Central Iowa Chapter of IIBA

Download presentation: ProcessLevelDefinition

Monthly Chapter Meeting

Process Engineering: To Be or Not To Be?

Is this the question? 

While Hamlet the prince pondered, “Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles and, by opposing, end them”  Hamlet the Business Analyst may see things more clearly and definitely “take arms against a sea of troubles”.  Indeed, in our organizations today, isn’t that exactly what BAs are challenged to do?  Whether process, system or a bit of both, we’re constantly confronted with the “to be or not to be” question as we push to enhance the performance of the organization we serve.

Of course it’s not always that easy.  With multiple stakeholders, the ever present resistance to change, a slew of complicated processes – it’s easy to get frustrated.  We need a plan of attack to confront our “sea of troubles”, Process engineering is one tool that can help bring a little sanity and structure to you requirements elicitation.

This session will provide a background to process engineering that will help the BA 1) differentiate between capabilities and process 2) define start and stop points of process 3) clearly identify the scope of effort.

Andrea Pohlman  Principal Consultant

Andrea Pohlman is Principal of Consulting Services Consultant with Accelare.  Andrea has been cornerstone in providing Accelare’s clients with expertise in key principles of Organizational Change Management, Organizational Design and Readiness, Business Process Engineering and Corporate Communications to support the successful implementation of new processes and concepts into organizations. 

With over 14 years in the financial services industry, Andrea came to Accelare in 2008 from Allianz Life, where she was the Director of Business Process Engineering, Business Process Center of Excellence for Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America (Allianz). She led all aspects of definition and analysis of business design on processes within the current and future business environment for Operations, ensuring alignment with corporate strategies. She was also responsible for the Allianz’ global continuous process improvement methodology – OPEX – governance and the project pipeline for North America. Andrea was accountable for the process engineering of company transformation efforts that focus on operations and the underlying technology, along with leading the organization’s movement to Business Process Management (BPM), shifting the organization to a customer centric business model.  In conjunction with launching OPEX, Andrea was responsible for leading the global development efforts for Allianz’ Employee Innovation program, their Organizational Change Management Practice and Allianz’ Customer Focus initiatives, as well. 

Andrea has been dedicated to the delivery of Industry Expertise surrounding best practices in process improvement and moving industry standards.  Andrea came to Allianz from successful career partnerships with Fortune 50 companies Prudential Financial and MetLife.

 Date: Feb. 25, 2010

Time: 11:30 – 12:30

Lunch to be served beginning at 11 AM.

Cost: non-IIBA members – $10, IIBA members in good standing – free

Of course there will be a Raffle!

Where: 

Please register on form below:

By Steve Tobak

More people get into trouble by opening up their mouths than any other way. Don’t believe me? Think about all the times you’ve screwed up in your career, or even in your personal life, and think about the most common cause.

Or worse, he’s got that annoyed look on his face, as if to say, “What the hell is an insignificant gnat like you doing bothering an important big-shot like me?”

Now, I’m not saying you should sugarcoat how you feel, be apologetic when you’re not, or use politically correct euphemisms like “with all due respect” all the time. That does more harm than good. But you can be genuine, honest, and straightforward without sounding like a self-centered, disrespectful moron.

Here are 10 phrases that, when used in the proper context (which I’m sure you can figure out), will enable you to expediently get to the heart of an issue while showing genuine respect for the other person’s perspective.

Okay, so actions count a lot too. I get it. But you have to admit, what you say and how you say it carries a lot of weight in life. And it can make all the difference in your career and your business.

Unfortunately, most of us weren’t born with the management communications gene nor had the benefit of an executive coach to mentor us on the finer points of “soft skills.” Looking back at the early days of my management career, it’s almost shocking how demeaning and arrogant I sounded at times.

You know what I’m talking about. You know how it feels when it happens to you. You show up at your boss’s door with a cheery, “Hi there; got a minute?”

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I-BADD Registrant:

Please complete the form below. If you have any questions, please contact us at

IBADD2010@CentralIowaIIBA.org

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 We spend one-third of our working lives at the office. The people we work with can affect our productivity and our careers, and vice versa. Practicing office etiquette makes the place and the workday just a bit more bearable.