A few months ago, when we released version 2.0 of the BABOK® Guide, we told you that IIBA was preparing to launch a greatly enhanced online community for our members. I’m happy to tell you that it’s almost ready. In fact, as I write this, we have finished integrating it with our membership database and are beta-testing it with a number of our volunteers. We anticipate a launch to the entire IIBA membership within a few weeks.
So, what is the IIBA Community Network? It’s an online platform to allow business analysis professionals to share their experiences, ideas, and templates with one another. It’s a resource that will help our members, chapters and volunteers to communicate more effectively with one another and with IIBA.
It includes a long list of features, such as:
Personal Member Pages
- A significantly enhanced member profile to replace our existing membership directory. Unlike the existing system, you can decide whether to share your contact information with other IIBA members. You can include a photo of yourself, a biography, and even tag your profile with your most important skills and knowledge. You can contact other members through the system as well—however, even if you choose to allow other members to contact you, your email can be kept confidential.
- Every member can also have a personal blog, and comment on other member’s blogs.
- You can search for members based on their skills, location, or other information.
Groups
Groups can be created on the site to discuss specific topics of interest, for individual chapters, to discuss specific industries, or anything else. While we will have a number of groups set up at launch, members are also able to create their own groups to discuss topics we haven’t considered. This allows the community to evolve to fit your needs.
Each group gets its own dedicated wiki, which can be modified and built on by its members. In addition to that, groups also have their own file library which they can use to store documents, presentations, or other files of interest to group members. Groups also have their own dedicated email list server, so group members can email one another without having to know the email address of every group member (and yes, we do have more conventional forums as well for people who prefer those). Finally, groups can have their own blog—this is mostly intended for groups like the SLT, Chapter Council, or individual chapters, so that they can communicate to the wider membership—but other groups can allow moderators, or even all members to contribute to their blogs.
Finally, the settings on all of these things are configurable. Some groups may choose to moderate their email list and library submissions, while others prefer a more wide-open conversation. You can set up different groups with different permissions and structures, depending on what’s appropriate—so we have groups for volunteers to discuss IIBA business as well as groups to talk about specific industries or methodologies.
Event Calendar
The site also comes with a proper event calendar so that we can keep everyone updated on events of interest to the BA community, such as webinars, chapter meetings, and conventions. We’ll be making an effort to capture as many of these as possible so that you know what’s available out there, but as with everything else you can add events yourself as well. Events are also searchable, so you can look specifically for webinars or chapter events in your area. Event locations are even shown on Google Maps!
Forums
The forums represent a major upgrade in capability from the ones on our current site. They now support WYSIWYG editing, allow people to develop reputations, include polls, and more. You can also subscribe to a forum via an RSS feed so that you know when a conversation has been updated.
Library
Last, but certainly not least, the community site has a searchable library. The Library can contain files, links to external sites, tips and stories, and book reviews, among other things. Each entry in the library is tagged so that you can easily find library entries that are relevant. Files in group libraries can be shared with the general library or kept private to the group. Each library entry allows for members to provide feedback on its quality and rate the value of the information
The most important point is that anyone can submit files to the library. We would like to encourage you to submit your templates, white papers, and anything else you see of value to the library in order to make it a useful resource for the BA community.
So, that’s what’s coming soon. We know that there are many BA sites out there today with a great deal of useful content, but we also believe that the IIBA Community Network facilitates knowledge-sharing that makes it unique. It allows members to talk to one another, rather than requiring the conversation to be directed by IIBA.
We do have open volunteer positions if you’re interested in helping out as a moderator or if you want to help develop and sustain a group discussing a particular topic or industry. If you are interested, please check out the volunteer pages on the IIBA website or contact community@theiiba.org. And keep your eyes open for the formal launch soon!
Kevin Brennan, CBAP
VP, Professional Development
