Course Description | Outline | Business Analysis Home

Overview

What is Business Analysis?

• A look at different viewpoints
  • What is being analyzed?
  • What’s the goal?
  • Current trends in business analysis
    
• Key concepts
• IIBA definition
  
• Reconciled to common understanding within the organization

The Role of the Business Analyst

• Key roles and responsibilities
  
• The relationship of business analysis to project management
  
• Differentiating between business analysis and other “analyst” roles
  
• Knowledge and skills required
  • The role of liaison and communicator
  • Technical expertise
  • IIBA-defined Knowledge Areas

Steps in the project/product life - cycle: description, duration, deliverables

• A generic view
  • Conduct preliminary study
  • Gather requirements
  • Generate alternative solutions
  • Complete the design
  • Create the solution
  • Implement the solution
  • Evaluate and maintain the solution
    
    • Positioning business analysis (and the business analyst) within the project life cycle
    • Examining the role of the BA prior to project initiation (Diagnosing the business environment)

Diagnosing the business environment

• Business problem solving
  • Understanding the business environment
  • Capturing business initiatives across the enterprise
  • Diagnosing a business problem or opportunity (i.e.; business initiative)
    
    • Definition of a problem
    • Finding and verifying true causes
    • The use of the problem statement
      
  • Techniques to identify business problems and causes
    • Workflow modeling
    • Fishbone Diagrams
    • IS—IS NOT analysis
      
  • Obtaining stakeholder confirmation

Setting Goals for business initiatives

• Using problem statement to create the goal statement
• Quantifying goals – finding the “threshold of pain”
• Key characteristics of well-stated goal statements
  • Uses the language of the business
  • Is measurable
  • Is clear
  • Is relevant to the overall strategy of the organization
    
• An examination of poorly stated goals

Evaluating, selecting, and prioritizing initiatives

• Employing analysis techniques to assess alternatives
• Using a weighted-decision model
• Obtaining stakeholder confirmation

Documenting the project scope

• How to determine the product scope
• Outcome oriented development
  • Defining product objectives
  • Creating solution prototypes
  • Working backwards to create the solution
    
• Specifying critical project elements and deliverables

Building the Model of the solution

• Developing output mockups or prototypes
  • Identifying requirements
  • Creating an information model
    
• Workflow diagrams
  • Uses in the project life-cycle
    • Current State (As Is)
    • Future State (To Be)
  • Establishing solution boundaries
  • Constructing context, overview, and detail flow diagrams
  • Identifying appropriate detail level
• Supporting documentation
  • Business rules
  • Data requirements
  • Use Case analysis
    
• Confirming with stakeholders

Requirements Definition and Documentation

• Assessing stakeholder roles and responsibilities
  • Identifying internal and external stakeholders
  • Conducting stakeholder analysis
  • Selecting requirements development templates
  • Producing a requirements development plan
    • elicitation
    • analysis
    • specification
    • verification and validation
    • change management
  • Addressing common challenges
  • Recognizing industry standards (IEEE, etc.)
    
• Analysis of Requirements
  • Fact gathering methods
    • Interviewing
    • Observation
    • Questionnaires
    • Research
  • Organizing the facts
  • Determining requirements
    • Estimating the useful life of the solution
    • Calculating future requirements
    • Imposing constraints using value engineering
  • Establishing the concept of a solution
• Managing Resistance to Change
  • An examination of why people resist change
  • Recognizing symptoms of resistance
  • Developing coping/diffusing tactics
• Interviewing Techniques
  • Preparation
  • Stakeholder Analysis
  • Planning the interview
  • The art of questioning
  • Role of the interviewer - building confidence
  • The psychology of interviewing

Making the Business Case

• Using creativity to create alternate solutions
• Evaluating alternatives to determine feasibility
• The six factors of feasibility: TRELOS
• Technical: is it possible?
• Risk
  • Weighing risks vs. benefits
  • Using the portfolio approach
• Economic
  • Developing cost estimates
  • Calculating the return on investment
• Legal: is it against the law?
• Operational: will it work for us?
• Schedule: can we deliver it in time?

Communicating the Solution to Stakeholders

• The proposal structure
  • Analysis of current strengths and weaknesses
  • Objectives to be achieved
    
  • Description of solution
    
  • Alternatives for implementation
    
  • Explanation of recommended solutions
    
  • Costs and risks
    
  • Schedule (task plan) to achieve benefits
    
  • Supporting appendices
• Preparing and making the presentation
  • Establishing your objective
  • Doing audience analysis
    
  • Organizing your ideas
    
  • Using visuals
    
  • Rehearsing

Supporting downstream development

• Quality Assurance and Testing
  • The business analyst's role in testing
    
  • Objectives
    
  • Requirements
    
  • Types of tests
    
  • Key to successful tests - anticipation and reconciliation
• Procedures
  • The need
  • A successful style - playscript
  • Who has responsibility
• Training
  • Key to user independence
  • Intended results
  • Time required
  • Who performs it

Evaluation

• How can the solution be evaluated?
• When?
  
• Who should perform an assessment?
  
• Establishing ranges of performance
  
• Eliminating undesirable side-effects

Positioning the Business Analyst within the organization

• Job Title or role?
• Organization Structure
  
• Reporting Relationships
  
• Working Relationships
  
• Tailoring the business analyst role for different projects
  
• Getting Started