2 Speakers
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Stakeholders Hate Questions—Here’s Why and How to Fix It
with Pamela Paterson -
Job Search as a Value Stream
with Kiranpreet Kuar
Event Time & Location
- Thursday, Oct 22, 2026, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm PCT
- Zoom details will be provided upon registration and again prior to the event to the registrants.
- Register today: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/stakeholders-hate-questionsheres-why-and-how-to-fix-it-tickets-2002102156445?
Cost
- Free for IIBA Members
- $10 for non-members
Presentation 1: Job Search as a Value Stream
What if your job search isn’t broken… but your process is leaking?
As Business Analysts, we spend our careers analyzing processes, finding bottlenecks, and fixing value leaks. But when it comes to our own job search, we often do the opposite.
- We update the CV.
- We apply for another job.
- We tweak LinkedIn.
- We practice interview questions.
- We try another AI prompt.
In this 30-minute teaser session, Kiran invites you to look at job searching through a BA lens. Rather than viewing it as a collection of disconnected activities, you’ll explore it as an end-to-end process.
Together, we'll map what happens from the moment a hiring need is triggered through to the point where a candidate progresses through the recruitment journey.
More importantly, we'll examine:
- Where are the leaks in the process?
- Where are candidates losing visibility?
- Where might we be putting effort in the wrong place?
Kiran will also demonstrate how AI can help automate parts of the job search, particularly the repetitive work involved in finding relevant opportunities.
The goal isn’t to automate your career. It’s to use AI to take repetitive work out of the process so you can spend more time on what requires judgement, context, relationships, and human connection.
This session is the beginning of a broader conversation around the BA Job Search Playbook.
About the Speaker
Kiranpreet Kuar began her career in software development before discovering her professional home in business analysis. Over nearly 20 years, she has built a diverse career across India, the UK, and Australia, working across banking, auto finance, insurance, telecom, and financial crime.
This breadth gives her a practical, cross-industry perspective on how Business Analysts create real impact in complex programs.
An active IIBA member since 2013, Kiran is deeply committed to giving back to the BA community. She facilitates BABOK and Product Ownership Analysis study groups and has supported over 60 Business Analysts in strengthening their skills and advancing their careers.
She regularly shares insights on LinkedIn across business analysis, leadership, and the evolving role of BAs in a fast-changing world, grounded in a simple belief: grow together, master the basics, and shape the future.
Kiran is particularly passionate about bringing the BA role back to its core: cutting through title noise to focus on what truly matters—enabling clarity, driving outcomes, and delivering value.
Presentation 2: Stakeholders Hate Questions—Here’s Why and How to Fix It
“The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their proper name.” — Confucius
In elicitation, how you ask a stakeholder a question can be just as important as what you ask.
A poorly framed request can trigger resistance, create misalignment, or lead to unintended scope expansion. A well-structured request, on the other hand, can foster clarity, encourage productive dialogue, and support better decisions.
This session explores the art of language sequencing and how the way we structure questions and requests can influence stakeholder conversations and information flow.
You’ll learn how to craft questions that facilitate information flow, identify and correct problematic phrasing, and apply structured language patterns to improve stakeholder elicitation.
Key Takeaways:
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Recognize how the sequencing and framing of questions can influence stakeholder responses, resistance, and information flow.
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Identify and correct problematic question phrasing that can create confusion, defensiveness, misalignment, or unintended scope expansion.
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Apply structured language patterns to craft stakeholder questions and requests that promote clarity, productive dialogue, and collaboration.
Pamela Paterson, MS, CBAP, PMP, is a speaker, best-selling author, and senior tech consultant specializing in business systems analysis and project management. With a strong background in systems engineering and experience working with over 100 organizations, Pamela has delivered workshops, webinars, and presentations worldwide and authored 10 books, including two international best-sellers. Pamela has also taught project management for over ten years in Toronto, Canada. In 2023, 2024, and 2025 she stands out as one of the most active speakers on Sessionize.
Visit our chapter website for membership details: https://vancouver.iiba.org/chapter-membership
Special thanks to our sponsors!
Diamond Sponsors
UBC Sauder School of Business, Professional Growth
Platinum Sponsor
Simon Fraser University Continuing Studies
Corporate Sponsor
Supporting Sponsor
About the IIBA Vancouver Chapter
The Vancouver Chapter of the IIBA provides a variety of development and networking opportunities related to Business Analysis and is planning a variety of events through the course of the year.