Adaptive us chapter 2
what is balanced scorecard
-(purpose) A strategic planning and management tool to measure organizational performance beyond traditional financial measures aligned to organization's vision and strategy. -(strengths) Monitor progress against objectives and adapt strategy as needed. Balanced planning and thinking. Encourages forward thinking and competitiveness -(limitations) Lack of clear strategy can make aligning dimensions difficult. Stakeholders may perceive this as the only tool for strategic planning than one tool among many. Misinterpreted as a replacement for strategic planning, execution and measurement. -(key elements) 4 dimensions of balance score card are: Learning and growth dimension Business process dimension Customer dimension Financial dimension
what is survey or questionnaire
-(purpose) Administers a set of written questions to stakeholders and SMEs. Survey can elicit information from many people, sometimes anonymously, in a relatively short period of time. Can collect information about customers, products, work practices and attitudes. Alternatively, respondents are provided with a series of statements and asked for their level of agreement -(strengths) Quick and inexpensive to collect information from a large audience. Does not require significant time from stakeholders. Effective and efficient when stakeholders are not located in one location. Closed-ended surveys are effective in statistical analysis. Open-ended surveys can provide insights and opinions. -(limitations) Open-ended surveys require more analysis. Specialized skills in statistical sampling methods required. Questions left unanswered or answered incorrectly due to their ambiguity. Follow up questions or more survey iterations may be required. Response rates can be too low for statistical significance. -(key elements) Survey questions can be Open ended or close ended.
what is interface analysis
-(purpose) An interface is a connection between 2 components or solutions. Identify interfaces and interactions between solutions and/or solution components -(strengths) Helps in identifying stakeholders for elicitation. Early identification leads to increased functional coverage. Interfaces specifications provide a structured means of allocating requirements, business rules and constraints to the solution. Avoids over analysis of fine details owing to its broad application. -(limitations) Does not provide insight into internal components / other aspects of solution. -(key elements) Types of interface: 1. User interfaces - Users interacting with system plus reports. 2. Data interfaces between systems. 3. Application programming interfaces (APIs). 4. Hardware devices. 5. Business processes. 6. External partners.
what is mind map
-(purpose) Articulates and captures ideas in a non-linear (tree) structure. Ideas are grouped as topics, sub-topics, further sub-sub-topics. Mind maps use words, images, color, and connections to structure thoughts, ideas, and information -(strengths) Collaboration and communication tool. Structures complex thoughts, ideas, and information. Facilitate understanding and decision making. Enable creative problem solving. -(limitations) Can be misused as a brainstorming tool. Can become complex with details.
what is backlog management
-(purpose) Backlogs record, track and prioritize remaining work items. Backlog management is a planned approach to manage remaining work for project. In managed backlogs, items at top have highest business value and priority. Backlog items can be user stories, use cases, defects, CRs, risks etc. -(strengths) Prioritization for changing needs. Elaborate and estimate in detail ONLY priority items. Tells what items need to be worked on and what items can wait. -(limitations) Large backlogs can be difficult to manage. Needs experience to break down items for accurate estimate. Lack of details can result in lost information over time
what is benchmarking and market analysis
-(purpose) Benchmarking compares organizational practices against best-in-class practices from competitors, government, industry associations or standards. Market analysis understands customers' needs, factors influencing purchase decisions, and studies competitors. -(strengths) Provides information about new methods, ideas, and tools to improve. Target specific groups and products to answer specific needs. Determine when to enter or exit a market. Expose weaknesses within a certain company or industry. Identify differences in product offerings and services available from competitors. -(limitations) Time-consuming and expensive. Need expertise to conduct analyze gathered information. Benchmarking can't produce innovative solutions. Needs proper market segmentation. -(key elements) Key principle: No criticism.
