Future-Proofing the Business Analyst: Skills, Mindset, and Influence in an AI World
Jun 29, 2026 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
The question isn’t whether AI will change how business analysts work.
It already has.
More useful questions are:
- What does a high-value BA look like in an environment where AI handles more of the transactional work?
- What does it take to build toward that intentionally?
IN THIS SESSION
Paula Bell draws on years of BA and consulting experience across financial services, media, manufacturing, and the courts to map what the role actually demands now and in the near future. She’ll help you identify which traditional BA skills remain essential, which need to evolve, and which new capabilities have become baseline expectations — from data literacy and prompt engineering to the judgment and influence no tool can replicate.
This isn’t a session about whether AI is good or bad for the field. It’s a practical look at what skilled BAs are building toward and how to start from exactly where you are.
YOU’LL LEAVE WITH
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A clear view of which traditional BA skills remain essential and which need to evolve to stay effective
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Practical approaches to applying AI tools in requirements analysis, modeling, and documentation
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A stronger foundation in data literacy so you can interpret, question, and validate AI outputs with confidence
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Insight into the mindset and influence skills that position BAs to lead in AI-enabled environments, not just support them
AGENDA
- 6:30-7:00pm CDT - Networking
- 7:00-8:00pm CDT - Session
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Paula Bell has spent 20+ years as a business analyst, consultant, and coach working across financial services, media, manufacturing, and the courts, where the margin for ambiguity is low, and the cost of missed requirements is high. As founder of Paula A Bell Consulting and a CBAP-certified practitioner, she brings both the practitioner’s view and the coach’s lens to what it actually takes to build a high-value BA career through periods of change. Her approach to professional development reflects the same principles she applies as a third-degree black belt in martial arts: disciplined, intentional, and grounded in honest self-assessment.
