Design and especially Human Centred Design is incredibly current in business and rightly so.

In this presentation, Martin will share his thoughts on the difference between design-led thinking and deep design craft and how you can leverage both for better success. MORE...

DEMOCRATISING DESIGN

+ MARTIN DOWSON

Passionate about story mapping, Calvin and Helen-Louise will share their explorations of this technique, in particular collaboration, and how story mapping can be successfully employed in a large organisation . MORE... 

STORY MAPPING:

REALISATION FROM

COLLABORATION

+ CALVIN HENDERSON

+ HELEN-LOUISE KITE

...so let's stop treating it that way. The mental health of you and your team is critical to your success. John will prove this to you as he candidly shares how you too can address the reality of business today in a safe and positive way that ultimately leads to better results for all involved. MORE...

SELF-CARE ISN'T OPTIONAL

+ JOHN PEEBLES

In this talk, Vicky will outline her career and how she progressed from the role of Business Analyst to running Be Positive, a successful Business Analysis Consultancy based in Edinburgh. From BA to Entrepreneur & Executive, and how Business Analysis has aided her success. MORE... 

FROM BA TO BOARDROOM

+ VICKY DI CIACCA

THEN

Frequently asked questions

Below you will find summary details of our speakers. For full details, simply click the relevant "MORE" link ...and enjoy!

The BA festival in a day

3RD JUNE 2021 - HOSTED FROM EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND

Here's why you want to attend

Finally, a conference for BAs, created and hosted by BAs, which you can attend easily!

Read on for full details of this virtual conference with a fresh spin

and how 2021 is an exciting year for Business Analysts

SPEAKERS

WHY ATTEND?

SCHEDULE

FAQ

SPONSORS

Consultant, coach, trainer, analyst, and developer for over 30 years ...and a published author too, including the BDD books "Discovery" and "Formulation".

Seb is a BDD advocate with SmartBear, helping people integrate all three practices of BDD into their development process and ensuring that appropriate tool support is available.

Seb will be presenting "Using BDD as a Communication Tool Between the Business and Technology" at 10:30AM.

SEB ROSE

+ SMARTBEAR

TOM MEADE

+ IT LEADER

Graduating with a Degree in BIS from UCC in 1999, Tom Meade has gone on to a forge a successful tech career in Scotland. His role as Digital Director (CIO) at the Registers of Scotland has led to accolades including CIO of the Year at the UK IT Awards and the Digital Leader Award, Scotland’s most significant public sector honour. Tom provides strategic consultancy to the C-Suite of major organisations and currently Heads up the IT team at Poppulo. Tom has also recently been named one of the Top 100 CIOs in the UK by Computing Magazine. He is truly an IT Leader.

At 9:30AM, Tom Meade is the first of our keynote presentations with "Small Steps come Giant Leaps", in which he will explore incremental continuous improvement and how hot beds of evolution provide the basis for our revolutions. MORE...

MICHAEL CHRISTON

+ THE UNCONVENTIONAL BUSINESS TRAINER & AUTHOR

Michael has gained a reputation for entertaining and insightful presentations having trained thousands of business people over 20 years with his unique and often head spinning perspectives on business and life. His past clients include financial institutions such as Royal Bank of Scotland and Clydesdale Bank, multinationals such as Bredero Shaw and Arrow International, and even several offices of government.

Michael Christon will be the giving the second keynote of the day, "The Twin Sisters of Doom", at 1:30PM. Expect to be challenged in an entertaining way as Michael delves into the subtle nuances of language...

...and discover the fatal flaw in a classic BA technique. MORE...

Christina has built BA teams ranging in size from 5 to 120 Business Analysts and champions entry level BA roles including apprenticeships. She is chair of the BA Apprentice Standard Review, director of the BA Manager Forum. Christina is also co-author of the 2019 BCS book, Delivering Business Analysis, which shares research, insights and practical guidance.

Christina will be presenting, "Retrospect Yourself!" at 10:30AM.

CHRISTINA LOVELOCK

+ EXPERIENCED BA LEADER

Grant has over 20 years’ experience of delivering and leading enterprise-scale transformation and digital service design across government and financial services sectors. He actively practises Visual Thinking throughout his work and is passionate about its ability to create alignment, improve understanding and generate creative ideas.

