Brief History of the IIBA in New Zealand

To understand how we started and survived to this day we have following an excerpt from the June 2008 Chapter Spotlight published by the governing body of the IIBA, the spotlight being New Zealand.

This article was published by Shirley Sartin, CBAP, PMP, IIBA Chapter Council Chair, with contributions from Paul Ramsay former President of IIBA New Zealand Chapter. When asked what makes the New Zealand chapter a success, Paul Ramsay said, “Our biggest success is the people who make it happen: our Board, our sponsors, our speakers, our members and our supporters.  These are people who have freely given of their time and talents to ensure the Chapter's success.” Further, Paul explained that although he attributes luck to achieving success, he points out, "luck is where preparation and opportunity meet - and we have been suitably prepared to take advantage of the opportunities available to us.”

As the first international IIBA Chapter outside of North America, the Chapter was launched in Wellington on May 4, 2006, with over 140 attendees. The chapter became officially chartered on November 5, 2006.  Today New Zealand boasts nearly 500 IIBA members. That’s quite an accomplishment for a small country containing just over 4 million people.

The Chapter’s hard work and efforts have resulted in the following lessons learned:

• Plan for the long-term viability of the Chapter to ensure that it can be sustained.
• Provide good, regular, and consistent communication with members and prospective members. This is vital if chapter events are to be well-supported. As an example, New Zealand’s communication resulted in over 80 attendees at their last Wellington event.
• Identify and deliver topical content of interest to members and prospective members.
• Find sponsors committed to the IIBA and to the Business Analysis profession. New Zealand feels they are very fortunate to have a growing team of sponsors who have provided support from the beginning, both financially and in-kind, and also by providing exceptional speakers.

For the future, New Zealand expects the IIBA and the CBAP designation to experience increased recognition and will be the credentials of choice – nationally and internationally where no self-respecting Business Analyst would be without them. In closing, Paul Ramsay would like to acknowledge and thank all the volunteers throughout the IIBA organization. He knows that, “it is easy to forget that almost every volunteer has other work to do (whether it is paid or otherwise), and their involvement has been key to the success of the IIBA to date. That we have an international organisation with a recognised body of knowledge and accompanying certification programme within just five years is simply incredible.”