Writing a Vision Statement

Writing the vision statement for a project can be the most enjoyable aspect of being a business analyst. He or she may have to curb their enthusiasm during the writing process. The business analyst can become lost in great expectations when writing the vision statement.

Writing the vision statement will answer the everyday questions of who, what , when, why, and where. The who is easily defined as the stakeholders and the end user. The stakeholder as the who will be listed as the person or company enabling the project to be completed. It will include pertinent information about the company stand on the technology being developed.

In writing a vision statement the "what" is the project program. The vision statement will deliver reasoning behind why the program is being developed. It will include what the program will be able to accomplish, what uses the program will have and who the program will impact. The vision statement may include statements of interest including updates available. The key is to keep the vision statement truthful.

Vision statements include when the project or program will be completed or available for use. It will set a goal for release or implementation. The when is the time frame set by the stakeholders and development teams needs assessment. Determining the when of a vision statement can be an overwhelming task. There are always reasons why something can not be done on time. The infamous phrase is "There is never enough time to do it right, but always enough time to do it again." To set a definitive date in a vision statement is to take a risk. This is something which should also be included. Stakeholders and end users will know the date is tentative.

The vision statement will deliver the reason why the program or project is being developed. It will list needs by the stakeholders and the end user. It will answer how the procedure or program will benefit the stakeholders. The vision statement will allow for projected returns on the investment. It will list why the program has to be developed for the betterment of the organization. The vision statement will answer why the project steps are being taken. This is probably one of the key elements in a vision statement.

Where the program will be used is another key factor listed in the vision statement. The business analyst will determine where the program will best be utilized. In writing the vision statement the business analyst will reveal where project development will take place. It will also list where any outside resources will be used. Where the end user applies the program is instrumental in how the program is developed.

The vision statement is not to be confused with the mission statement of a company. The vision statement is concerning the program project and only the program project. There may be great ideas expressed in the vision statement. The good business analyst will be able to keep the vision statement focused on the needs of the stakeholders. It is up to the business analyst and developers to keep the vision statement real and do-able. This is a mission with a targeted success date. The vision statement will deliver this information so the stakeholders know the scope of the project. The vision statement is the concept behind the mission.

Life Mapping: A Vision of Success

Success is more than economic gains, titles, and degrees. Planning for success is about mapping out all the aspects of your life. Similar to a map, you need to define the following details: origin, destination, vehicle, backpack, landmarks, and route.

Origin: Who you are

A map has a starting point. Your origin is who you are right now. Most people when asked to introduce themselves would say, “Hi, I’m Jean and I am a 17-year old, senior highschool student.” It does not tell you about who Jean is; it only tells you her present preoccupation. To gain insights about yourself, you need to look closely at your beliefs, values, and principles aside from your economic, professional, cultural, and civil status. Moreover, you can also reflect on your experiences to give you insights on your good and not-so-good traits, skills, knowledge, strengths, and weaknesses. Upon introspection, Jean realized that she was highly motivated, generous, service-oriented, but impatient. Her inclination was in the biological-medical field. Furthermore, she believed that life must serve a purpose, and that wars were destructive to human dignity.

Destination: A vision of who you want to be

“Who do want to be?” this is your vision. Now it is important that you know yourself so that you would have a clearer idea of who you want to be; and the things you want to change whether they are attitudes, habits, or points of view. If you hardly know yourself, then your vision and targets for the future would also be unclear. Your destination should cover all the aspects of your being: the physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual. Continuing Jean’s story, after she defined her beliefs, values, and principles in life, she decided that she wanted to have a life dedicated in serving her fellowmen.

Vehicle: Your Mission

A vehicle is the means by which you can reach your destination. It can be analogized to your mission or vocation in life. To a great extent, your mission would depend on what you know about yourself. Bases on Jean’s self-assessment, she decided that she was suited to become a doctor, and that she wanted to become one. Her chosen vocation was a medical doctor. Describing her vision-mission fully: it was to live a life dedicated to serving her fellowmen as a doctor in conflict-areas.