Grant will be presenting "Visual Thinking Superpowers for Product Ownership" with Pardeep Dhanda at 10:30AM.

GRANT WRIGHT

+ SCARLETT SOLUTIONS

'Paddy' is the Agile Practice Director at QA Ltd, the largest Technology training provider in the UK. He is the former head of Agile learning for a global bank where he rolled out Agile education to over 100k Agilists. Paddy regularly shares insights with industry thought leaders via his podcast, the Peaky Agilist.

Pardeep will be presenting "Visual Thinking Superpowers for Product Ownership" with Grant Wright at 10:30AM.

PARDEEP DHANDA

+ DIRECTOR OF QA LTD

Susan is a Leadership and Team Development Coach and prior to becoming a professional coach, she worked as a Senior Business Analyst for many years.

Transformational change is a theme in her professional and personal life, specialising in Mental Fitness / Positive Intelligence coaching with teams, groups and individuals.

Susan will be presenting "Mental Fitness – Saboteur vs Sage" at 11:45AM. 

SUSAN TAHERI

+ CO-ACTIVE COACH

Calvin and Helen-Louise are colleagues and senior analysts who found themselves amidst an Agile transformation at one of the UK’s largest telecommunications providers, Sky. As the organisation evolved around them, they have adapted their analysis approach to better deliver value to their customers within an Agile environment. 

They present "Story Mapping: Realisation from Collaboration" at 3:45PM.

CALVIN HENDERSON and

HELEN-LOUISE KITE

+ SKY

With 21 years analysis experience in two of Britain’s most recognised companies (British Airways and Sky), Elaine has worked at all stages of the project lifecycle and has a toolkit to match. Within her role at Sky, she develops and grows the analysis team promoting networking, analysis best practice and developing the project methodology.

Elaine will be presenting "Why are Customers Always on a Journey?" at 11:45AM.

ELAINE McCARTNEY

+ PRINCIPAL BA AT SKY

Charlie has been managing the BA team at National Grid for the last 18 months and is passionate about BAs thriving in their project environment. 

He has spoken at numerous BA events, including the honour of being invited to the European BA Conference as one of the best presentations in its 10yr history.

Charlie will be presenting "From 'speaking at' to 'speaking with': Nurturing a collaborative climate by stealth" at 2:30PM.

CHARLIE PAYNE

+ NATIONAL GRID

Helen Scotland is a Business Architect working within the Business Design Authority at Her Majesty’s Passport Office. Prior to this, she worked in a variety of contract roles in Education, Not for Profit, Circular Economy and Public sector, and previously as a Business Analyst and IT Change Business Partner in financial services for 10 years.

Helen will be presenting "Business Analyst to Business Architect: A personal journey" at 2:30PM.

HELEN SCOTLAND

+ UK HOME OFFICE

Schedule of the day

Join us online for our inaugural ‘BA festival in a day’! 

​Brought to you by BALIFE, Business Analysis Learning and Innovation Festival Edinburgh - the home of all great festivals - hosted by BAs for BAs and with a mob of inspiring speakers, we know you are going to love BALIFE2021.

And that’s because… Business Analysis is at the forefront of the world-class IT drive in Scotland, the UK and throughout the world.

On the 3rd June 2021 you will gain a new perspective on current techniques, experience fresh ideas, and discover advanced concepts, inspiring you to greater achievements in the BA field.

Additionally, and as is much needed in these Covid times, BALIFE2021 will also explore the psychological landscape of being a BA in the world today and how you can stay mentally fit for the role.

A conference with a fresh spin!

As with all successful conferences, your time at BALIFE2021 will begin with a warm welcome, ‘digital’ drink and some tasty ‘bytes’...

…because we are virtual! - So your attendance could not be easier.

Simply sit back in your location of choice and enjoy, as the day kicks off with a special keynote speaker. Then, from the comfort of your armchair, browse and choose from three parallel streams of activity, “Thinking about design”, “The human touch” and “All about process”. Better still, you even get to choose how deep you want to dive, because whether you want a quick bite size talk or in-depth presentation, we’ve got you covered.

But what if two of your chosen presentations clash?

