BA Brew - A Business Analysis Podcast

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Our podcast is a chance to tune into our musings on a range of subjects from the use of business analysis tools and techniques to the books we like that are helpful for business change professionals.

  1. FEB 6

    Transferable Skills (feat. Lisa Croft)

    If you have relevant transferable skills, it is possible to change careers at any time of life. In this thought-provoking episode, Lisa Croft of Herd Consulting and AssistKD’s Amanda Christianson talk about transferable skills with host Jonathan Hunsley. Relevant skills discussed include: stakeholder engagement; customer service; teamwork; data analysis; problem-solving; taking a holistic view; and documentation. RESOURCES CAREER PLANNING AssistKD Career Planing Tools COURSES One Day Careers Workshop ARTICLES What I Wish I had Known When I Started my Business Analyst Career 10 Top Tips for Entering the Business Analysis ProfessionBA BREWS BA Brew 77: How to start your BA Career (Feat. Timothy Clark & Michelle Shakesheff) Updating your skills toolkit? AssistKD offers a wide choice of business training courses. Assist’s Learning Zone is packed with free learning resources, with new and topical content added regularly. Discover the latest BA Brew podcasts, articles, blogs, short learning videos and more.

    24 min

  2. 12/12/2025

    BA of the Year Award Special (feat. Mark Cross and Kay Hardy)

    If you’ve ever considered applying for the Business Analyst of the Year Award, this BA Brew special is for you. Current BA of the Year Mark Cross and 2024 winner Kay Hardy discuss what inspired them to apply, and some of the unexpected benefits of taking part. FURTHER RESOURCES Visit our BA of the Year page Assist’s Learning Zone is packed with free learning resources, with new and topical content added regularly. Discover the latest BA Brew podcasts, articles, blogs, short learning videos and more. AssistKD BA Career Planner Tool Webinar: What it Takes to be BA of the Year ARTICLES BA of the Year: 10 Top Tips for Applying Mark Cross Winner’s Interview Kay Hardy Winner’s Interview Pip Hall Winner’s Interview BA BREWS BA Brew 20: Resilience BA Brew 68: Stepping Beyond the BA Toolbox BA Brew 80: Bravery in Business Analysis

    22 min

  3. 11/28/2025

    The Balanced Business Analyst: Stretch goals and The Holistic Approach (feat. Jennie Macdonald)

    In this stressbusting BA Brew, special guest and yoga teacher Jennie Macdonald talks to the Brew Crew about how yoga, mindfulness, and something as simple as a breathing technique can foster balance, calm and resilience in your work and home life. Jennie and Ruth recommend the following online Yoga and Mindfulness resources: Yoga with Adriene is a particularly good entry point – well worth subscribing to on YouTube. This includes movement and breathing exercises, and she has multiple 30 day courses where the daily sessions are about 20 minutes long: Yoga With Adriene - YouTube The Mindful app is a great one for walking meditations – it isn’t free but it’s well worth the subscription: A Guided Walking Meditation for Daily Life - Mindful Nalanie Chellaram is a great teacher if people want to get into yoga in its broader sense: Nalanie Chellaram - YouTube FURTHER RESOURCES BA BREWS BA Brew 20: Resilience (feat. Corrine Thomas) BA Brew 30: Confidence (feat. Philippa Thomas) BA Brew 45: Developing Positive Habits and Behaviours ARTICLES Resilience Resources Strengths Spotting - Achieve your goals by leveraging your strengths BOOK REVIEW: Begin with You by Petra Velzeboer Wellbeing in Times of Change By Petra Velzeboer

    21 min

  4. 11/14/2025

    Mind The (Service) Gap

    Bad service appears to be on the increase… why? Could it be because organisations are forgetting about the needs of the customer or are not sufficiently involving BAs, Service Designers or Business Architects? Debra Paul, Jonathan Hunsley and Mike Williams share a few ‘tales of woe’ and discuss some of their favourite trouble-shooting tools and techniques. Techniques discussed include scenario analysis; business continuity; the ‘Zone of Tolerance’; exploring the voice of the customer; and the POPIT™ technique. FURTHER RESOURCES BOOKS ‘Business Architecture: A Comprehensive Guide’ by Jonathan Hunsley and Debra Paul, is available from the BCS Bookshop. Business Analysis: 123 Essential Tools for Success by James Cadle, Debra Paul, Jonathan Hunsley, Adrian Reed, David Beckham and Paul Turner. Coming in 2026 and available for preorder: Service Design: A practical guide to creating customer centric services by Debra Paul and Jonathan Hunsley ARTICLES The Rise of the CX Professional | Assist Knowledge Development   Putting the Service into Service Design | Assist Knowledge Development COURSES Visit the Free Learning section of Assist’s Learning Zone for a choice of free short courses – with a course dedicated to POPIT™️.  AssistKD offers a wide choice of business training. BA BREWS Customer Experience Analysis Business Service Architecture Business Service Design The BA Tools and Techniques Launch Chat

