Courtney Lewis
Senior Business Analyst Associate Team Lead
Courtney Lewis serves as a Senior Business Analyst with expertise in bridging client needs and technical solutions. A Georgia native with both BS and MA degrees in Psychology, Courtney began her career in healthcare before transitioning to IT as a Network Infrastructure Project Manager—a journey that honed her exceptional project management skills and led to her business analysis career. She expertly guides clients through discovery, documenting requirements with diverse tools and collaborating closely with developers to create custom software solutions that exceed expectations. Courtney partners with Business Development teams to engage prospects and showcase possibilities, bringing enthusiasm to every client interaction. Beyond her professional accomplishments, she actively gives back to the Frederick community through the FHS LYNX program and TechFrederick, preparing the next generation for tech careers. Courtney’s unique background includes certification as a registered yoga teacher, reflecting her holistic approach to both personal and professional excellence.
Speaking Topics
Topic
Custom Clarity: Demystifying the When, Why, and How of Custom Development
In this illuminating session, Courtney Lewis cuts through the complexity surrounding custom software decisions, providing a clear framework for evaluating when bespoke solutions truly offer superior value. Drawing from her unique background spanning network infrastructure and business analysis, Courtney reveals the critical factors that determine whether custom development aligns with your organization’s strategic objectives. Through engaging case studies and practical evaluation tools, you’ll learn to identify the hidden costs and overlooked benefits that influence ROI calculations. Courtney demonstrates how proper needs assessment before development begins prevents costly mid-project pivots and ensures alignment with business goals. This presentation equips decision-makers with actionable insights to confidently navigate vendor discussions, accurately articulate organizational requirements, and make informed choices about when custom software represents the optimal investment versus off-the-shelf alternatives.
Key Takeaways:
- Understand the comprehensive evaluation criteria for determining when custom software delivers superior value, including scalability needs, integration requirements, and competitive differentiation opportunities that off-the-shelf solutions cannot address.
- Learn effective techniques for articulating your organization’s unique requirements to potential development partners, ensuring accurate scoping and preventing scope creep that derails budgets and timelines.
- Develop practical strategies for calculating the true ROI of custom development, incorporating both immediate implementation costs and long-term factors like maintenance, adaptation, and business process efficiency gains.
Topic
Bridging the Communication Gap: Translating Business Needs into Technical Requirements
In this dynamic presentation, Courtney Lewis reveals the critical communication strategies that transform vague business objectives into precise technical requirements. Leveraging her Psychology background and technical expertise, Courtney demonstrates how effective business analysts serve as essential translators between organizational stakeholders and development teams. Through real-world examples and interactive scenarios, you’ll discover proven techniques for uncovering underlying business needs, even when stakeholders struggle to articulate them clearly. Courtney shares methodologies for documenting requirements that simultaneously satisfy business validation and provide technical clarity for development teams. This session is essential for organizations seeking to improve project outcomes by enhancing the critical communication bridge between business vision and technical execution, ultimately reducing development rework and ensuring solutions that truly address organizational challenges.
Key Takeaways:
- Master communication techniques that extract genuine business needs from stakeholders, even when they’re challenged to express technical requirements or are focused on solution details rather than underlying problems.
- Learn practical documentation approaches that effectively translate business objectives into technical specifications, creating clarity for development teams while maintaining business stakeholder understanding and buy-in.
- Develop strategies for maintaining effective communication throughout the development lifecycle, ensuring that evolving business needs are properly translated into technical adjustments without compromising project integrity or timelines.
