Ever made a decision that looked perfect on paper — and still went wrong?That's the question I opened with, and Dr. David Marco had an answer ready. David has spent decades building data and analytics programs for some of the most complicated environments out there — the FBI, Mayo Clinic, and over 150 companies and federal agencies — and lately his focus has shifted to the C-suite and boardroom, where the decisions that ripple down to the rest of us get made.In this episode, David introduces the concept of decision integrity: the ability to make evidence-based, consequential decisions that can be explained, traced, owned, trusted, and defended under scrutiny. We talk about what happens when that integrity is missing —and the real human consequences of decisions that go badly. David breaks down his four categories of decisions and his three pillars of decision integrity, and makes the case for why business analysis professionals are exactly the people who should be in the room when these decisions get made.This conversation started as a talk about decision integrity and turned into something closer to a career conversation — because for David, they're the same thing. If you've ever felt like you didn't have the authority to speak up on a decision you could see going sideways, this episode gives you permission to raise your hand and do it!Episode Highlights● What "decision integrity" means — and why boards are asking for it now● The AI hospital discharge case that shows what happens without decision guardrails● Why "human in the loop" isn't always enough ● David shares his four categories of decisions● The three pillars of decisions (and data) ● Why BAs are the connective tissue of an organization — and how to claim that role● The power of raising your hand: David's career-defining habit● A $100 million cautionary tale about a "simple" customer question

Resources

• Connect with Susan on LinkedIn 
• Connect with Dr. David Marco onLinkedIn     
• Join our IIBA business analysis community

A gut feeling. A hunch. That feeling that something's off. As business analysts, we're trained to bring data to the table — but what about the things we know before the data catches up?Russell Mears — IIBA board member and 15-year BA veteran — joins Susan Moore on this episode of Business Analysis Live! to make the case that tapping into your instinct isn't abandoning rigor. Actually, it's a form of it. Drawing on philosophy, history, and hard-won experience in some of the most intense environments in finance, Russell reframes what it means to "do your homework" as a business analyst — and why dismissing your gut might be the most expensive mistake you make.This episode also gets into the real barriers to acting on your instincts — psychological safety, the pressure to quantify everything, and why a confident-looking output can silence the very people who know something's wrong.Episode Highlights• Trained instinct vs. raw hunch — what’s the difference? • Michael Polanyi's "we can know more than we can tell"• Gary Klein's research on expert pattern-matching under pressure• Why "garbage in, garbage out" assumes you can spot the garbage• The barriers to speaking up — psychological safety and the pressure to quantify• Instinct as a leading indicator • How instinct shows up in the business analysis practice• IIBA's Being Nimble research: sensing and responding to change

🔗 Resources

· Connect with Susan on LinkedIn

· Connect with Russell on LinkedIn

· Find out more about Being Nimble, IIBA’s research on the role of business analysis in organizational agility

Business Analysis Live is hosted by Susan Moore, Community Engagement Manager with the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA). We talk with business analysis professionals about business analysis topics and answer questions from our live audience. If you enjoyed the episode, don’t forget to hit that Like button, subscribe to the channel, and share it with your friends. Your support helps us keep bringing you great content!The International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA) is a non-profit professional association serving the field of business analysis. As the global thought leader and voice of the business analysis community, IIBA actively supports the recognition of the profession, and works to maintain global standards for the ongoing development of the practice and certifications.

#BusinessAnalysis #Instinct #CriticalThinking

Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.iiba.org/

This week on Business Analysis Live!, Susan Moore sits down with the team behind the Festival of Business Analysis (FOBA) — IIBA Australia's Abi Sachithanantham and Luigi Bini — to unpack this year's crowdsourced theme: Adapt, Align, and Accelerate. It's a two-week celebration (online first, then in person across five Australian cities plus Auckland and Wellington), and this year's program leans hard into more than just AI hype.

