Case Study - Speaker at Festival of Business Analysis 2025

Overview

In October 2025, Christina Arcane took the stage at the 2025 IIBA Skills Development Group Festival of Business Analysis (FoBA25) - a flagship professional development event for business analysts and digital professionals across Australia and New Zealand, themed Rethink. Reconnect. Revolutionise.

FoBA25 brought together hundreds of industry practitioners through a hybrid program that included a week of online learning followed by in-person events in major cities including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Auckland and Wellington.

The session, "From Requirements Gatherer to Strategic Powerhouse: How to Be More Effective With Your Stakeholders," focused on one of the most vital - yet often overlooked - components of modern business practice: power skills.

Power Skills in an AI-Enabled World

Power skills are the human-centric competencies that empower professionals to thrive in today's fast-changing, tech-enabled workplaces. At FoBA25, Christina unpacked why these skills remain essential - especially in an era where AI and automation are reshaping workflows and role expectations.

The session challenged a common misconception: that technical capabilities and AI tools can replace the fundamentally human aspects of professional work. Instead, it positioned power skills as the differentiator that enables professionals to leverage technology strategically, build trust, and drive meaningful outcomes.

Key Highlights

The presentation covered several critical themes:

• Why power skills matter now: With the rapid rise of AI as a toolset that amplifies human capability, it's the uniquely human skills - communication, empathy, negotiation, and relationship building - that create real value and differentiate high-impact professionals.

• Human skills + AI = enhanced outcomes: Rather than viewing AI as a threat, the session explored how effective communication and stakeholder engagement skills enable teams to leverage AI in everyday workflows more strategically and ethically.

• Foundations of effective workplace interaction: Christina shared practical techniques for becoming a powerful communicator - from crafting clear written messages to mastering high-quality small talk that builds rapport and trust.

• Stakeholder engagement as a strategic capability: In a world of complex projects and cross-functional teams, the ability to negotiate, facilitate alignment, and guide conversations was positioned as a strategic differentiator.

Impact and Reception

The response from delegates - ranging from emerging business analysts to experienced practitioners - validated the importance of placing human skills at the centre of professional development in the digital age.

Attendees gained practical frameworks for strengthening their stakeholder engagement capabilities, communication strategies that bridge technical and business contexts, and a renewed understanding of how their uniquely human skills create value in technology-driven environments.

What we did

In Conclusion

FoBA25 demonstrated that in an era of rapid technological change, the most valuable professional capabilities are those that can't be automated. Power skills - the ability to communicate, connect, negotiate, and build relationships - are not just nice-to-have competencies. They're strategic imperatives that determine who thrives and who merely survives in the modern workplace.

For business analysts and digital professionals navigating the intersection of technology and human collaboration, these capabilities are the foundation of effectiveness, influence, and long-term career success.