Community Updates
Hi there!
The 2024 year is about to end. But that is not a reason for BArszawa to stop doing fantastic events. We have got an incredible pace to finish 2024 on a high note.
Let’s do a quick recap of what has happened since September.
Event: Product Metrics Unveiled: Reality vs. Expectations
The recent event with Dmitry Ladutko (@DimitryLD) proved to be a great deep dive into the world of product metrics, offering insights for product teams looking to move beyond intuition-based decision-making.
Dmitry, drawing from his extensive 5+ years of product management experience, expertly guided attendees through the complex landscape of product metrics. The session tackled fundamental questions that every product team grapples with:
Is that new feature truly worth implementing?
How can we objectively evaluate the success of a product launch?
What metrics should we prioritize beyond gut feelings?
The interactive nature of the session was particularly noteworthy. Attendees were actively involved in:
Challenging their own assumptions about product success metrics
Testing their intuition against real-world data
Participating in discussions about metric selection and interpretation
For those who couldn't attend, the key message was clear: while intuition has its place in product management, robust metrics and data-driven decision-making are essential for sustainable product success.
Here is the presentation along with the homework and some photos from the event.
Event: AI as Game-Changer for Modern Business Analysis
Our valuable members, Olga Stopkina and Yuliya Sakavets, conducted a meetup about AI and its particular role in the current day work of business analysts.
Key Takeaways:
AI is meant to enhance, not replace, BA work:
It's best used for automating routine tasks
This frees up time for strategic thinking
BAs still need their core skills like stakeholder management and domain expertise
Security and ethics are crucial:
Always verify AI outputs
Be aware of data privacy concerns
Stay informed about AI regulations
Practical tool selection:
Different AI models have different strengths
Free versions often have useful capabilities
It's important to choose the right tool for specific tasks
The overall message was optimistic but practical: AI is a powerful tool that can enhance BA work when used thoughtfully and ethically.
Here are the materials and photos. Check them out!
Announcement: New Year Party
On December 29, there will be an informal offline event to wrap up the past year, 2024, and welcome the upcoming year, 2025.
We will revisit exciting memories of our accomplishments and play fun games with many other activities.
You can find more information and a registration link in our Telegram chat.
Useful Materials
[RUS] It is quite an old (but still gold) video from a great speaker and BA sensei Denys Gobov, who shares the practices of problem definition and maintaining a knowledge base for an IT project.
[RUS] A detailed guide about basic definitions of software requirements from Herman Shestserau. It is a good material for starters.
[ENG] The Ultimate Design Systems Resources List: if you are involved in UX activities, you will likely deal with a specific design system. This resource is an excellent access point for design system knowledge, from development to maintenance, tooling, etc.
[ENG] You must know such a person as Dr. Alistair Cockburn, who is a co-father of the Agile Manifesto and the author of the Use Case concept. He recently dropped a new book, “Unifying User Stories, Use Cases, Story Maps: The Power of Verbs,” Nuno Santos summarized his learnings in this article. After reading it, you probably know what to buy for yourself as a Christmas gift.
[ENG] Another giant in the software industry, Karl Wiegers, shares a retrospective on his professional path and journey to a consultancy. It's fascinating reading, but it is under the paywall.
[ENG] The new chapters of the “Requirements & API” series cover API design and several Interface Definition Languages (IDL).
[ENG] Please stop creating Jira tickets for the sake of “future tasks.” Unless the number of created tickets measures your efficiency. Here is a reason why you must stop that nonsense.
Coda
Approximately one year ago, we came up with the idea of using written media in English to promote our community. After some highs and lows, the Org Team and the community members delivered our experience and knowledge to a broader audience.
We did our best to educate and entertain you, and we are grateful for that opportunity. We don’t know what the future holds, but we are sure the Barszawa community will strive to evolve.
Thank you for being with the BArszawa blog!
At the end, we want to attach some feedback from a survey we did among our members:
The blog edition contributors: