Hello there! I have been asked numerous times where I get the content for my BA Digest. Which sources and people from the domain do I follow, what do I read to improve my knowledge of business analysis, etc? Usually, a couple of names popped into my mind; I promised to give more later and kept forgetting. Finally, at the start of this year, I had a vacation and time to sit and think. As a result, I created this article to collect all the business analysis resources to follow, tuned to 2024.
How to use this guide on business analysis resources
I was impressed by how much information there is about business analysis. Five years ago, just a few people had been creating public content on business analysis. Now, it’s a vast community out there! Based on the dynamics of new faces, we will see even more significant growth of thought leadership in business analysis knowledge. That is why I had to invent a categorization, as the content types, focus, and messages vary. They produce different curious results depending on why people create content and what they try to achieve.
There are two categories that I excluded from the list. First, completely unalive resources with a minimal amount of information. They had 2-3 articles that had not been updated for a few years. I hope that they get their inspiration back someday, then I will add them with an update. The second category is resources of IT companies with business analysis communities among their other technological departments. I am rarely satisfied with the depth of materials from such resources. Unfortunately, about 90% of their materials are created to promote business. This is not something I am against; it is just the level of the articles is usually mediocre. As this is a purely professional guide, I want to be sure that my recommendations are top-notch. But who knows, I may also share one of these.
Anyway, welcome to the list of all the business analysis resources you want to follow in 2024 and forever after. Enjoy!
Business analysis resources to follow in 2024
All-in-one
This category represents resources that combine all kinds of content. It could be articles, webinars, podcasts, hosting conferences – etc. It is more than just one kind of content, or the same, but for different target audiences or various forms. But enough of the words, dig in!
BA Times
My way into business analysis started with this source of information. It has all you need: articles, a collection of webinars, templates, a bookstore, and other resources. The company managing this business analysis resource is focused on creating communities and producing various tech conferences. They have a bunch of other resources, like PM Times. BA Times is also behind one of the biggest business analysis conferences hosted offline in the USA. They had a hybrid event last December, though.
As for BA Times, I appreciated the articles they provided ten years ago. At the time, they invited many famous BAs to write for them. But the content became a little off, less practical, and more philosophical for the last couple of years. The blog has mostly stayed the same over the past few years. It seems to have the same course as when I found it. For now, I rarely find something for my digest here. But I still check every month as good stuff appears as well.
Business Analyst Mentor
This might be an oversimplification, but this website is a remarkable landing page. It allows learning about various education providers and their courses and certifications, knowing which books to read, etc. And, of course, there are many articles, templates, and other free stuff as well. This initiative started in 2018 and is a great place to search for content. It is an excellent guide that is updated regularly. You will find a few original articles here, though, as the creator mainly refers to partnered education providers and their materials.
IIBA
- Business Analysis Digest. Yes, this is true – IIBA does their own BA Digest in a fancy way. They pull RSS feeds from various websites and show articles as cards redirecting to the original post. This digest contains business analysis materials and articles about big data, business process management, business intelligence, and other knowledge areas. Many of the sources in this guide are connected to BAD, so it is an excellent place to catch new content.
- BAM! is a quarterly magazine exclusive to paid members of IIBA. It contains the most important events, articles, reports, etc. It includes the juiciest for the past quarter and what’s on the horizon for the next one.
- Analyst Catalyst. Wanna be listed as an author on the IIBA website? This is the right place to do so—basically, a curated journal.
- IIBA Podcasts. Sells as it sounds. Exciting topics, guests, materials from IIBA themselves – everything you wanted from business analysis podcasts.
- Webinars. There is a bunch of free stuff, and there are member-exclusive events. All things considered, I’d suggest having a member subscription for at least a year to check what they have. It’s impressive for the money.
