Evaluate Solutions to Select the Best

After extensive information gathering, observation, and analysis, there may be more than one possible solution. How do you decide which one to recommend? This is when a different flavor of analysis is required. Cost/benefit analysis, feasibility analysis, and business case development are all names given to the activity performed by the BA to evaluate possible solutions. These techniques are often performed at the enterprise level but can be used on every project at any level of an organization (see Chapter 3).

Consider narrowing the solution scope. Sometimes you will imagine a very elegant solution to a business problem but can’t convince anyone to give you the time or money to build it. Everyone wants a Mercedes when they can only afford a Volkswagen. The challenge is to solve a problem in a cost-efficient way. This requires creativity, brainstorming, and thinking outside the box with the business stakeholders and the solution team. BAs make recommendations, but the stakeholders, primarily the sponsor, make the final decision. Present each option along with its strengths and limitations to give the sponsor the information needed to make a good decision.

Skill: Be Able to Accept Constructive Criticism

Being able to accept constructive criticism (or any type of criticism) is one of the most difficult things for human beings to do. Hearing that you have made a mistake or missed an important requirement is never enjoyable. But being able to accept criticism and learn from it is a skill that will allow you to grow as a person and as a BA. It shows real self-confidence. People often make mistakes out of habit, and until someone points them out, they may never be able to see their mistakes. BAs should not only learn to accept criticism well, but should welcome it and solicit it. Ask people to tell you what you can do better! You may not always like what you hear, but you will definitely get some ideas for how you can improve your effectiveness. Some people may tell you something that is not really helpful or you may disagree with some of the descriptions of your weaknesses. If you ask a lot of people for advice, you will start to see consistent patterns and have great information for increasing your effectiveness.

If two people set out to write a description of the same process in English, what is the probability that they will write the same description? Zero! The flexibility and extent of the English language (and probably any modern language) are such that there are an infinite number of ways that a particular process may be described. This is why writing excellent requirements is so difficult. As a BA, no matter how clear your writing style, someone else will read your description and it will not be exactly the way they would have said it. Be able to accept constructive criticism and constantly work to improve your skills. If you are a person who does not like be questioned or challenged, you are probably not in the right career. Everything that you document with the intention of communicating to another human being will be scrutinized, dissected, interrogated, and criticized. It takes a strong, self-confident individual to listen to these comments without taking them personally.

As a successful BA, you not only accept these comments graciously, but can welcome them. Only by refinement will requirements be understood and accepted. There is nothing more valuable (and frustrating) than receiving feedback on your work. A successful BA will hear himself or herself react to criticism with an instantaneous “Thank you—that is a great help.”

This skill has a corollary: give criticism graciously to fellow BAs when reviewing their documents. It is the golden rule: Treat others as you would like them to treat you. As you demonstrate the professional handling of corrections and improvements to the work of others, they will learn from you and the organization will improve overall.