what is business rules analysis
-(purpose) Business policies dictate actions of an enterprise and people in it by broadly controlling, influencing, or regulating them. Business rules serves as a criterion for guiding behavior and making decisions in a specific, testable manner. -(strengths) An enterprise-wide rules engine can assist in quick implementation of rules changes. Centralized rules repository enables reuse. Allows organizations to make changes to policies without changing processes. -(limitations) When combined, rules can be lengthy, inconsistent or produce unanticipated results. Poorly defined vocabulary can result in inaccurate or contradictory business rules -(key elements) 1.Use business terminology for validation. 2.Documented independently from enforcement. 3.Stated in declarative format at atomic level. 4. Maintained in a manner enabling monitoring and adaption as they change
what is business capability analysis
-(purpose) Capability maps provide a graphical view of capabilities. Capabilities describes ability of an enterprise to act on or transform something that helps achieve a business goal or objective. Capabilities describe outcome of performance or transformation, not how it is performed -(strengths) Create focused and aligned initiatives by providing a shared outcomes, strategy, and performance. Align business initiatives across multiple units of the organization -(limitations) Requires a broad, cross-functional collaboration in defining capability model and value framework. No set standards for notation of capabilities maps.
what is item tracking
-(purpose) Captures and assigns responsibility for issues and stakeholder concerns. Items can refer to actions, assumptions, constraints, dependencies, defects, enhancements and issues -(strengths) Stakeholder concerns are tracked and resolved. Allows to rank importance of outstanding items -(limitations)Can be expensive to capture and track items. Consumes productive time. Stakeholders could become mired in details and statistics. -(key elements) • Item identifier: Unique ID • Summary • Category & Type • Date identified • Identified by • Impact • Priority • Status etc
what is business canvas model
-(purpose) Comprises 9 building blocks describing how an organization intends to deliver value. As a diagnostic tool, use elements of the canvas as a lens into current state of business, especially wrt relative amounts of energy, time, and resources currently invested in various areas. of energy, time, and resources currently invested in various areas. -(strengths) Easy to understand and simple to use. Widely used and effective framework to understand and optimize business models. Maps of programs, projects, and other initiatives to the strategy of the enterprise. -(limitations) Does not account measures for social and environmental impacts. Does not provide a holistic insight for strategy. Does not include strategic purpose of enterprise. -(key elements) The 9 building blocks: 1. Key partnerships 2. Key activities 3. Key resources 4. Value proposition 5. Customer relationships 6. Channels 7. Customer segments 8. Cost structure 9. Revenue streams
what is glossary
-(purpose) Comprises of key terms relevant to a business domain to provide a common understanding of terms. Contains definitions and synonyms. Needs to be organized and be accessible to all stakeholders. -(strengths) Promotes communication and common understanding of business domain. Encourages consistency as single reference source for business terms. Simplifies writing and maintenance of Business analysis information. -(limitations) Requires dedicated persons to maintain. Challenging to get stakeholder agreement on a single definition for a term -(key elements) What glossary should contain: 1. Unique to a domain. 2. Multiple definitions. 3. Commonly used meaning is different from that which is used within domain. 4. Chance for misunderstanding
What is scope modeling
-(purpose) Describe scope of analysis or scope of a solution. They serve as a basis for defining and limiting scope of Business analysis and project work -(strengths) Help in defining contractual obligations. Helps in project effort estimation. Provide justification of In-scope/Out of scope decisions. Help in assessing completeness and impact of solutions. -(limitations) At a high-level. Scope change can be difficult due to political and contractual obligations. Wrong assumptions, changing needs, technological advancements can change scope. -(key elements) Scope model can include: 1. Business processes, functions, capabilities to be defined or modified. Use cases to be supported. 2. Technologies to be changed. 3. Organizational roles and units impacted. 4. Events to be responded to and impacted. 5. Systems, tools, assets required for change or impacted by change
