Nicola Myers
Digital Product Designer | Lead Business Analyst Consultant | Thought Leader
Johannesburg, South Africa
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Nicola is currently consulting to a large South African insurance company. She has been tasked with pushing a critical project forward which focuses on digitizing and standardizing customer communications, in order to meet regulatory requirements, reduce costs, increase security and improve the overall customer journey. This will modernize how the company communicates with their customers and aligns closely with the company’s strategic direction.
Previously, Nicola was a Senior Business Analyst Specialist designing software at Agile Bridge for international clients. She taught Business Analysis training courses, mentored, was a Business Process Redesign Consultant, and a Business Analyst in the IT industry. With almost 14 years of experience and having completed over 35 projects, she is a powerhouse in the business analysis world. Her credentials are extensive, which makes her one of the most qualified business analysts in the country.
She holds a BSc Honours in Information Systems from UNISA. Her international certifications include the Certification of Capability in Business Analysis™ (CCBA®) from the International Institute of Business Analysis™ (IIBA®). She is also an internationally Certified Professional for Requirements Engineering (CPRE) by the International Requirements Engineering Board (IREB®) and has completed the RE@Agile Primer certification through the same institute. Nicola has also achieved the designation of OMG Certified Expert in BPM™ 2 (OCEB™ 2) by the Object Management Group (OMG®). In 2021, Nicola completed the Scrum Alliance’s Professional Scrum Master (PSM I) and Professional Scrum Product Owner (PSPO I) certifications.
Area of Expertise
Wizards and Sailors: Why Themed Retros Work!
Let’s be honest, most retrospectives are awful! They are an excuse for some people to complain without resolution and others to check Facebook. Some teams don’t have them at all and yet they are a vital part of Scrum. So how do you keep your work colleagues engaged and productive in a retro? You add elevator music, interactive diagrams, ships, and a little bit of magic!
The Head-to-Toe Anatomy of User Stories and Other Elements
There are many terms thrown around in agile but how do they relate to each other? Through a skeleton using the concept model technique, we will discover the essential elements of a user story; how user stories are elaborated in a conversation which adds to acceptance criteria that are part of a ready user story which includes business benefits. A picture is better than a thousand words and this one sums it all up brilliantly.
Read Your Standup Team in 15 Minutes!
We are taught body language as a child to read if a friend is happy or sad and hug them, but how have we lost that skill in adulthood? Have we lost empathy too? A fundamental principle of agile is teamwork but often teams fall apart. However, there are early warning signs. Perhaps a team member is struggling with their home life, has been burnt by the agile approach previously, or even falling into the trap of the imposter syndrome. This does not lead to an engaged team member. Reading the body language of team members, especially in standups and retros, will lead to far greater success in teamwork, which results in more value for everyone.
Stop Guessing User Requirements – Illustrated Using the Humble Can Opener
Often business analysts assume what the customer wants, and this could be disastrous to the success of the project. I will demonstrate how the humble can opener can show how wrong our guesses can be.
A Framework for Wireframes – How to Create Great Prototypes in 10 Easy Steps!
A hotly contested topic is what documentation an agile business analyst should create. Wireframe
prototyping is a fantastic way to gather requirements quickly, in detail, and in a simple way. From
one text box rectangle you can extract what information is needed, the importance of the information, validations on that information and so much more. Well-designed fully validated wireframes can be stable enough to be used in an agile environment without the need for a fully-fledged document. I will walk you through how to create these powerful wireframes that clearly reflect the stakeholder’s requirements.
An Enlightened Agile BA – A Year of Lessons Learnt Since Being Agile Certified
My agile journey has been a remarkable one. From being thrown into the deep end with free rein,
deciding to do it correctly by certifying as a Scrum Master and Product Owner in 2021, all the way up
until today where I only work as a Senior Business Analyst in agile environments. Looking back, I can
see how far I have come, and want to share my insights with you, the perpetual student of agile
business analysis. In this last year, I have seen the practical application of agile principles - what
works, what doesn’t work, and how to make it work. I will guide you through the lessons that I have
learned and tips that I wish a Senior Agile Business Analyst had told me all those years ago.
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