Brainy Glue Making Change Stick, a book by Ian Richards and Filip Hendrickx brings a fresh and unique perspective on the process of business analysis, innovation, and change.
Drawing from their vast experience in the industry, the authors deliver a brand-new approach to explaining various business analysis techniques and demonstrating how they work in a real-life corporate environment.
The result is a very engaging and easy-to-read story that seamlessly incorporates some of the most important business analysis postulates.
To achieve this, Ian Richards and Filip Hendrickx combined their views on the business analysis methods and change techniques with drama, humour, and a little bit of romance, making the book at the same time an entertaining read and valuable teaching tool.
Table of Contents
Brainy Glue Book Background
As the authors themselves noted, most business analysts have a ton of books from the field on their shelves. However, while they often turn to them for advice, they rarely read them in their entirety. Most books on business analysts are conceived as textbooks or manuals, with readers picking particular chapters to find the information they need.
On the other hand, Brainy Glue is meant to be read from cover to cover, and most readers do exactly that. To make sure the audience remains glued to the book, Richards and Hendrickx created Abbie Townsend and a slew of other characters who, each on their own level, implement business analysis methods or experience the effect of change and innovation in their environment.
Written in conversation language, the book gives space to each character to demonstrate their modern “hard” business analysis techniques, but also show off soft “street” skills. By doing so, the story provides a thorough explanation of what it is that business analyst actually does.
By gradually introducing various business analysis elements into their book. the authors explain how change and innovation actually occur in a corporate environment.
According to the authors, change and innovation are cornerstones of business analysis, and, rather than observing the process as a whole, they show how those changes happen ins small, incremental steps, helping the reader learn along the way.
When creating the book, Ian Richards and Filip Hendrickx both leaned heavily on their actual professional and life experience. Many of the real-life discussions from the offices of business analysts have been turned into different storylines of Brainy Glue.
Furthermore, the authors ingrained some of their own past professional endeavours and personal traits into their characters. For example, Abbie has previous experiences of working in the military and often leans on it to solve BA problems, just like Ian Richards actually does. Another part of Richards’ past career, working on a BA project for the prison escort business, is added to David’s fictional career and he uses it to explain the DILO technique to Abbie.
Interview with the Brainy Glue Authors – Credit Young Business Analysts (YBA)
The following is an interview with the authors conducted by “Young Business Analysts YBA”.
You find out more about Young Analyst YBA 
and how they are helping to create a free space for young business analysts to connect through knowledge sharing and inspiration to achieve their goals.
Brainy Glue -Techniques Covered in the Book
Besides narrative methods, Brainy Glue also emphasises key takeaways and uses engaging illustrations, graphics, and diagrams to better explain certain business analysis tools, techniques, and processes, helping the reader get a clearer picture of what those actually mean and how they function.
Business analysis techniques that got this treatment in the book include:
- 5 Whys
- Benefits Map
- Brainstorming / Reversal / Brainwriting / SCAMPER
- Business Case & Business Case Canvas
- Day in the Life Of
- Documentation Analysis
- Dot Voting
- Investor’s Pitch
- Mind Mapping
- Observation & Shadowing
- Operating Models & Operating Model Canvas
- PESTLE
- Power / Interest Grid
- Process Modelling
- Questionnaire
- Root Cause Analysis / Ishikawa or Fishbone Diagram
- Sailboat Retrospective
- SARAH Model
- SMART Objectives
- Solution Comparison and Recommendation
- Stakeholder Analysis
- Story Map
- Validation Plan
- Value Chain
- Vision & Mission Statement
- Work Breakdown Structure
My 5 Takeaway Quotes from Brainy Glue
Working on something that is important to people, with clear, engaging and also personal goals, increases the chance of success.
Remember to take the positives from every experience and keep things in perspective.
BAs should look at their work through a change lens and consider how impacted people will receive the change when it is rolled out.
There is a difference between fake and genuine customer experience. Genuine customer experience can only be delivered by staff that really care and take action to make a difference.
It’s easy to over-prepare when working in uncertainty, potentially wasting time and effort. Try to ensure that you get the balance right between preparation and action.
Brainy Glue Author Bios
Ian Richards Bio
With almost 20 years of business analysis experience, Ian Richards is among the most respected BA practitioners and thought leaders in the united kingdom.
Ian is a true ambassador of business analysis worldwide and often works with other authors and thought leaders to influence the industry’s future.
Filip Hendrickx Bio
With a 10-year background in business analysis and another 10 in software engineering and research, Filip Hendrickx is one of the leading european minds when it comes to bridging the gap between BA and innovation.
My Book Review Summary of Brainy Glue
This is an excellent book that every business analyst should have in their library. Not all professions have the benefit of a book that has been written especially for them to aid their development and also provide realistic business scenarios where business analysis techniques are explained and illustrated with examples as the fictional story unfolds in an engaging story narrative.
The illustrations within the book are great and the key takeaways are included within each of the chapters. Whether you are a beginner business analyst or someone who has been in the profession for years – I’m sure there are a few techniques that you can take away from the book and investigate and learn further to use on your projects.
Having a range and awareness of business analysis techniques and the context of when to use – is a great asset to have. I recommend purchasing the book and you will not be disappointed.
You can find out more about Brainy Glue: Making Change Stick, a book by Ian Richards and Filip Hendrickx from the official website and get a free business analyst pdf free download sample chapters of the book.
You can buy the book from amazon.