what is lessons learned
-(purpose) Discusses and documents successes, failures and improvement recommendations for future phases or projects. Can include any format or venue that is acceptable to key stakeholders. Can be formal facilitated meetings or informal. -(strengths)Identifies areas of improvement. Assists in building team morale. Reinforces positive experiences. Reduces risks for future projects. Recognizes strengths or shortcomings. -(limitations) Can become blame game. Lack of willingness to discuss and document problems. Facilitation required to ensure discussions remain focused on solutions and improvement opportunities. -(key elements) Discuss Business analysis activities & deliverables, Final solution, service, or product, Automation introduced or eliminated, Impact to organizational processes, Performance expectations and results, Root causes impacting performance results
what is document analysis
-(purpose) Elicit Business analysis information, by examining materials describing business environment or organizational assets. Document analysis helps in understanding context of a business need or understanding how existing solutions are implemented. Based on Business analysis information being explored, purpose, scope and topics to be researched are determined. -(strengths) Analysis without creating new content. Useful when SMEs are not available. Determine what is current and what has changed. Results can be to validate against results of other elicitation techniques. Findings can be presented in easy to understand formats. -(limitations) Limited to "AS-IS" perspective. May not be up-todate or valid. Authors may not be available for clarification. Time-consuming. -(key elements) Steps for document analysis: 1.Prepare 2.Perform document review and analysis 3.Record findings
what is focus group
-(purpose) Elicit ideas, impressions, preferences, and needs and attitudes from pre-qualified individuals about a specific product, service or opportunity in an interactive group environment. Guided by a moderator. Typically,1 to 2 hours with 6-12 attendees. -(strengths) Learning people's attitudes, experiences and desires. Encourages active participation and discussion. Online focus groups works best when participants are distributed geographically -(limitations) Unwillingness to discuss sensitive or personal topics. What people say is inconsistent with how they actually behave. Homogeneous groups do not represent complete set of requirements. Skilled moderator needed. Can't read body language in online focus groups. -(key elements) Can be carried out for products under development, to be launched, in production
What is observation
-(purpose) Elicit information by observing activities and their contexts. -(strengths) Documenting details about current processes. When stakeholders are unable to express requirements well. Provides realistic and practical insight into business processes. Identify nondocumented informal tasks or work-arounds. Recommendations for improvement are based on evidence -(limitations) Possible for existing processes only. Time-consuming and can be disruptive. Participants may alter work practices when observed. Can't evaluate knowledge-based activities -(key elements) Observation types: Active/Noticeable- Ask questions during process. Interrupts work flow but helps in gaining a quick understanding. Passive/Unnoticeable - Ask questions at end. Do not interrupt work.
What is estimation
-(purpose) Estimation techniques are used for better understanding of possible range of costs and efforts associated with any change. -(strengths) Better decisions based on an improved understanding costs and time. Teams provide a better estimate than a single individual -(limitations) Stakeholders treat estimates as commitments. Using a single estimation method can set undue expectations. Accuracy depends on knowledge level about elements. Often altered to match desires of influential stakeholders -(key elements) types of estimation: • Top-down • Bottom-up Parametric • Rough order of magnitude (RoM) / Ball park • Rolling wave • Delphi • PERT (Program Evaluation Review Technique)
what is business case?
-(purpose) Formally or informally, justify investments based on estimated value compared to cost. Spend time and resources on business case proportional to the size and importance of its potential value. Business cases do not provide intricate details. -(strengths) Integrated view of facts, issues, and analysis. Financial analysis of costs and benefits. Guides decision making. -(limitations)Subject to biases of authors. Often not updated after funding. Assumptions wrt costs and benefits may be invalid. -(key elements)Steps: 1. Define needs. 2. Determine desired outcomes. 3. Assess constraints, assumptions, and risks. 4. Recommend solutions
what is Stakeholder list, map, or personas
-(purpose) Identify stakeholders affected by a proposed initiative or share a common business need, level of decision-making authority, authority within domain and organization, attitude/ interest towards change, and Business analysis work. -(strengths) Identifies stakeholders for requirements elicitation. Helps to engage all stakeholder groups. Useful to understand changes in impacted groups over time Assist in analyzing stakeholders and their characteristics Helps to identify all possible sources of requirements -(limitations) Those who continuously work with same stakeholders may not use stakeholder analysis technique as they don't feel much change will happen in their respective team. Assessing influence and interest of specific stakeholders can be complicated and risky. -(key elements) RACI Matrix: Responsible Accountable Consulted Informed
what is interview
-(purpose) Most common form of elicitation technique where interviewers ask questions to stakeholders. Effective interviewers control discussions understand needs from ALL stakeholders, probe deeper when needed and ensure completeness of answers. -(strengths) Encourages participation. Builds rapport Simple and direct. Allows discussions and explanations and non-verbal behavior. Allows follow-up and probing questions to confirm understanding. Allows interviewees to express opinions in private -(limitations) Needs significant time. Needs commitment and involvement of participants. Needs trained facilitator. Subject to interviewer's interpretation. Unintentionally leading the interviewee. -(key elements) Interview success depends on: 1. Interviewer skills a. Domain understanding b. Documentation skills c. Experience and willingness 2. Interviewee a. Readiness to provide relevant information b. Clarity about interview goal 3. Rapport between interviewer and interviewee
What is Organizational Modelling
-(purpose) Organizational modelling describes roles, responsibilities, and reporting structures that exist within an organization, and aligns those structures with organization's goals. Visual representations of organizational units -(Strengths) Common in most organizations. Enables future projects to know participants involved and their roles. Helps to identify influencers in organization. -(limitations) organizations. Enables future projects to know participants involved and their roles. Helps to identify influencers in organization. Out of date at times. Does not tell about real influencers in the organization. -(key elements) 3 Types of org. models 1. Functional 2. Market oriented 3. Matrix
what is prioritization
-(purpose) Provides a framework for stakeholder decisions to understand relative importance of requirements. Importance may be based on value, risk, difficulty of implementation etc. -(strengths) Helps in consensus building and tradeoffs. Ensures maximum solution value. Assists in meeting initiative timelines. -(limitations) Stakeholders often avoid difficult choices and do not make trade-offs. Solution team may try to influence prioritization by over estimating complexity of certain requirements. Lack of defined metrics may make it subjective. -(key elements) Techniques for prioritization: Grouping Ranking Time boxing/ Budgeting Negotiation
what is prototyping
-(purpose) Provides an early model of final result, widely used for product design. Details UI requirements and integrates them with other requirements such as use cases, scenarios, data, and business rules. Stakeholders often find prototyping to be a concrete means of identifying, describing and validating their interface needs. Prototypes can discover desired process flow and business rules -(strengths) Supports users who are more comfortable and effective at articulating their needs by using pictures. Early user interaction and feedback. Throw-away prototypes are inexpensive to quickly uncover and confirm a variety of requirements. Proof of concepts demonstrate technical feasibility -(limitations) Can take considerable time if process gets bogged down by "how's" rather than "what's". Assumptions about underlying technology needs to be made for functional prototype. Users may develop unrealistic expectations Users may focus on design specifications than requirements. -(key elements) Throw-away prototype Evolutionary or Functional prototype
what is workshop
-(purpose) Requirements workshop, also known as JAD (Joint application design) session, is a highly productive focused event attended by carefully selected key stakeholders, and SMEs for a short, intensive period (typically 1 or a few days). -(strengths) Get detailed requirements in a short time. Means for stakeholders to collaborate Costs are lower than cost of performing multiple interviews Immediately validate facilitator's interpretation. -(limitations) Highly dependent on expertise of facilitator, and knowledge of participants. Too many participants can slow down workshop process. Not collecting inputs from all participants can lead to overlooking of important requirements -(key elements) Roles during the workshop: Sponsor Facilitator Scribe Time keeper Participants