Susan also catches up with closing keynote speaker Shane Hastie (CBAP #140 and a core contributor to BABOK 3.0) on why career shape-shifting — not job titles — is the real story of this AI moment. Vaughan Luckman of Luckman Beyond BA makes the case that BAs are the "kings and queens of context" and they can't afford to sit back and wait for a seat at the table. And Sharon Robson and Will McNellis of Core State Consulting preview their workshop on political quotient — because office politics isn't something to avoid but something we need understand.

Whether you're headed to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Auckland, or Wellington — or joining online — this episode is a taste of what you’ll hear at FOBA this year.- Episode Highlights● How FOBA's 2026 theme for this year was crowdsourced from the community● Shane Hastie talks about his closing keynote - "the shape you didn't plan" and the broken-comb shaped skill set● Vaughan Luckman says ditch the 300-page document and claim a seat at the table● Sharon Robson & Will McNelis want you to embrace your “political quotient” and hack (rather than avoid) office politics● Learn where and how you can join FOBA this year!

- Resources

• Connect with Susan on LinkedIn
•  Follow the IIBA Australia Chapter on LinkedIn
• Find the agendas and get your tickets: festivalofbusinessanalysis.org
• Connect with Vaughan Luckman on LinkedIn
• Connect with Sharon Robson on LinkedIn
• Connect with Will McNellis on LinkedIn
• Connect with Shane Hastie on LinkedIn

Business Analysis Live is hosted by Susan Moore, CommunityEngagement Manager with the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA). We talk with business analysis professionals about business analysis topics and answer questions from our live audience.

If you enjoyed the episode, don’t forget to hit that Likebutton, subscribe to the channel, and share it with your friends. Your support helps us keep bringing you great content!

The International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA) is anon-profit professional association serving the field of business analysis. As the global thought leader and voice of the business analysis community, IIBA actively supports the recognition of the profession, and works to maintain global standards for the ongoing development of the practice andcertifications.

Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.iiba.org/

#FOBA2026  #BusinessAnalysis  #AdaptAlignAccelerate

This week Susan is joined again by Yvonne Ruke Akpoveta— change management strategist, founder of the Change Leadership Community, and author of the newly released Anatomy of a Change Leader — for a conversation we don't discuss enough of in this profession: layoffs.We talk about it from every angle we've each lived. Being let go. Staying behind while your team disappears around you. And the part that's uniquely uncomfortable for business analysts — sometimes our own analysis is the data that leads to the decision. Yvonne and I both got laid off early in our careers, and we get honest about how it shaped us, what organizations still get wrong about "survivor" support, and why mindset determines what you do with the time you're given.If you've been laid off, are watching it happen around you right now, or just know it's possible in this AI-disrupted moment — this one's for you.🎙️Episode Highlights● Yvonne's first layoff — and the mindset shift that came from it● Why organizations plan for the people they let go, but not the people who stay● Survivor's guilt and the anxiety loop of "am I next?"● The ethics of being the BA whose analysis feeds a layoff decision● Cognitive empathy vs. reassurance in change communication● Building "indispensable" skills before the layoff happens● Why breadth — not just technical BA skill — is what organizations want now● The Kübler-Ross change curve and getting to acceptance🔗 Resources• Connect with Susan on LinkedIn• Connect with Yvonne on LinkedInHave you been laid off? IIBA has resources and a community to help!

Business Analysis Live is hosted by Susan Moore, CommunityEngagement Manager with the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA). We talk with business analysis professionals about business analysistopics and answer questions from our live audience.

If you enjoyed the episode, don’t forget to hit that Likebutton, subscribe to the channel, and share it with your friends. Your support helps us keep bringing you great content!

The International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA) is anon-profit professional association serving the field of business analysis. As the global thought leader and voice of the business analysis community, IIBAactively supports the recognition of the profession, and works to maintain global standards for the ongoing development of the practice and certifications.

