Curiosity, Not Certainty: The Mindset Behind Good Business Analysis

Projects don't fail because nobody read the plan. They fail because nobody questioned it. This session makes the case that curiosity is the difference between building what was asked for and delivering what was needed. We'll dig into the business analysis principles and techniques that put it to work: shifting focus from closing the ticket to solving the underlying problem, the cognitive biases that make curiosity feel unnecessary right when it matters most, and the questions that catch gaps before they turn into rework. The techniques get you started. The mindset shift is what turns "done" into "done right."

Previously titled: "Business Analysis for Developers: Embracing a Curiosity Mindset"

Translating Between Worlds: Closing the Gap Between Code and Conversation

The best-built feature in the world is worthless if nobody outside engineering understands why it matters. Closing that gap takes more than translating technical jargon — it means knowing your audience as well as you know your code. This session digs into what "knowing your audience" really requires: practical methods for translating technical requirements and components into something non-technical stakeholders and end-users can engage with, not just nod along to. Stakeholders don't need a glossary. They need someone who can meet them where they are.

Risk Planning from the Wings: What Stage Management Teaches About Enterprise Risk

Give an actor a prop and they'll break it. Doesn't matter how sturdy you make it. Backstage, that's not a crisis — it's Tuesday. Managing risk and failure isn't a skill for stage managers. It's an art form: understudies who can step into any role without missing a beat, cue-to-cue rehearsals that catch failure points before they happen, and a crew that can fix a problem before the audience ever spots it. Companies spend fortunes on enterprise risk management systems trying to reinvent what theater already perfected. This session cuts out the consultants and goes straight to the source. "The show must go on" is a nice sentiment. This is the playbook behind it.

Crack the Case: The Art of Asking Better Questions

Good investigators don't take the first story they're told. Good business analysts shouldn't either. This session treats every hesitation, every vague answer, every "it's always been done that way" as a piece of evidence — and shows you how to follow the lead it points to, before it quietly becomes the new normal. Every case cracks eventually. Attendees will leave knowing how to spot the one detail that matters — and the discipline to keep asking until the case gets closed.

Leading Without Authority: Getting Buy-In When You Can't Just Tell People What to Do

No direct reports. No formal authority. Just a project, a deadline, and a team ranging from executive leadership to field staff who don't answer to you. It's a reality most project leads never get trained for. Consider this the crash course in leading when your title carries no weight and your only real currency is trust. Attendees will leave knowing how to turn a team that has to show up into one that finally listens.