what is collaborative games
-(purpose) Uses game playing techniques to collaborate in developing common understanding of a problem or a solution. Involves strong visual or tactile (activities) elements such as moving sticky notes, writing on whiteboards, or drawing pictures. -(strengths) Identifies hidden assumptions or differences of opinions. Encourages creative thinking. Participants play a more active role. Exposes needs that aren't being met. -(limitations) Can be perceived as silly and unproductive. Uncomfortable for reserved participants. -(key elements) Example collaborative games: Product box Affinity map Fishbowl
what is functional decomposition
-(purpose) breaks down a large aspect (processes, functional areas, deliverables, scope, or problems) into smaller aspects, as independent as possible, so that work can be assigned to different groups. This reduces complexity of analysis -(strength) Helps to manage complex problems by breaking them into parts. Provides shared understanding of complex matters. Helps in estimation. -(limitations) No way to be certain that all components have been captured. Missing or incorrect elements can lead to re-work. Not understanding of relationships between pieces can create an inappropriate structure. Need deep subject knowledge and collaboration with stakeholders. -(key elements) aspects those can be decomposed are: Business outcomes, Work to be done Business processes, Functions, Business units Solution components, Activities, Products and services, Decisions
what is review
-(purpose)Communicate, verify and validate content of work products formally or informally. Communicate review objectives in advance to participants -(strengths) Promotes stakeholder discussions and involvement for quality output. Identifies defects early. Desk checks and pass around reviews are convenient -(limitations) Rigorous team reviews can be time consuming. Informal reviews are more practical but may not ensure removal of significant defects. Difficult to validate whether prior independent review in desk check and pass around reviews. Can lead to repeated revisions if changes are not carefully managed. Sharing and discussing review comments over email can elongate approval process. -(key elements) Remove defects Check conformity to specifications or standards Check completeness Quality measurement Reach consensus on approach or solution Issue resolution Alternative exploration Education of reviewers
What is brainstorming
-(purpose)One or group of stakeholders deliberate on an idea to produce numerous new ideas in a non-judgmental environment, and to derive themes for further analysis -(strengths) Excellent way to foster creative thinking as ideas are not judged. Fun, engaging, and productive. Generate many ideas in a short time Useful to reduce tension between participants -(limitations) Depends on participants' creativity and willingness to participate. Participants must agree to avoid debating / criticizing ideas during brainstorming -(key elements) Steps for brainstorming: Prepare Conduct session Wrap-up
What are functional requirements
Typically pertain to data, UI, process, logic etc
What is enterprise
A system of one or more organizations and the solutions they use to pursue a shared set of common goals.
What is Design
A usable representation of a solution.
what is acceptance and evaluation criteria
Acceptance criteria describe minimal set of requirements to be met for a solution to be worth implementing, also known as Must Have requirements. Typically used when evaluation only one possible solution and is expressed as pass or fail. Must be testable. Agile methodologies require requirements to be expressed as testable acceptance criteria. Express contractual obligations. Evaluation criteria help in assessing diverse needs and defining priorities. Difficult to change for legal or political reasons. Achieving consensus is challenging.
What is organization
An autonomous group of people which work towards achieving common goals and objectives.
what is process analysis
Analyzes processes for their effectiveness, efficiency, and identifies improvement opportunities Ensures solution addresses right issues. Minimizes waste. Flexibilities wrt techniques and methodologies Time-consuming. Challenging to decide which approach to use and how rigorously to follow them. Not very effective in knowledge or decision-intensive processes.
what is requirement
Usable representation of a need.
what is vendor assesment
Assess ability of a potential vendor to meet commitments wrt delivery and consistent provision of a product or service. Ensures vendor is reliable and organization expectations are met. Reduces risk of choosing an unsuitable vendor. Improved longterm satisfaction with decision. Time-consuming to gather sufficient information on multiple vendors. Risk of failure as partnership evolves cannot be prevented. Subjectivity may bias evaluation outcome. Aspects to be careful: Choose licensing and pricing models Determine product reputation and market position Determine terms and conditions Determine vendor reputation Determine vendor stability
what is Business analysis information?
Broad and diverse set of information at any level of detail which are analyzed, transformed and reported during business analysis. e.g.: elicitation results, requirements, solution options etc.