Modern Analyst
For me, Modern Analyst calls the same warm feelings as BA Times. They are not as fancy as modern bloggers, but they still have it. Many people create original content for Modern Analyst; there are many interesting materials in the collection. Also, they have a BA-specific humor section, which is quite fun. BTW, Modern Analyst is the only blog doing such a thing among every item in this guide. The most valuable thing from Modern Analyst is their collection of on-demand webinars. This is an excellent place, along with IIBA webinars, to get your PDUs and CDUs.
Passionate Business Analyst
Closing this section is the business analysis abode of your humble author. In 2019, I started a column in a Ukrainian web journal. I filled a niche – the absence of Business Analysis Digest (BA Digest) in a line of technological digests. In 2022, life gave me a huge kick, which also had a positive side – I finally released my pet project, using which you are reading this guide right now. Since then, my repertoire has grown and keeps doing so, and soon; I will need a team to fulfill all of my ideas. Anyway, this is what I do for my subscribers.
BA Digest
This is a distilled collection of business analysis articles, webinars, podcasts, and other materials, which I create by reviewing about 1000 pieces of information monthly. It might sound like a lot… And it is! I am lucky that I came up with a system that helps me dig. It also takes a little pinch of craziness and a lot of passion for business analysis. Which, as you now know, was the inspiration for the blog name and is my moving force. Anyway, this product is unique in form and contains a collection of articles and a brief review for each. You may check all the issues of the business analysis digest here.
Articles
I write about many different things in business analysis. For example, last year, I was preparing my CBAP (finally, lol) and took a goal of writing an article per each definition from the BABOK® Glossary. Obviously, It was too ambitious, but I produced quite a set of articles containing theory and my experience in working with those things. I plan on keeping going, by the way. You may check what’s already there here.
What else
I do a lot of media partnerships, promoting various conferences and events free of charge. It is my way of sharing awareness about education events. What I do not share, at least for the time being, is information about the education provider’s courses. I want to change it one day when I can test them before recommending them as a participant or teacher.
There is a plan for many other stuff – podcasts, webinars, maybe writing a book one day. I am very passionate about this profession and enjoy moving it forward. That is why I am open to ideas and collaboration! If you have any questions, contact me through social networks, and let’s talk about what you want to see, read, hear, or do together!
AI-generated articles by LinkedIn Collaborative Articles
This year, I opened myself to AI-generated content about business analysis. Let’s speak the truth – it is not suitable for now; AI is not a content creator yet. What’s precious is that there are comments from many business analysis experts. You may find quite a lot of interesting ideas there. But you need to dig a lot.
Solo bloggers
These are just great people, awesome business analysts, producing great stuff, mostly in one category at a time. Subscribe and enjoy!
- Easy BA. I am proud to have known this person as a colleague who kinda inspired me for a few things. I hesitated about where to put this blog, as the author does things occasionally, rather sporadically; I’d say that this category feels right for now. Anyway, you should definitely check it out!
- The BA Girl. It’s a gem that popped right at the end of 2023. I am quite curious about what will happen here. I hope to see much more content!
- The IT BA. This curious business analysis resource is edited by a BA expert with many years of experience. Many thought on things, some practical stuff. Glancing at what’s boiling in the mind of a professional is always interesting and might be helpful for you as well.
- Tyner Blain. More about the business side of analysis, many curious thoughts.
Business analysis resources from education providers
This is a tricky category, as I approach anything commercial with suspicion regarding their free expert materials. It does not mean that if someone makes money with business analysis – it is something terrible. On the contrary, it is likely great if many people pay for the service. But anyway, for me, it is a bit of “free cheese” sometimes, as there is usually digging involved to find a practical thing in a bunch of promotion-aimed materials. Fortunately, most resources here stay balanced, so they are on the list.
I will not do a full review of each one but will add the names of people behind some of the projects; if there is one – it is a mark of quality. You can use it as a benchmark, by the way: if you do not know most of the names, there is much for you to learn, and I am happy for you! If you know none but are a senior, I am confused, and you should be. But who knows, maybe that’s just me, my point of view, and my favorites. I will let you decide. Anyway, here we go.
