As I prepare to bid farewell to Herd Consulting, I wanted to share a parting gift with you all – my reflections on the incredible experience I had at the IRM UK Business Analysis Conference Europe 2024! This event was not only a professional milestone for me but also a fitting conclusion to my journey with Herd. From being a BAOTY finalist, to presenting for the first time and representing Herd as a sponsor, this conference encapsulated the growth and opportunities I’ve been fortunate enough to experience.

The Business Analysis Conference took place on 16-18 September in London and was the 16th annual conference, bringing together Business Analysts from across the world for 3 days of learning & networking!

Section 1: Conference overview
We arrived at the conference at the end of the 1^st day while the workshops were taking place in order to get the Herd stand set up for the following day. It was very well organised and we were greeted by the friendly IRM UK staff, who sorted me out with my lanyard & name badge (I had a ‘rosette’ for BA of the Year finalist this year!) and ‘swag bag’. The food was 5 star as always. There were stands from AssistKD, BCS, NU concept solutions, YBA, National Migraine Centre, IRM UK, Visual Jam, IIBA UK & Blackmetric with some excellent merchandise available, competitions, friendly people and heaps of information and advice on hand. The most memorable part of the conference is the people and the buzz you get from having so many passionate BAs in one room!

There was representation from all over the world!  4 keynote presentations, 85 sessions across 6 tracks, 550 attendees

Some notable keynote speakers & sessions that stood out were Maggie Alphonsi MBE (MBE!) making us feel comfortable with being uncomfortable, Fabricio Laguna who had us all up dancing (yes there is a BA dance!) and gave us an insight into what the future of business analysis will look like, Karen Newnham up to her usual mischief (mischief management, how to spot it and some useful tools to address it), Mai Cooper who gave a refreshing talk on emotional intelligence and its importance and how AI can’t replace it, Paddy & Grant providing the entertainment as always with a fight of virtual vs in person collaboration (with some useful benefits of both), and John Wisner & Claire Chaundy using the BA toolkit (force field analysis, fishbone, etc.) to assess what they enjoy about being a BA.

Section 2: Being a BAOTY finalist
I wanted to share my journey of becoming a finalist and the process involved. The process started months ago when first applied back in June. It’s self-referral which can be off putting but I received lots of encouragement from my colleagues and went for it. It’s actually a really good exercise as it makes you reflect on the last 12 months and everything you have achieved, and it made me realise what a transformational 12 months I have had! I was overjoyed when I found out I had made it as a finalist and was truly honoured to have made it that far. When I saw there were 7 other finalists and the superstar line up, I was honoured to be sharing this experience with such inspirational and dedicated BAs! We connected and sent messages of support ahead of the conference and when we arrived on the Tuesday morning it was lovely to meet them all in person, share hugs and some selfies! We had reserved seating at the front and it was lovely to hear Debra Paul talk about the significance of the award and the process the judges took, and to see & hear their feedback on all the finalists. Then came the nerve-wracking announcement from Maggie, who announced Kay Hardy as the BAOTY 2024. Truly deserved for all her hard work and dedication to the profession and Young Business Analyst network. Well done Kay! All the runner up finalists received a Parker pen with an inscription as a memento of this memorable occasion (and we also all received a virtual badge acknowledging us as finalists). 

Section 3: Presenting for the first time
It was my first time speaking at the conference and I was lucky enough to share this experience in collaboration with our client from the University of Cambridge, Carys Hayler, to deliver presentation on Chaos to Clarity: Building a BA Service Definition, which was to share our journey of creating and implementing a BA service definition for the UIS BA team at UoC. The meaning behind the title was that one of the key challenges the BA profession faces is the lack of understanding that exists around the BA role & the value BAs can provide, which can cause chaos! One way of providing some clarity is producing a BA service definition which clearly articulates the BA service offerings, the value proposition and how this aligns to project outcomes and enforces the service mindset.

There was a lot of preparation put into preparing the presentation, meeting with our track leads Jonathan Hunsley (AssistKD) & Pip Hall (last year’s BA of the year!), practice sessions, lots of iterations, and continually adding to and developing our content as our journey progressed. Some challenges were that Carys and myself live in opposite ends of the country so we could only practise virtually, and it was summer holiday season so we had to navigate around our holidays! Delivering it as a duo meant we had to nail our handovers and agree who was delivering which slides.

I thought I would be really nervous but wasn’t and actually enjoyed it. It was nice to see some friendly smiley faces in the audience, and the engagement, questions and feedback received at the end was re-assuring that we got our message across and that people were able to take something away from it. Already thinking about ideas for what I can speak about next year!

Section 4: Herd’s sponsorship & stand
Herd Consulting sponsored the event for the first time ever, with our stand being very popular. We certainly made our presence known at the conference – quite literally, with our bold yellow branding and our unmistakable elephant, we were the ‘elephant in the room’ that no one could miss! Our exhibit stand was a hive of activity, drawing in attendees with its vibrant colours, our Rockstar BA competition, our amazing merchandise of stickers, plectrums, and magnets, as well as a Herd notebook, and of course our very own rockstar BA team members (I even spotted Christina signing one of her books)! We ran a Rockstar BA photo competition where attendees could use our fun props and selfie frame to strike a pose and post to our socials, with the winners bagging themselves some Amazon vouchers – well done to Iurii Gorman.

Herd x AssistKD Partnership Announcement – to add to the ‘buzz’ at this year’s conference, Herd & AssistKD also announced a new business partnership, having collaborated informally for several years. The partnership is in response to the many and complex challenges and opportunities facing BA practices during this time of accelerated growth and change, from setting up user-centred digital services to navigating changing markets – very exciting so watch this space!

Section 5: Key takeaways & reflections
If I were to summarise my key insights & learnings from the conference, I would say that AI was prominent on the agenda in the keynote sessions and there was a whole track dedicated to it. Discussions included the future roles & responsibilities of BAs in an AI augmented world & strategies for staying relevant amidst technological advancements. It highlighted the transformative impact of AI on business analysis but that BAs and business analysis are still very much needed. 

Several sessions focused on effective collaboration and strategic decision making, offering techniques for effective communication and emphasising the importance of teamwork in successful business analysis, and presenters shared methods for making informed decisions that align with business goals.

Leadership and personal development, and career development and job crafting were also prominent. Topics included transitioning into leadership roles, improving presentation and workshop skills, and ‘how not to be the worst BA ever’!

But the key part of the conference for me has always been the people – it provides so many opportunities for networking, whether that be sitting next to someone new during a session and sharing insights, catching up over a coffee & re-connecting with someone you already know, or making new connections and putting names to faces during the networking drinks reception (and after party) and building professional relationships and your wider network.

Experiencing the European Business Analysis conference has hugely impacted my professional & personal growth. It was after the first conference I attended that I connected with Jamie Toyne & Herd which ultimately led to me joining Herd and becoming a consultant, and also it sparked my enthusiasm for being part of and contributing to the wider BA community, which has led to me joining the IIBA UK North Chapter as a volunteer following last year’s conference and then founding the first Cumbrian BA Network.

It offers valuable insights, knowledge and practical skills for business analysts at all levels and I would definitely recommend you to attend in future and connect with the BA community in general.

Conclusion
Reflecting on my experience at the conference, I am filled with a sense of accomplishment and gratitude. Being a BAOTY finalist and presenting for the first time were significant milestones in my career, and I couldn’t have achieved them without the support of my colleagues and fellow business analyst supporters!

The conference isn’t just about learning and networking, it is about being part of a vibrant community that is helping shape the future of business analysis.

I’m sad to announce that I recently left Herd at the end of September to start a new job and journey. I’m very grateful for all the opportunities that Jamie and the team have provided, and I couldn’t have achieved any of these milestones without the support of my colleagues at Herd. As I prepare to embark on a new journey, I want to thank Herd Consulting for the invaluable experiences and growth I’ve gained during my time with them.

Thank you for reading and I look forward to seeing you at future events!

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🖊️ Authored by: Sinead Torley, (former) Principal Consultant at Herd Consulting

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