What is Solution Requirements
Capabilities and qualities of a solution that meets stakeholder and business requirements. Broadly classified into: • Functional requirements - Typically pertain to data, UI, process, logic etc. • Non-functional requirements or quality of service requirements.
What are transition requirements
Capabilities that the solution must possess in order to facilitate transition from current state to future state. Key examples are data migration and training
what is data modeling
Data model describe entities, classes or data objects relevant to a domain, their attributes and relationships among them Helps in consistent vocabulary. Ensures logical design of persistent data correctly represents business needs. Consistent approach to analyze and document data and its relationships. Can be at different levels of detail. Can expose missing requirements. Requires background in software. Typically beyond knowledge of an individual stakeholder. Levels of data models 1. Concept 2. Logical 3. Physical
what is risk
Effect of uncertainty on the value of a change, solution or enterprise.
what is roles and permissions matrix
Ensures coverage of activities by denoting responsibility, to identify roles, and to discover missing roles. providess procedural checks and balances, and data security, by restricting individuals from performing certain or all actions. Promotes improved review of transaction history, in that audit logs can capture details about any assigned authorities at time. Provides documented roles and responsibilities for activities. Need to recognize required level of detail for a specific initiative or activity. Too much detail can be time consuming, too little detail can exclude necessary roles Initiative level roles and responsibilities with RACI matrix IT system roles and responsibilities with CRUD (Create, Read, Update and Delete) matrix
what is root cause analysis
Identify and evaluate underlying causes of a problem, looking into causes occurring due to people, physical or organizational effects. Reactive analysis: For corrective action. Proactive analysis: For preventive action Structured method to identify root causes. Helps to come up with effective solutions Need formal training or extensive experience to facilitate a team of experts. Prove to be difficult with complex problems. Steps for RCA are: 1. Problem Statement Definition 2. Data Collection 3. Cause Identification 4. Action Identification
What is a non-functional requirement?
Examines requirements for a solution that define how well functional requirements must perform. Also known as quality attributes or quality of service requirements. Expressed in textual formats as declarative statements or in matrices. Provides measurable expressions of how well functional requirements must perform. States constraints applicable to functional requirements Difficult to articulate and define than functional requirements. Usefulness depends on how well stakeholders can express their needs. Getting agreement on NFRs can be difficult. Overly stringent NFRs significantly increase cost and effort for development. Difficult to measure and test. NFR categories are: Availability, Compatibility Functionality, Maintainability, Performance efficiency, Portability, Reliability, Scalability, Security, Usability, Certification Compliance, Localization, Extensibility
financial analysis
Explore financial aspects (benefits and costs) of an investment. Objective (quantitative) comparison of investments. Assumptions and estimates are clearly stated. Reduces uncertainty by identifying and analyzing influencing factors Costs and benefits are difficult to quantify. Numbers give false sense of security Cost of change Total cost of ownership (TCO) Opportunity cost Sunk cost Net benefit Return on investment Payback period Discount rate Free cash flow
what is data mining
Finds useful patterns and insights from large amounts of data, usually resulting in mathematical models. Utilized in either supervised (user poses a question) or unsupervised (pure pattern discovery) investigations. Reveals hidden patterns and insights. Increased accuracy of data and decision. Reduce human bias Requires specialist knowledge. Takes considerable effort. Can result in erroneous correlations. May lead to accidental misuse. Resistance to use of advanced math and lack of transparency Steps: Elicit requirements Data preparation: Analytical dataset Analyze data Modelling techniques Deployment
What is Business requirements
Goals, objectives and outcomes which indicate the reason for initiating a change
what is process modeling
Graphical model to describe sequential flow of activities. A system process model defines sequential flow of control among programs or units within a computer system. A program process flow shows sequential execution of program statements within a software program. MOST stakeholders understand process models. Can be at multiple levels. Can show large number of scenarios and parallel branches. Identifies overlooked stakeholder groups. Identify potential improvements Documentation for compliance. Used for training and coordination of activities. Used as a baseline for continuous improvement. Provides transparency and clarity to process owners Formal process models perceived as document-heavy approach. Can become extremely complex and unwieldy. Single individual will not be able to understand and 'sign off' a complex process. Can't show process problems just from model. In a highly dynamic environment, process models can become obsolete quickly. Stakeholders often alter processes to meet their needs without updating the model. 1.Describes context of solution or part of solution, 2.Describes current (as is), or is desired (to be) process, 3. Provides a visual to accompany a text description and 4. Provides a basis for process analysis
