
- •Foreword
- •Preface the purpose of this book
- •Intended audience
- •Book organization
- •About b2t training
- •Chapter 1: Possess a Clear Understanding of Business Analysis overview
- •What is business analysis?
- •Business Analysis vs. Software Development
- •The Role of the Business Analyst
- •Business Analyst Traits
- •History of Business Analysis
- •Where Do Business Analysts Come From?
- •From it
- •Case in Point
- •From Business
- •Case in Point
- •Where Do Business Analysts Report?
- •Who makes a great business analyst?
- •Case in Point
- •Business Analyst Suitability (- відповідність) Questionnaire
- •Suitability Questionnaire
- •Answers
- •Business Analyst Career Progression
- •Key business analysis terms/concepts
- •What Is a Requirement?
- •Iiba Business Analysis Body of Knowledge® (babok®) definition of requirement:
- •Core Requirements Components
- •Why Document Requirements?
- •Why Do Requirements Need to Be Detailed?
- •High-Level Requirements Are Interpreted Differently
- •Many Analysts Only Use Text to Document Requirements
- •Complex Business Rules Must Be Found
- •Requirements Must Be Translated
- •Case in Point
- •What Is a Project?
- •What Is a Product?
- •What Is a Solution?
- •Case in Point
- •What Is a Deliverable?
- •System vs. Software
- •It Depends
- •Business analysis certification
- •Iiba babok®
- •Summary of key points
- •Bibliography
- •Chapter 2: Know Your Audience overview
- •Establish trust with your stakeholders
- •With whom does the business analyst work?
- •Executive or Project Sponsor
- •Case in Point: Giving the Sponsor Bad News
- •Project Manager
- •Why Does a Project Need a Project Manager and a Business Analyst?
- •Project Manager and Business Analyst Skills Comparison
- •Tips for Those Performing Both Roles
- •Other Business Analysis Professionals
- •Subject Matter Experts and Users
- •Getting to Know Your Subject Matter Experts
- •A Manager Who Does Not Understand His or Her Employees’ Work
- •When the Expert Is Not Really an Expert
- •When the Expert Is Truly an Expert
- •The Expert Who Is Reluctant to Talk
- •The Expert Who Is Angry about Previous Project Failures
- •The Expert Who Hates His or Her Job
- •Quality Assurance Analyst
- •When “qa” Is a Bad Word in Your Organization
- •Usability Professional
- •It Architect
- •Case in Point
- •It Developer
- •Case in Point
- •The Developer Who Is Very Creative
- •The Developer Who Codes Exactly to Specs
- •The Developer’s Industry Knowledge
- •Data Administrator/Architect/Analyst
- •Database Designer/Administrator
- •Stakeholder Analysis
- •Balancing stakeholder needs
- •Case in Point
- •Understanding the Political Environment
- •Working with dispersed teams
- •Physical Distance
- •Time Zone Differences
- •Nationality/Cultural Differences
- •Language Differences
- •Using Team Collaboration Tools
- •Using a Shared Presentation
- •Sharing a Document
- •Summary of key points
- •Bibliography
- •Chapter 3: Know Your Project
- •Why has the organization decided to fund this project?
- •Business Case Development
- •Case in Point
- •Project Initiated Because of a Problem
- •Case in Point
- •Project Initiated to Eliminate Costs (Jobs)
- •Project Initiated by Outside Regulation
- •Project Initiated by an Opportunity
- •Projects for Marketing or Advertising
- •Case in Point
- •Projects to Align Business Processes
- •Strategic planning
- •Portfolio and Program Management
- •How Does Your Project Relate to Others?
- •Enterprise Architecture
- •Business Architecture
- •The Organizational Chart
- •Locations
- •Swot (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats)
- •Products
- •Information Architecture
- •Application Architecture
- •Technology Architecture
- •Case in Point
- •Security Architecture
- •Communicating Strategic Plans
- •Project Identification
- •Project initiation
- •Naming the Project
- •Initiation
- •Approach or Methodology
- •Statement of Purpose
- •Objectives
- •Problems/Opportunities
- •Stakeholders
- •Business Risks
- •Items Out of Scope
- •Assumptions
- •Scope of the Business Area
- •Scoping the Analysis Area Using a Context-Level Data Flow Diagram
- •Area of Study
- •High-Level Business Processes
- •Scoping the Analysis Area Using a Use Case Diagram
- •Project Initiation Summary Revisit Scope Frequently
- •Scope Creep
- •Summary of key points
- •Bibliography
- •Chapter 4: Know Your Business Environment overview
- •Case in Point
- •How does a business analyst learn about the enterprise?
