. 
Get Social with IIBA® Seattle Chapter
What is your social media of choice? Facebook? LinkedIn? Well the Seattle IIBA® Chapter has both covered. Both are great ways to get information and network on the happenings in Washington regarding Business Analysis. Each group has a slightly different focus.
 
LinkedIn Group - Formal announcements of events and opportunities for business analysts. May also be used for discussions on articles, books, trends, or anything else business analysis the community wishes.
 
Facebook - A little less formal where jokes, one-liners, and random status updates relevant to business analysis or the life of a business analyst fit in. Chapter events and announcements will be crossposted to each.   
 
Please join our online groups to stay better connected throughout the month. Members are always welcome to post.
Providing Value: Policy on Training and Employment Notices

The board has talked extensively about the need to provide value to our members (current and potential) and one of the most valuable things we can do is make information regarding
training and employment opportunities available to you. The challenge is how to do this in an equitable way so that YOU get the information in an non-biased way and we don't turn into a clearinghouse of training and employment opportunities to the point of the mission of the chapter getting diluted. With this, I would like to offer that our LinkedIn group is the best place to post and find announcements of these types. Any employer, consulting firm, or training organization may post information within our group as a means to make the information available to members. We do ask that those items with a fee provide at least a 10% discount to IIBA® Seattle Chapter members. The chapter will gladly accept any recruitment incentives offered for positions placed through chapter resources.

 

We will provide time at each meeting for one-minute (or less) announcements of employment or training opportunities. 
We hope you enjoyed this newsletter. Please send me your ideas for future editions, articles, or comments.
 
Sincerely,
 
Vicki James, Chapter President
president@seattle.iiba.org
IIBA® Seattle Chapter

 
Free
Meeting
IIBA® Seattle Chapter monthly meetings are free to chapter members. Not a member yet? We invite you to attend one meeting for FREE so that we may show you the value of membership. Members, please pass this on to your BA peers.

 

 

                   Name:_________________________________

 

                   Organization:___________________________

 

                   Email Address:__________________________

Offer Expires: June 30, 2013
 
IIBA®, the IIBA® logo, BABOK® and Business Analysis Body of Knowledge® are registered trademarks owned by International Institute of Business Analysis. CBAP® is a registered certification mark owned by International Institute of Business Analysis. Certified Business Analysis Professional, EEP and the EEP logo are trademarks owned by International Institute of Business Analysis.