what is risk analysis
Identify, analyze and evaluate uncertainties that could negatively affect value, develop and manage way of dealing with risks. Can be applied at multiple levels - strategic, tactical or operational. Successful risk responses on one initiative can be useful for others. Ongoing risk management helps to re-evaluate risks and suitability of planned responses # of possible risks can become unmanageably large. Possible to manage only a subset of potential risks. Often significant risks are not be identified. Risk management techniques are: Avoid Transfer Mitigate Accept Increase
what is metrics and key performance indicators (KPI)
Measure performance of solutions, solution components and other matters of interest to stakeholders. A metric is a quantifiable level of an indicator to measure progress. A target metric is objective to be reached within a specified period Allows stakeholders to understand extent to which a solution meets an objective. Facilitates organizational alignment, linking goals to objectives, supporting solutions, underlying tasks and resources. Can be expensive, bureaucratic, and useless. Can distract from key responsibilities, especially on agile projects. Mostly no feedback is provided to stakeholders collecting metric data as to understand how their actions are affecting quality of project results. Can lead to suboptimal performance when metrics are used to assess performance. Properties of indicators: 1. Clear: Precise and unambiguous. 2. Relevant: Appropriate to the concern. 3. Economical: Available at reasonable cost. 4. Adequate: Provides a sufficient basis on which to assess performance. 5. Quantifiable: Can be independently validated. 6. Trustworthy and Credible: Based on evidence and research
what is concept modeling
Organizes business vocabulary, usually starting with glossary. Makes precise communication. Independent of data design biases helps in reducing ambiguity Requires abstract thinking skill. Need tool support for strict implementation Organizing, managing and communicating core knowledge, Need to capture large numbers of business rules,Stakeholders find it hard to understand data models, Regulatory or compliance challenges.
What is plan
Proposal for doing or achieving something.
Stakeholder: sponsor
Role: Authorizes work to be done, controls the budget and scope of the initiative.
Stakeholder: Customer
Role: Has a contractual right. May use products or services produced by enterprise.
Stakeholder: Implementation SME
Role: Has specialized knowledge pertaining to implementation of solution components. Examples: Change manager, Solution architect, Information architect etc.
Stakeholder : Domain Subject Matter Expert (SME)
Role: People with in-depth knowledge of a topic relevant to business need or solution scope. E.g. Managers, Process owners, Consultants etc.
what is use cases and scenarios
Scenarios, and use cases describe how actors (a person or a system) interacts with a solution to accomplish one or more of that person or systems goals. Good at clarifying scope, and providing a highlevel understanding of requirements Narrative flow of use case description makes it easy to understand. Use case description articulates functional behavior of a system Written at higherlevel of abstraction (low level of detail). Flexible format of use cases may result in capturing inappropriate or unnecessary details. Additional analysis and design required to identify include use cases
what is sequence diagram
Sequence diagrams (also known as event diagrams) model logic of usage scenarios, by showing information (also known as stimuli, or message) passed between objects during execution of a scenario Shows interactions between objects in visual and chronological (time) order. Refines use cases with more details. Creating sequence diagram for every use case can be a waste of time and effort. Fairly technical
what is decision modeling
Show how repeatable business decisions are made using data and knowledge Easy to share and understand. Facilitate shared understanding. Support impact analysis. Multiple perspectives can be shared and combined, especially when a diagram is used. Decision tables help in managing large numbers of parameters. Helps with reuse. Helps in rulesbased automation, data mining, predictive analytics and BI projects Unnecessary for simple decisions coupled to process. Practices may differ from model. Difficult to obtain agreement on crossfunctional rules. Needs clearly defined business terminology to avoid data quality issues for process automation
what is data flow diagram
Show transformation of data from (data source such as external sources, activities and destination). Data used in DFDs should be described in a data dictionary. Highest leveldiagram (Level 0) is context diagram represents the entire system. Depict transactionbased systems and boundaries of a system. To discover processes and data. Verify functional decompositions or data models. Excellent way to define scope and interfaces. Helps in effort estimation. Easy to understand. Helps to identify duplicate or missing data elements Can become complex for largescale systems. Different DFD notations exist. Can't show sequence of activities, logic or stakeholders
What is stakeholder requirements
Stakeholder needs which must be met to achieve business requirements.