Meet the providers
| Name | Renowned Associates | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Adaptive US | LN Mishra | These are quite helpful free materials from what I had an opportunity to read. |
| Analysts Corner | Igor Arkhipov | —————— |
| Assist KD | Debra Paul | I have very warm feelings toward Debra Paul’s books, so I have quite a credit of trust towards these providers, with her being Managing Director there. |
| B2T Training | E-journal by IREB, an organization that focuses on requirements engineering perspective of business analysis | —————— |
| BA Blocks | ————— | —————— |
| BA-Squared | Angela Wick | One of the most popular education providers in the USA. Long history, mountains of expertise. |
| BCS blog | Debra Paul Adrian Reed Christina Lovelock Lynda Girvan David Beckham (not that one) | If IIBA is an American-Canadian school of business analysis, this is a UK-European approach – at least, I call and see them this way. They have different models of excellence, but both are great. |
| Bridging the gap | Laura Brandenburg | 53 Tips For Discovering All the Requirements is still one of the best articles I have ever read. |
| Business Analysis Experts | ————— | —————— |
| Business Analysis School | ————— | —————— |
| IREB ER Magazine | ————— | E-journal by IREB, an organization that focuses on requirements engineering perspective of business analysis |
| Skilled Business Analysts | ————— | —————— |
| The BA Guide | Jeremy Aschenbrenner | —————— |
| The Brazillian BA | Fabrício Laguna | —————— |
| Tech Canvass | ————— | —————— |
| Watermark Learning | ————— | Mostly known for mock-up tests for IIBA certifications |
| Why-Change | Yulia Kosarenko | Truly one of my personal favorites. There is always a lot of free content here, which is very practical and detailed. |
Podcasts
These authors prefer to create their content in audio/video format.
- Angelo the BA or Meta Business Analyst. You will find new episodes monthly.
- Inside Business Analysis. It’s quite a fresh podcast, and I am eager to see where it goes!
County-specific business analysis resources
These business analysis resources to follow in 2024 belong to education providers, consultants, bloggers, etc., and are focused on specific markets or countries. These resources could have gone to other categories as they do various types of content. Still, their inclination leaves a print in the materials, which may be very specific and impractical to the broadest audience. But they are still good! Worth noting is that some of the articles here are in a local language; others are in English (which is also a local language for some). Auto-translation for these resources is worth it, although.
| Country | Name | Content |
|---|---|---|
| Germany | Business Analyse | Articles |
| France | Best of Business Analysis | Articles Podcast Videos Templates |
| New Zealand | The Better Business Analysis Institute | Articles Podcast |
| Vietnam | Hoang Phan Blog | Articles Telegram channel |
| United Kingdom | Be Positive | Articles |
| United Kingdom | Blackmetric Business Solutions and Adrian Reed’s Blog | Articles BA Digest BA Hub Videos Podcast Webinars |
| United Kingdom | Better Business Analysis | Articles |
| United Kingdom | Herd Consulting | Articles Webinars |
| United Kingdom | The Digital Business Analyst | Articles |
| United Kingdom | The Optimistic BA | Articles |
| United Kingdom | The Samurai Business Analyst | Articles |
| Ukraine | Art of Business Analysis | Articles |
Afterword
Finishing this article brought me many positive emotions, truth be told. Not only will I finally be able to share a link when someone asks me, “Do you know good business analysis resources to read from,” but also how many great authors are out there. What’s even more pleasant for me is that over the last year, I met most of them in person or online, having an opportunity to learn from them and find out how awesome they are!
This thought empowered me so much that I will be doing a whole separate article not about resources but the people behind them, which you have to know about! But for now, that is it. I hope you can get through tons of links and find your perfect spot in defining which business analysis resources to follow in 2024. Good luck, and I hope to see you among other fellow followers to get even more helpful content!
Is that your first visit to Passionate BA?
If you have just started reading my blog, I must indicate that you can find many other helpful materials on a blog page. You will find my business analysis digest, my articles, and more! Enjoy!