- •Read the Company’s Marketing Materials
- •Read the Company’s Financial Reports
- •Review the Corporate Strategic Plan
- •Seeing things from the business perspective
- •Case in Point
- •Prioritizing Requests
- •Case in Point
- •How a business analyst learns the business: elicitation techniques
- •Review Existing Documentation
- •Case in Point
- •Observation
- •Case in Point
- •Case in Point
- •Interviews
- •Surveys and Questionnaires
- •Facilitated Sessions
- •Why Use a Facilitated Session?
- •Challenges for the Business Analyst as the Facilitator
- •Focus Groups
- •Competitive Analysis
- •Interface Analysis
- •Learn the current (as is) system
- •Case in Point
- •What is a business process?
- •Essential Analysis
- •Perfect Technology
- •No Storage Limitations or Constraints
- •Case in Point
- •Completely Error-Free Processing
- •Case in Point
- •No Performance Limitations
- •Technology Is Available at No Cost
- •Case in Point
- •Summary of Perfect Technology
- •Essential Business Processes
- •Case in Point
- •What Is the Difference between a Process and a Use Case?
- •Describing a Process
- •Seeing Things from the Top and from the Bottom
- •Implementation Planning
- •Training
- •Rollout Plan
- •Schedule
- •Metrics
- •Procedures/Organizational Changes
- •Summary of tips for learning your business
- •Summary of key points
- •Bibliography
- •Chapter 5: Know Your Technical Environment overview
- •Case in Point
- •Why does a business analyst need to understand the technical environment?
- •Understand Technology, But Don’t Talk Like a Technologist
- •Case in Point
- •What does a business analyst need to know about technology?
- •Software Development/Programming Terminology
- •Does a Business Analyst Need to Know How to Develop Software?
- •Software Development Methodologies
- •Methodology/Software Development Life Cycle
- •Waterfall
- •Planning Phase
- •Analysis Phase
- •Design Phase
- •Construction Phase
- •Testing Phase
- •Information Engineering
- •Joint Application Development/Design
- •Rapid Application Development
- •Iterative/Incremental Development Approaches
- •Object-Oriented Analysis and Design
- •Rational Unified Process
- •Agile Development Approaches
- •An Organization’s Formal Methodology
- •Why Don’t Most Methodologies Detail the Business Analysis Approach?
- •An Organization’s Informal Standards
- •Technical Architecture
- •Operating Systems
- •Case in Point
- •Computer Networking
- •Data Management
- •Relational Database
- •Structured Query Language
- •Software Usability/Human Interface Design
- •Software Testing
- •Case in Point
- •Software Testing Phases
- •Unit Testing
- •Integration Testing
- •System Testing
- •Regression Testing
- •Case in Point
- •User Acceptance Testing
- •Post-Implementation User Assessment
- •Working with it Communicating with Developers
- •When to Get it Involved in a Project
- •It Corporate Culture
- •Summary of key points
- •Bibliography
- •Chapter 6: Know Your Analysis Techniques overview
- •Case in Point
- •Categorizing and presenting requirements Collecting and Managing Requirements
- •What Is a Requirement?
- •Categorizing Requirements
- •Case in Point
- •Why Categorize Requirements?
- •Developing a System for Organizing Requirements
- •Iiba babok Categories
- •A Recommended Categorization System
- •Business Requirements
- •Functional Requirements
- •Technical Requirements
- •Core requirements components
- •Overview of Core Requirements Components Data (Entities and Attributes)
- •Processes (Use Cases)
- •External Agents (Actors)
- •Business Rules
- •Case in Point
- •Core Requirements Component: Entities (Data)
- •Core Requirements Component: Attributes (Data)
- •Attribute Uniqueness
- •Mandatory or Optional
- •Attribute Repetitions
- •Core Requirements Component: Processes (Use Cases)
- •Core Requirements Component: External Agents (Actors)
- •Internal vs. External
- •Core Requirements Component: Business Rules
- •Finding Business Rules
- •Analysis techniques and presentation formats
- •Glossary
- •Workflow Diagrams
- •Why Use Workflow Diagrams?