Travel Bag: Your knowledge, skills, and attitude

Food, drinks, medicines, and other travelling necessities are contained in a bag. Applying this concept to your life map, you also bring with you certain knowledge, skills, and attitudes. These determine your competence and help you in attaining your vision. Given such, there is a need for you to assess what knowledge, skills, and attitudes you have at present and what you need to gain along the way. This two-fold assessment will give you insights on your landmarks or measures of success. Jean realized that she needed to gain professional knowledge and skills on medicine so that she could become a doctor. She knew that she was a bit impatient with people so she realized that this was something she wanted to change.

Landmarks and Route: S.M.A.R.T. objectives

Landmarks confirm if you are on the right track while the route determines the travel time. Thus, in planning out your life, you also need to have landmarks and a route. These landmarks are your measures of success. These measures must be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time bound. Thus you cannot set two major landmarks such as earning a master’s degree and a doctorate degree within a period of three years, since the minimum number of years to complete a master’s degree is two years. Going back to Jean as an example, she identified the following landmarks in her life map: completing a bachelor’s degree in biology by the age of 21; completing medicine by the age of 27; earning her specialization in infectious diseases by the age of 30; getting deployed in local public hospitals of their town by the age of 32; and serving as doctor in war-torn areas by the age of 35.

Anticipate Turns, Detours, and Potholes

The purpose of your life map is to minimize hasty and spur-of-the-moment decisions that can make you lose your way. But oftentimes our plans are modified along the way due to some inconveniences, delays, and other situations beyond our control. Like in any path, there are turns, detours, and potholes thus; we must anticipate them and adjust accordingly.

What's So Great About Night Vision Binoculars?

Why would someone want night vision in a pair of binoculars? Well, privacy has become a loosely defined word, especially in the world of famous people. If you have a big name in Hollywood, sports, or any other area, you can bet someone out there has bought a pair of night vision binoculars (namely the paparazzi) to watch your every move, day or night for any tidbit of news or gossip to boost their own ratings or popularity.

But night vision binoculars are important to those of us who have better things to do than obsess over famous people. Like hunters, for instance. Yes, hunting does have its benefits. It reduces overpopulated animals and provides food to needy charities that rely on any help they can get to feed the starving and underprivileged. Keeping the animal kingdom in balance is important and can be a struggle for us humans because of our compassion on one end and our greed on another. Like anything else, it can be taken too far and abused. But, hunters do have their place in this world and need reliable binoculars to help serve their purpose.

The binocular industry certainly isn't doing too badly with prices ranging as high as $6000 for one particular pair of night vision binoculars. (You don't even need a license for those, just a hefty bank account ---or a good line of credit!). Because of the added necessary feature, night vision binoculars will cost more than those for use in daylight only. But don't despair; there are plenty of others that are more in the range of the average person, although you'll want to get what you pay for. This particular type of binocular seems to run in the general range of $500 on the low-cost end.

Don't get confused between night vision binoculars and night vision goggles. Goggles are made with a head piece to strap onto your head. The night visions are often created with infrared illuminators built into them, along with light intensifier tubes.

The most popular and widely sold binoculars are of the Generation 1 rating. This basically means they're made more so for the general public than for a profession such as law enforcement or the military.

It is possible to find a pair for $344, which is fine for the property owner who needs to scan his property for intruders of the human or wildlife variety. They're good for camping trips as well as other things. The NZT-2 MBN Binoculars have a 4x magnification, a recognition range of 100 m/y and should satisfy basic binocular needs.

Whether you are buying a pair of binoculars for night or day use, you'll want good image gain and resolution to have a clear picture of what you're trying to see through the lens. Magnifying a blurry image doesn't really provide much satisfaction to identify your subject! Green is the color of choice for night vision illumination because our eyes can best adjust to that color to differentiate. Night vision is designed exactly for what it's called, to see in the dark. But a little light is still required to help this happen. It is easier to get eye fatigue with night vision equipment that is used for long periods of time, just as long periods of computer use can cause eye strain. One drawback of night vision equipment is that it attracts dust particles and some say it is normal to have some spots on your viewing lens that won't go away.