    25 min

  5. 10/31/2025

    Digital Solutions and the Role of the BA (feat. Catherine Plumridge)

    Could BAs be the new digital solutions superheroes? This week’s BA Brew, which features special guest Catherine Plumridge, looks at how the skills of BAs plug into digital solutions across every element of the BA Service Framework. Questions addressed in the chat include: Could the BA role in the future embrace the development of digital solutions, using no-code platforms and AI? How does using the POPIT™️ framework enhance digital solutions? In what ways will the BA role evolve? Catherine Plumridge is a BA Leader at Kensington Mortgages and was a key early reviewer of the new BCS Digital Solutions series written by Pete Thompson. Stuart Mullinger and Fiona Kiss worked with Pete Thompson on designing and developing AssistKD’s new BCS Foundation Certificate in Digital Solution Development course. FURTHER RESOURCES BOOKS Defining Digital Solutions Designing Digital Solutions Delivering Digital Solutions ARTICLES AI and the Business Analysis Role COURSES Solution Development Courses DIPLOMAS The BCS International Diploma in Solution Development BA BREWS The AI Brew BA Brew 102: Trilogy Pete: The Digital Solutions Series | Assist Knowledge Development

    26 min

  6. 10/17/2025

    Business Analysis and All That Jazz (feat. Dominic Ready and Claire Chaundy)

    In this music-themed BA Brew, three piano-playing business analysts identify and draw parallels between business analysis and music, highlighting interesting similarities and connections. Claire Chaundy compares mentoring in music and in business analysis. AssistKD’s Stuart Mullinger discusses BA tools and techniques and the musical standards. And Dominic Ready (who also performs the intro and outro) finds some surprising common ground between performing live and the POPIT™ technique.  FURTHER RESOURCES BA Brews BA Brew 33: BA Skills and How to Develop ThemBA Brew 104: Why BA Techniques are UsefulBooks Business Analysis Techniques: 123 Essential Tools for SuccessCourses BCS Foundation Certificate in Business AnalysisFree Courses and Videos Check out the free Bitesize Learning Videos in our Learning ZoneTop up your BA skills with free courses, in the ‘Free Learning’ section of our Learning Zone

    30 min

  7. 10/03/2025

    Beesiness Analysis – Lessons from the Hive (feat. Mick Brian)

    In this week’s BA Brew, Kerry Adams chats to avid beekeepers Mike Williams and Mick Brian about what business analysts can learn from the organisation of a beehive – including how the bees communicate, make decisions, and allocate their resources. Interesting facts include the many different jobs of the worker bees (they don’t just collect pollen) and the intricacies of the ‘waggle dance’. FURTHER RESOURCES  BA Brews  BA Brew 33: BA Skills and How to Develop ThemBook Business Analysis Techniques: 123 Essential Tools for Success   Articles  AI Alchemy: Turning Change into Gold] Courses  BCS Foundation Certificate in Business AnalysisFree Courses and Learning Videos  Check out the free Bitesize Learning Videos in our Learning ZoneTop up your BA skills with free courses, in the ‘Free Resources’ section of our Learning Zone

    20 min

  8. 09/19/2025

    Why BA Techniques are Useful (feat. Carlos Pullen-Ferreira)

    Ready for some BA toolbox inspiration? This BA Brew is all about business analysis techniques, and how to apply them. Podcast guest Carlos Pullen-Ferreira waxes lyrical about the Requirements Traceability Matrix and User Stories; Debbie sings the praises of Data Models, the CRUD Matrix and a good Value Stream Diagram; and finally Jonathan puts a word in for GAP Analysis and can’t resist talking (or is it ranting?) about RACI. Other techniques mentioned include: Swimlane Diagrams; SWOT Analysis; PESTLE Analysis; Use Case Diagrams and Context Diagrams; BPMN and UML; Capability Models; POPIT; Customer Journey Maps; Cost Benefit Analysis and VMOST. Carlos Pullen-Ferriera is a highly experienced BA and Head of Change Management, Agile coach, author and conference speaker. FURTHER RESOURCES BA BREWS BA Brew 2: The RACI RantBA Brew 19: The BA Tools and Techniques Launch ChatBA Brew 33: BA Skills and How to Develop ThemBOOKS Business Analysis Techniques: 123 Essential Tools for SuccessARTICLES Time For a Skills Stocktake? Customise your Toolkit with the BA Techniques TriageCOURSES BCS Foundation Certificate in Business AnalysisFREE VIDEOS Check out the Free Bitesize Learning Videos in our Learning ZoneFREE COURSES The POPIT™ ModelIntroduction to BPMN 2.0

    27 min
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Our podcast is a chance to tune into our musings on a range of subjects from the use of business analysis tools and techniques to the books we like that are helpful for business change professionals.

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