- •Entity Relationship Diagramming
- •Why Build a Logical Data Model?
- •Business Process Modeling with the Decomposition Diagram
- •Why Build a Decomposition Diagram?
- •Use Case Diagram
- •Use Case Descriptions
- •Why Use Use Cases?
- •Case in Point
- •Prototypes/Simulations
- •Why Use Prototypes/Simulations?
- •Other Techniques Event Modeling
- •Entity State Transition/uml State Machine Diagrams
- •Object Modeling/Class Modeling
- •User Stories
- •Traceability Matrices
- •Gap Analysis
- •Data Flow Diagramming
- •Choosing the Appropriate Techniques
- •Using Text to Present Requirements
- •Using Graphics to Present Requirements
- •Using a Combination of Text and Graphics
- •Choosing an Approach
- •Case in Point
- •Business Analyst Preferences
- •Case in Point
- •Subject Matter Expert Preferences
- •Case in Point
- •Developer Preferences
- •Project Manager Preferences
- •Standards
- •Case in Point
- •As is vs. To be analysis
- •Packaging requirements How Formally Should Requirements Be Documented?
- •What Is a Requirements Package?
- •Case in Point
- •Request for Proposal Requirements Package
- •Characteristics of Excellent Requirements
- •Getting Sign-Off
- •Requirements Tools, Repositories, and Management
- •Summary of key points
- •Bibliography
- •Chapter 7: Increase Your Value overview
- •Build your foundation Skill: Get Started
- •Skill: Think Analytically
- •Skill: Note Taking
- •Technique: Brainstorming
- •Skill: Work with Complex Details
- •Case in Point
- •How Much Detail? Just Enough!
- •Case in Point
- •Time management Skill: Understand the Nature of Project Work
- •Skill: Work on the Most Important Work First (Prioritize)
- •Case in Point
- •Technique: Understand the 80-20 Rule
- •Technique: Timeboxing
- •Build your relationships and communication skills Skill: Build Strong Relationships
- •Skill: Ask the Right Questions
- •Case in Point
- •Skill: Listen Actively
- •Barriers to Listening
- •Listening for Requirements
- •Skill: Write Effectively
- •Case in Point
- •Skill: Make Excellent Presentations
- •Skill: Facilitate and Build Consensus
- •Skill: Conduct Effective Meetings
- •Prepare for the Meeting/Select Appropriate Attendees
- •Meeting Agenda
- •Conducting the Meeting
- •Tips for Conducting Successful Meetings
- •Follow-Up/Meeting Minutes
- •Skill: Conduct Requirements Reviews
- •How to Conduct a Review
- •Step 1. Decide on the Purpose of the Review
- •Step 2. Schedule Time with Participants
- •Steps 3 and 4. Distribute Review Materials and Have Participants Review Materials Prior to the Session
- •Case in Point
- •Step 5. Conduct the Review Session
- •Steps 6 and 7. Record Review Notes and Update Material
- •Step 8. Conduct a Second Review If Necessary
- •Typical Requirements Feedback Corrections
- •Missing Requirements
- •Unclear Sentences
- •Scope Creep
- •Keep learning new analysis techniques Technique: Avoid Analysis Paralysis!
- •Technique: Root Cause Analysis
- •The Five Whys
- •Case in Point
- •Skill: Intelligent Disobedience
- •Continually improve your skills
- •Skill: Make Recommendations for Solutions
- •Understand the Problem
- •Imagine Possible Solutions
- •Case in Point
- •Evaluate Solutions to Select the Best
- •Skill: Be Able to Accept Constructive Criticism
- •Case in Point
- •Skill: Recognize and Act on Your Weaknesses
- •Technique: Lessons Learned
- •Business analysis planning
- •Technique: Map the Project
- •Examples of Mapped Projects
- •Skill: Plan Your Work
- •Technique: Assess Business Impact
- •Case in Point
- •Factors That Determine Business Impact
- •Case in Point
- •Technique: Conduct Stakeholder Analysis
- •Technique: Plan Your Communications
- •Skill: Choose Appropriate Requirements Deliverables
- •Skill: Develop a Business Analysis Task List
- •Skill: Estimate Your Time
- •Summary of key points
- •Bibliography
Case in Point
The CFO of a large retail company requested a very specific financial report and wanted it within the week. The results of the report were to be used in the board of directors meeting to make strategic decisions about future plans. This project immediately was recognized as having a high business impact because of the level of the stakeholders. In this case, none of the other factors driving business impact could make this a medium- or low-impact project.