#BusinessAnalysis#ChangeLeadership #CareerResilience

The future doesn’t belong to the BA who writes the best requirements. It belongs to the one who can design an environment where AI amplifies human judgment. Ready to think differently about your career?A note: this conversation was recorded in May 2025 — more than a year before this episode aired. A lot of what Susan Yu talked about has since caught up with the rest of the world. That’s what futurists do!In this episode, host Susan Moore sits down with IIBA president and CEO Delvin and Susan Yu, chair of the IIBA Sydney chapter, futurist, and author of the upcoming book on AI-augmented business analysis. The result is one of the most grounded, practitioner-level conversations on agentic AI you’ll hear—no hype, just real talk from people who are living through this shift.Susan Yu brings a perspective most of us haven’t heard before: she fell into generative AI through a book club full of movie directors, startup founders, and university professors—not enterprise folks. That outside-in lens shapes everything she shares in this episode. She’s direct about where organizations are versus where the tech industry thinks they are, and why this is important for business analysis professionals as they are trying to figure out where they fit.The conversation zeroes in on agentic AI—AI that can execute entire decision chains. The stakes are different here. When an agent can write, send, and optimize a process end-to-end, someone has to be thinking about the ethical architecture underneath it. That someone, as Delvin and both Susans make clear, should be us.🎙️Episode Highlights• Why agentic AI is both “yes” and “no” for 2026• The enterprise reality gap: where organizations really are• Decision architecture and why it’s the business analysis professional’s new frontier• Human-in-the-loop: art form or non-negotiable?• The UAE’s Regulatory Intelligence Office as a governance model• Skills business analysts need to stay relevant in the agentic era• Why documentation obsession will cost business analysts their jobs• Courage and speaking up as a core business analysis competency• An AI reframe: BA for AI, not AI for BA🔗 Resources

• Connect with Susan Moore on LinkedIn

• Connect with Susan Yu on LinkedIn
• International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA): https://www.iiba.org

Certifications aren’t obsolete but the reasons for getting them are changing. In this episode of Business Analysis Live!, Susan Moore sits down with Tyler Kenny, Product Manager for Certifications at IIBA, to dig into what professional credentials mean in a world where knowledge and skill are being rapidly reshaped by AI. This won’t be a conversation about exam prep. It's about why the principles behind certification are still sound, and how to think about your own professional development when the tools and expectations in business analysis work keep changing.Tyler brings a refreshingly grounded take: IIBA has always been vendor-agnostic, and that same thinking applies to AI. Rather than chasing every new tool, the goal is to build the kind of foundational knowledge that travels — the skills and knowledge you can carry into any context, any platform, any future. He also gets candid about AI hype, technical debt, and what skills he believes will be future-proof (spoiler: documentation and process modeling are not going away).This is a must-listen for any business analysis professional wondering how to invest in themselves right now — certification and beyond.🎙️Episode Highlights• Why IIBA stays at the skill level — not the tool level• How AI fits into certification design (and what it doesn't replace)• The "primitives" of business analysis that transfer to any context• What "human in the loop" means in practice• Skills Tyler predicts will matter most• Why 100x productivity claims don't account for what x really means• The case for continuous learning — including in your personal life • Certifications as a foundation you build on, not a finish line🔗 Resources

•  Connect with Susan on LinkedIn

• Connect with Tyler on LinkedIn

•  Learn more about IIBA certifications

• International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA)

Business Analysis Live is hosted by Susan Moore, Community Engagement Manager with the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA). We talk with business analysis professionals about business analysis topics and answer questions from our live audience. If you enjoyed the episode, don’t forget to hit that Like button, subscribe to the channel, and share it with your friends. Your support helps us keep bringing you great content!

The International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA) is a non-profit professional association serving the field of business analysis. As the global thought leader and voice of the business analysis community, IIBA actively supports the recognition of the profession, and works to maintain global standards for the ongoing development of the practice and certifications.#BusinessAnalysis #Certifications #AI

What's really happening in business analysis around the world — and what does it mean for you?I sat down with Fabricio Laguna — the Brazilian BA and Senior Advisor to the IIBA President — fresh off a global listening tour where he interviewed ten senior business analysis professionals from every continent. (Spoiler: none of them had the title "Business Analyst.") What he heard will make you rethink what it means to be a senior BA, where AI is actually showing up in BA work, and why the profession might be its own best-kept secret.We covered a lot of ground in this one. Fabricio broke down how business analysis looks wildly different depending on the industry — from manufacturing to banking to ERP implementation — and why that's not a bug, it's the whole point. We talked about the soft skills vs. hard skills debate (and why it's a false choice), what makes someone a senior BA versus just an experienced one, and how the dance analogy actually explains career development better than most frameworks. And of course, AI came up. Not in the "will it take your job" way — nobody Fabricio interviewed believes that — but in the more important question: are BAs just using AI, or are they leading their organizations into it? There's a big difference, and this episode gets into it.

