BA Brew - A Business Analysis Podcast

What is Target Operating Model (TOM) Design, and what role can business analysts play in shaping the future of an organisation?
In this episode of BA Brew, Jonathan Hunsley and Carlos Pullen-Ferreira welcome Joanne Gray-Joseph to discuss the principles and practical challenges of designing target operating models.
From defining the future state of an organisation to considering how people, processes, technology and business capabilities might be aligned, the conversation explores why TOM design requires collaboration across multiple disciplines.
The team also considers how operating models can remain valuable beyond individual transformation projects, and why organisations adopting AI need to understand how technology supports their wider business strategy.
In this episode:
Defining Target Operating Model Design
Understanding current and future operating models
The roles of business analysts, business architects and change professionals
Skills for getting involved in TOM design
Linking operating models to business capabilities and organisational knowledge
The impact of AI on operating model design
Take the next step: discover the Target Operating Model (TOM) Design course from AssistKD.
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How do you build rapport with stakeholders, and why does it matter so much for successful business analysis and service design?
In BA Brew Episode 127, Lisa Hudson, Carlos Pullen-Ferreira and Michelle Little from AssistKD discuss why building rapport goes beyond being friendly or liked. It's about creating trust, communicating openly and developing relationships that help people work together effectively.
Discover practical approaches to stakeholder engagement, including active listening, finding common ground, keeping commitments and rebuilding trust when previous projects have gone wrong.
In this episode:
The difference between rapport and friendliness
Why trust matters in stakeholder relationships
What happens when rapport is missing from projects
How to approach stakeholders who are reluctant to engage
Practical techniques for improving communication
Carlos's RAPPORT mnemonic for building stronger relationships
Whether you're an experienced business analyst, service designer or just starting your career, this episode offers useful insights into one of the most important professional skills.
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Explore our Service Design training: https://www.assistkd.com/Why-AssistKD/business-analysis-training
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#BusinessAnalysis #StakeholderEngagement #BusinessAnalyst #BABrew #ServiceDesign

How do you build a Business Analysis Community of Practice that people actually want to be part of?
Jonathan Hunsley and Carlos Pullen-Ferreira are joined by Mahvish Khurum, Principal Business Analyst at the Home Office, who leads a community of more than 400 BAs.
They discuss how Communities of Practice can build capability, improve consistency, encourage collaboration and support professional development.
Mahvish shares practical lessons from growing and sustaining the Home Office BA community, including why consistency matters, how to create different ways for people to participate, the importance of volunteers and why successful communities need to keep listening to their members.
If you're building or running a Business Analysis or change community, this episode is full of practical ideas you can use.
In this episode: what a Community of Practice is; making the business case; getting people involved; maintaining engagement; creating a regular rhythm; supporting volunteers; measuring success; and keeping the community relevant.

What is the ‘secret stakeholder’ in Business Analysis, and how can organisational culture influence your stakeholders, projects and change initiatives?
In this episode of BA Brew, Jonathan Hunsley and Lisa Hudson are joined by Danny Kalkhoven to explore a stakeholder you won’t find on your power-interest grid: organisational culture.
Culture can influence how people behave, how information is shared, how decisions are made and how your work as a Business Analyst is perceived. But how do you identify and manage something that can be difficult to see or define?
Danny shares practical examples from his own experience, including a carefully planned workshop that failed because the culture of the organisation made open information sharing almost impossible.
They discuss:
✔ What the ‘secret stakeholder’ means for Business Analysts
✔ How organisational culture affects stakeholder management and engagement
✔ How to spot informal networks and hidden influence
✔ Why proven Business Analysis techniques can fail in different cultures
✔ What everyday behaviours can reveal about an organisation
✔ How to adapt your BA approach to different organisational cultures
✔ Why finding an organisational ‘tour guide’ can help you understand how things really work
The conversation builds on the ideas Danny presented at the European Business Analysis Conference 2026.
If you work in Business Analysis, stakeholder management or organisational change, watch the full episode to discover why understanding the culture around your stakeholders can be just as important as identifying the stakeholders themselves.
➡️ Explore more BA Brew episodes: https://www.assistkd.com/learning-zone/ba-brew-podcast
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What is it like to work as a business analyst with a hearing impairment?
In this episode of BA Brew, Kerry is joined by Abi and Mike, who share their personal experiences of hearing impairments and how it has affected their working lives.
For business analysts, meetings, workshops, stakeholder conversations and collaborative sessions are a fundamental part of the job. But hearing impairments can make those situations significantly more challenging.
Abi and Mike discuss:
The different ways hearing impairments can affect people
The unexpected importance of lip reading
Following conversations in busy meetings and workshops
Why background noise can create a “wall of noise”
The additional concentration and fatigue hearing loss can cause
How hearing loss can affect confidence at work
Hearing aids and assistive technology
Using captions, transcription and AI tools
The UK Government's Access to Work scheme
Reasonable adjustments for training and examinations
How colleagues and facilitators can make meetings more accessible
Abi also shares how Access to Work (https://www.gov.uk/access-to-work) helped her obtain assistive technology that sends voices directly to her hearing aids, helping her participate more confidently in collaborative environments.
And their advice isn't only for people experiencing hearing impairments. Mike encourages anyone who can advocate for people with accessibility needs to “step up and support other people.”
Find out more about AssistKD and business analysis: assistkd.com
📩 Have an idea for a future BA Brew? Contact babrew@assistkd.com
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