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Geographic location of stakeholders: The larger the number of geographic locations of the stakeholders, the greater the business impact. Also, the greater the time zone differences of the stakeholders, the greater the business impact. This is because of the obvious communication challenges that come with physical distance. Even a short distance between locations can increase business impact (e.g., stakeholders are in the same city, but travel between offices takes at least an hour because of traffic).
Business complexity: Increased complexity means higher business impact. More complex businesses require more time for BAs to understand and document the requirements, more coding time for the developers, and more testing time. Complex business areas typically have many business rules (i.e., insurance, government regulatory agencies) and/ or involve processes that require high levels of knowledge and experience on the part of their stakeholders (e.g., financial securities trading, legal systems, chemical/pharmaceuticals). The requirements must be clearly and carefully documented so that the complexity will be handled appropriately.
Solution complexity: Increased complexity means higher business impact. More complex software, networks, and even manual procedures that require highly skilled workers increase the amount of analysis time that will be needed to design and develop functional requirements. Complex solutions must be carefully planned and studied for feasibility. The requirements must be clearly communicated to the development team and the quality assurance team so that the accuracy of the solution can be verified and validated.
Business risk: As business risk increases, so does business impact. Business risk is defined as the potential for significant business success or failure as a result of a project. For example, when a project involves the management of a large amount of money (e.g., cash management, large investments), the risk is very high. If the project solution/software contains an error, a large amount of money could be lost in a short period of time. Business risk is also measured in missed opportunities. If an organization wants to launch a new product but is delayed because the order processing system is not ready, customers may go to a competitor and be lost. The larger the potential for loss, the higher the risk and the larger the business impact. Managing risk is also the responsibility of the project manager. Once risks are identified, the BA and project manager should work together to manage them (see the discussion on project initiation earlier in this chapter).
Quality requirements/expectations: The higher or more rigorous the quality requirements, the higher the business impact. Quality or non-functional requirements include performance, reliability, security, etc. (see Chapter 6). Non-functional requirements increase business impact because they impose more constraints on the solution. If a particular user input screen must respond within 0.5 seconds, the technology team must create an architecture that can support that level of performance. This may mean a particular database management strategy (to speed data access), a particular networking structure, specific types of hardware, etc. The importance of these types of requirements to the solution design also points out that they should be elicited early in the project. Sometimes BAs let these non-functional requirements wait until all of the business requirements are complete, but that may be a mistake. Ask initial questions about quality requirements early—during project initiation—to help you decide if there are going to be some tough technological constraints. This is a good example of the importance of business analysis planning and assessing business impact. You may not know all of the details up front, but you get enough information so that you know which areas are going to require the most work and focus.
Firm due date: When there is an absolute firm due date for a project, business impact is probably greater. The due date may be driven by an outside (external agent) organization (e.g., government mandate). Make sure that you understand why the due date was set and what the ramifications of a delay would be. Often, IT people don’t meet deadlines because they really don’t understand the negative ramifications on the business. It is the responsibility of the project manager and BA to understand and articulate this time “requirement” to the team members to keep them focused on the goal. Projects with unmovable due dates must use “timeboxing” techniques (see the discussion earlier in this chapter) to get work done. Project managers and BAs may use their planning estimates to negotiate a smaller project scope.
Length of project: Long projects increase business impact. Long projects are less successful than short ones. Business requirements change frequently, so a long project may implement a requirement that is no longer valid. Project teams become less focused over a longer period of time—that’s just human nature. Business stakeholders are impatient for solutions that are needed today but will not be delivered for a year or more. All of these problems are driving the move to more agile software development approaches with shorter, smaller deliverables (see Chapter 5). On the other hand, if a project with a large scope is scheduled for a short period of time, risk and potential negative impact increase.
Project budget relative to company size: The size of the project budget (number of employees, outside consultants, equipment, software, etc.) as a percentage of corporate revenue indicates the importance of a project to an organization. If the project budget is $1 million in a company with annual revenue of $10 million, the project is very important to the organization. The sponsor expects that the investment in the project will reap significant cost savings or revenue increases. The more money to be saved or made from the project results, the higher the business impact of the project.