…well, unlike in real life, the virtual world has your back. As an attendee of BALIFE2021, you will get 12 months access to ALL recordings from the day, so you’ll never miss a minute and can even recap on your favourite moments from the conference.

Along with the video recordings you will also have MP3s of all talks, PDFs of all presentation slides and any additional materials from the presenters. You even get a second keynote to launch the afternoon.

As you can see, it’s going to be an exciting experience for all.

Our promise to you

We want to ensure EVERY attendee feels welcome and appreciated throughout the whole day. So with that in mind, your attendance at BALIFE is backed by a solid promise of inclusivity, a 'code of conduct' if you will. Just as in the real-world, we will not stand for any form of marginalising or unfriendly behaviour. BALIFE is a safe and supportive environment of friendliness, non-judgement and celebration of difference in all its forms.

Put the date in your diary

Add it NOW! - 3rd June 2021 - or better still, be smart and get your early-bird ticket TODAY!

Because, whether it’s the only event you attend in 2021 or a great introduction to the much bigger European conference in London, we know you are going to enjoy being part of this diverse and inclusive group of talented BAs for a very special and inspiring day.

Your keynotes and speakers

As we 'go to press' we still have an open speaker slot to fill...

Perhaps you are interested in being one of our speakers? Do you fit with this wonderful bunch we have already assembled? Do you fancy being an online superstar?

Let us know!

You could be presenting "Amazing Talk on your Chosen Specialist Subject" at 2:30PM.

TO BE ANNOUNCED

+ A SPECIAL COMPANY

Martin is a Design Leader at Lloyds Banking Group. His industry experience spans retail, FMCG, Banking and Tech.

His passion for design comes from it's power to balance decision making within an organisation around business, human and technological factors for shared value as well as a fundamental belief in the power of democratising design and design skills into the whole organisation.

Martin will be presenting "Democratising Design" at 3:45PM.

MARTIN DOWSON

+ LLOYDS GROUP

Chris has 15 years' experience working in Agile environments. He is currently working at Registers of Scotland in Edinburgh with non-technical operational departments to increase their effectiveness as part of a whole-org agile approach. 

Chris promotes people centred, data informed decision making at every level of an organisation. 

Chris will be presenting a quick-fire BA Brief, "BAs in an Agile World", at 2:30PM.

CHRIS PREECE

+ AGILE SMILE

Want to start with a presentation, followed by a couple of quick-fire 'shows', before capping off with another great presentation? ...go for it!

Or how about launching your morning “Thinking about Design”, revving up your afternoon learning “All about Process” and capping your day with bite-sized BA Briefs on “The Human Touch”, all topped and tailed with inspiring keynotes? ...well, the choice is yours.

8:45am + Virtual arena opens

Nibble your breakfast and enjoy a cuppa as you chat and network with your fellow attendees

9:15am + Welcome and virtual housekeeping

Your day officially begins with a welcome message from Linda Parker, BA of the Year 2019

9:30am + Keynote speaker, Tom Meade, CIO of the Year 2017

Tom opens the presentations with the first keynote of the day: Small Steps come Giant Leaps - MORE...

10:30am + You choose one of three presentations

In this opening presentation, you will understand how BDD improves communication, discover why we need examples to illustrate specifications, and learn the critical role of the BA in BDD. MORE...

USING BDD AS A COMMUNICATION TOOL BETWEEN THE BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY

+ SEB ROSE

Before a BA can master the art of product ownership they must learn how to adapt their mindset and find innovative ways to harness the wisdom of crowds to unlock creative thinking. MORE... 

VISUAL THINKING SUPERPOWERS FOR PRODUCT OWNERSHIP 

+ GRANT WRIGHT

+ PRADEEP DHANDA

11:30am + Short break

Tea or coffee at your place! Your chance to grab a cuppa while 'virtually' networking with fellow attendees, speakers or sponsors

11:45am + You choose one of three presentations

12:45pm + Lunch at your place

Grab some food and enjoy some virtual networking with fellow attendees, speakers and sponsors

1:30pm + Keynote speaker, Michael Christon

Prepare to be entertained as Michael introduces you to "The Twin Sisters of Doom"! MORE...

2:30pm + You choose: One of two presentations or two BA Briefs back-to-back?