🎙️Episode Highlights• What 10 senior BAs from around the world are seeing in their organizations right now• How business analysis varies by industry — not by region• Why job titles are becoming more fluid (and what that means for the profession)• Soft skills vs. hard skills — and why senior BAs need both• The "conductor" and "dancer" frameworks for career development• AI as a productivity tool vs. AI as a strategic leadership opportunity• How BAs should be leading AI adoption, not just reacting to it

🔗 Resources

·  Connect with Susan on LinkedIn·  Connect with Fabricio on LinkedIn·  The Brazilian BA website

Business Analysis Live! is hosted by Susan Moore, Community Engagement Manager with the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA). We talk with business analysis professionals about business analysis topics and answer questions from our live audience. If you enjoyed the episode, don’t forget to hit that Like button, subscribe to the channel, and share it with your friends. Your support helps us keep bringing you great content!

The International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA) is a non-profit professional association serving the field of business analysis. As the global thought leader and voice of the business analysis community, IIBA actively supports the recognition of the profession, and works to maintain global standards for the ongoing development of the practice and certifications.

Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.iiba.org/#BusinessAnalysis #AILeadership #IIBA

What does it actually mean to be a business analyst when everything you knew about the role is changing — fast?In this episode, I sat down with Ryan Folster, a product leader based in Johannesburg, South Africa, who's been deep in the trenches thinking, speaking, and honestly losing sleep over exactly this question. Ryan came fresh off delivering a talk at the BBC conference in Toronto (where, for the record, neither of us dressed for the weather 😄), and he brought all of that energy and insight straight to our conversation.Here's what I love about Ryan's perspective — it's not an AI hype (or doom) talk. It's about the human things that enable AI: structured thinking, context-gathering, decomposition, and the very human judgment that no prompt can replace. We got into why experienced BAs sometimes struggle most with this moment of change, why your ability to think is still your greatest professional asset, and what it looks like to lean into adaptability when you genuinely don't know what next week will bring.We also talked about the pressure. The very real pressure organizations are putting on analysts right now — the "you have AI, so why isn't this done yet?" pressure — and what Ryan is actually doing to manage it. Spoiler: it involves automation, focus, and a healthy acceptance of what you can and can't control.This is a conversation for every BA who's excited, a little scared, and trying to figure out where they fit in a profession that's redefining itself in real time.🎙️Episode Highlights• Why this moment in business analysis isn't really about AI — it's about what enables AI• Cognitive load theory and why it maps directly to what business analysis professionals have always done• Decomposition as a core, enduring skill in an AI-accelerated world• AI speeds up execution, not thinking — and why that distinction matters• How BRDs and FRDs are evolving into "thinking documents"• The rising expectations problem and how to manage scope and pressure• Authenticity, AI slop, and protecting the human element in our work• Whether the BA title survives — and why your skill set matters more than your label• Role convergence: BA, PM, tester, developer — and what that means for you• Compliance, judgment, and information security in an AI-first environment• Building automations that work for you even when you're not working• Continuous learning as a muscle you have to actively maintain🔗 Resources

·     Connect with Susan on LinkedIn• Connect with Ryan on LinkedIn• South Africa Summit infoBusiness Analysis Live is hosted by Susan Moore, Community Engagement Manager with the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA). We talk with business analysis professionals about business analysis topics and answer questions from our live audience. If you enjoyed the episode, don’t forget to hit that Like button, subscribe to the channel, and share it with your friends. Your support helps us keep bringing you great content!The International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA) is a non-profit professional association serving the field of business analysis. As the global thought leader and voice of the business analysis community, IIBA actively supports the recognition of the profession, and works to maintain global standards for the ongoing development of the practice and certifications.

Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.iiba.org/

Business analysis is having a moment—and if AI feels overwhelming, this conversation might just change how you see your role.

In this episode, I’m joined by speaker, author, and LinkedIn Learning instructor, Angela Wick, to unpack what may be the most underestimated role in AI-driven transformation: business analysis. Building on her recent article about the evolving role of business analysis in agentic AI, we explore how our work is shifting—from requirements and handoffs to decision-making, orchestration, and true partnership across business and technology.

We talk candidly about what’s actually changing (and what isn’t), why AI demands our involvement earlier than ever, and how long-standing analysis skills suddenly matter more—not less—in a probabilistic, agent-driven world. If you’ve ever felt boxed into “requirements gatherer” territory or unsure where you fit as AI accelerates, this conversation is meant to spark confidence, clarity, and maybe even a little excitement about what’s next.🎙️Episode Highlights• The role of business analysis in agentic AI• Moving beyond requirements into decision velocity and process orchestration• Deterministic vs. probabilistic behavior in AI-enabled processes• Continuous analysis and the end of phased thinking• Human-in-the-loop governance and AI drift• Business analysis as a leadership and design discipline• Developing junior BAs in an AI-first world🔗 Resources·       Connect with Susan on LinkedIn·       Connect with Angela on LinkedIn·        Listen to the Kenny Loggins’ song “This Is It” that inspired Angela·        IIBA members can download Angela’s article TheEvolving Role of Business Analysis in the Age of Enterprise Agentic AI

Business Analysis Live is hosted by Susan Moore, Community Engagement Manager with the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA). We talk with business analysis professionals about business analysis topics and answer questions from our live audience. If you enjoyed the episode, don’t forget to hit that Like button, subscribe to the channel, and share it with your friends. Your support helps us keep bringing you great content!The International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA) is a non-profit professional association serving the field of business analysis. As the global thought leader and voice of the business analysis community, IIBA actively supports the recognition of the profession, and works to maintain global standards for the ongoing development of the practice and certifications.

Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.iiba.org/

#BusinessAnalysis #AgenticAI #AITransformation

What happens when business analysis professionals stop going it alone and start finding their people?This episode of Business Analysis Live comes to you “live” from Toronto at the Building Business Capability (BBC) Conference—and it’s all about connection. I share scenes from the conference, introduce two incredible guests, and explore what it really means for business analysis professionals to find community, visibility, and confidence in a world that’s increasingly virtual.We talk about why conferences matter beyond the sessions, how visibility shows up differently in remote work, and why volunteering, networking, and authenticity play such a critical role in career growth. Through thoughtful conversations with Pam Paterson and my IIBA colleague Lia Spoltore, we dig into the human side of business analysis—values, trust, relationships, and learning together across generations.If you’ve ever wondered how to build confidence, grow your network without feeling transactional, or reconnect with the people part of this profession, this episode is for you.🎧 Episode Highlights• Finding your people in the business analysis community• Visibility vs. being “busy” at work• Networking beyond job searching• Volunteering as a confidence and skill builder• Human skills in a tech- and AI-shaped world• Values, authenticity, and trust in professional relationships• Conferences as connection, not just content

🔗 Resources

· Connect with Susan on LinkedIn

·  Connect with Pam on LinkedIn

·  Connect with Lia on LinkedIn

🔗 Resources• Connect with Susan on LinkedIn• Connect with Pam on LinkedIn• Connect with Lia on LinkedInBusiness Analysis Live is hosted by Susan Moore, Community Engagement Manager with the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA). We talk with business analysis professionals about business analysis topics and answer questions from our live audience. If you enjoyed the episode, don’t forget to hit that Like button, subscribe to the channel, and share it with your friends. Your support helps us keep bringing you great content!The International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA) is a non-profit professional association serving the field of business analysis. As the global thought leader and voice of the business analysis community, IIBA actively supports the recognition of the profession, and works to maintain global standards for the ongoing development of the practice and certifications.

Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.iiba.org/

#BusinessAnalysis
#FindingYourPeople
#BBCConference