• What is Business Analysis?

•  Business analysis is the practice of enabling change in an enterprise by defining needs and recommending solutions that deliver value to stakeholders.

• Business analysis is conducted in support of many business initiatives, including programs and projects, as well as ongoing operational activities, such as monitoring, modeling, and forecasting.

 

• Who is a Business Analyst?

• Business analysts are responsible for discovering and analyzing information from a variety of sources.

• The business analyst is responsible for invoking the actual needs of stakeholders—which often includes investigating and clarifying their stated desires—in order to identify underlying issues and causes.

• Business analysts play a role in aligning solutions designed and delivered with Stakeholder needs. 

• Activities performed by business analysts include:

•  Understand the project's problems and objectives,

• Analysis of needs and solutions,

•  Strategizing

• driving change and facilitate stakeholder collaboration

 

• Skillset and Expertise Needed for the Business Analysis Role:

A number of varied skills and competencies are needed in order to perform the business analysis role effectively.

The following is a partial list of some important skills and expertise
for anyone performing business analysis activities on programs and projects:
• Analytical skills,
• Business and industry knowledge,
• Communication skills, including strong business writing and verbal communication skills,
• Conflict management,
• Creative and critical thinking,
• Cultural awareness,
• Decision making,
• Facilitation,
• Familiarity with multiple project and development methodologies,
• Influence,
• Issue management skills,
• Leadership skills,
• Learning skills,
• Negotiation skills,
• Organizational skills,
• Political awareness

• Presentation skills,
  • Problem solving,
  • Systems thinking,
  • Technical awareness, and
  • Ability to work effectively in a team environment, including virtual teams.

• THE VALUE OF BUSINESS ANALYSIS

•  Identify problems and identify business needs.

•  Identify and recommend viable solutions to meet those needs. 

•  Document and manage stakeholder requirements in order to meet business and project objectives.

•  Facilitate the successful implementation of the product, service, or end result of the program or project. 

In short, business analysis is the set of activities that are conducted to identify business needs and find relevant solutions; Develop, document and manage requirements.

 

• Definition of Requirement

• Is a condition or capability that is required to be present in a product, service, or result to satisfy a business need.

• A requirement may explain a feature that is to be met by a product or software component.

Who has the Responsibility for the Requirements?

• The responsibility for defining requirements should be assigned to resources that have sufficient business subject matter expertise and decision-making authority. The role with responsibility to conduct business analysis may depend on the project life cycle, but, in any case, should be assigned to resources with sufficient business analysis skills and expertise. The project manager is accountable for ensuring that requirements-related work is accounted for in the project management plan and that requirements-related activities are performed on time and within budget and deliver value.

• What Are Business Analysis Domains?

• Needs Assessment

• Planning

• Analysis

• Traceability & Monitoring

• Solution Evaluation

• What Are Requirements Types?

• Business Requirements

• Stakeholder Requirements

• Solution Requirements
  ○ Functional Requirements
  ○ Non-Functional Requirements

• Transition Requirements

• Project Requirements

• Quality Requirements
  

• Scope vs. Requirements

 

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Business Analysis Processes

Traditionally there are 8 steps to be followed for successful business analysis, they are as follows:

1. Get Well Oriented

Sometimes analysts may only get involved when the project is already underway. For this reason, it is imperative to give your analyst some time to get properly oriented. This allows them to clarify the scope, overall requirements and business objectives. Collecting basic information is key before starting any further analysis.

The following tasks should be the main focus in this step:

•     Outlining and clarifying your role as the business analysts

•      Determining who exactly the main stakeholders are

•      Creating a clear understanding of the project and project history

•      Understanding the existing systems and processes in place

2. Identify the Primary Objectives of the Business

A majority of business analysis processes start with defining the scope. It is imperative to understand the business’s overall needs before defining the scope of the actual project.

Responsibilities in this step are as follows:

• Identifying the main stakeholders’ expectations

• Merging any conflicting expectations and creating a shared understanding of the objectives

• Ensure that all business objectives are clear and attainable

• Making sure the business objectives set the stage for successfully defining the scope

3. Define the Scope

It is crucial to define a complete and clear statement as a scope. This scope will serve as the main concept going forward, helping the team understand and realize exactly what the business needs. It is important to take note that the scope is not an implementation plan, it is merely a guide detailing all the steps of the business analysis process.

The main responsibilities in this stage are to:

• Define a solution method that helps you find the nature and extent of technological and process changes that should be made

• Draft a clear statement of your scope and review it with the stakeholders

• Confirm the business case

4. Create Your Business Plan

The business plan aims to help provide clarity to the overall process of business analysis. This plan should answer several key questions.

Key responsibilities in this phase are:

• Selecting the most appropriate forms of the deliverables

• Defining a specific list of deliverables, covering the scope and identifying the stakeholders

• Creating timelines for completing said deliverables

5. Define and Detail the Requirements

It is important to have clear and actionable requirements. Detailed requirements will help provide the implementation team with all the information they need to find a usable solution.

Key responsibilities in this stage are:

•      Collecting and collating information

•      Analyzing the information and using it to create the first draft

•      Reviewing and validating the deliverables set out

•      Ask questions to fill any gaps

6. Support the Technical Implementation

The technical implementation team is in charge of building, customizing and deploying software on a project. Their duties include:

• Assessing and reviewing the final solution

• Updating the requirements document

• Working with quality assurance professionals, ensuring they know the importance of the technical requirements

• Managing requirement changes

• Leading user acceptance testing if possible

7. Help the Company Implement the Solution

This final step is crucial to support the business. The aim is to ensure that all members are ready to accept any changes.

Key steps in this stage are:

• Analyzing and developing interim business procedure documentation, stating what changes should be made

• Training the end-users, ensuring they understand all processes and procedural changes

• Working closely with business users

8. Assess the Value Created by the Solution

Throughout this process, there are several key steps involved with big business details and outcomes being discussed. Relationships are built as problems are solved and changes are made. It is crucial to stop and assess the value created by the solution.

Main responsibilities in this step are:

• Evaluating actual progress

• Informing the project sponsor, team and other members of the company of the results

• Proposing follow-ups