what is data dictionary
Standard definitions of primitive data elements, their meanings, allowable values, how those elements combine into composite data elements. Used to manage data within a solution's context, often used along with ER diagrams. Ensures stakeholders agreement on format and content of relevant information. Ensures consistent usage of data elements Can become obsolete unless maintained. Needs maintenance to ensure quick and easy retrieval. Metadata required by multiple scenarios must be taken into account. Data elements can be primitive or composite
what is state modeling
State models (also sometimes called a state transition model) describe and analyze different possible states (formal representation of a status) of an entity within a system, how that entity changes from one state to another and what can happen to entity when it is in each state Identifies business rules and information for entity being modelled. Identifies activities that apply to entity at different states. Consumes time and effort. Obtaining consensus is time-consuming 1. Set of possible states (Statuses) for an entity, 2. sequence of states that entity can be in, 3. how an entity changes from one state to another, 4. events and conditions that cause entity to change states and 5. Actions that can or must be performed by entity in each state as it moves by its life cycle.
What is a SWOT analysis?
Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. A framework for strategic planning, opportunity analysis, competitive analysis, business, and product development Helps quickly analyze various aspects of current state, and environment prior to identifying potential solution options. Focusing on factors which add value to business. High-level view, needs further analysis. Clear context needed to stay within focus Strengths and weaknesses are internal, while Opportunities and Threats are external.
what is decision analysis
Supports decisionmaking in complex, difficult, or uncertain situations. Examines and models possible consequences of different decisions. Determines expected value of alternative scenarios. Assesses importance placed on different alternatives. Assesses options based on objective criteria rather than emotions. Constructs suitable metrics to compare financial and nonfinancial outcomes. Requires knowledge of probability. Information may not be available on time. Decisions may have to be taken immediately at times. Tendency to treat results of decision analysis as more certain than they actually are Values, goals and objectives relevant to decision problem. Nature of decision to be made. Areas of uncertainty that affect decision. Consequences of each possible decision
what is user stories
User stories are a brief textual description, typically 1 or 2 sentences, of functionality that users need from a solution to meet a business objective. User story describes actor (who uses story), goal they are trying to accomplish, and any additional information to be critical to understanding scope of story. Easily understood. Prioritizing, estimating and planning solutions. Focuses on value to stakeholders. Results in shared understanding of domain by collaboration while developing user stories. Facilitates rapid delivery and feedback by small, implementable, and testable slices of functionalities. Can prove to be a challenge due to lack of detailed specifications. Requires context and visibility. Should be supplemented with higher level analysis and artifacts. Regulatory restrictions, or when organization mandates documentation. Parts of user story: 1. Title 2. Statement of value. 3. Conversation 4. Acceptance criteria
What are non-functional requirements?
requirements or quality of service requirements.
Stakeholder: business analyst
role: Default stakeholder in all Business analysis activities.
Stakeholder: regulator
role: Define and enforce standards.
Stakeholder: tester
role: Determines whether the solution meets requirements and quality standards.
Stakeholder: project manager
role: Ensures project objectives are met considering several project factors. Manages work required to deliver a project.
Stakeholder: supplier
role: Provides products or services to the organization.
Stakeholder: operational support
role: Responsible for managing and maintaining systems.
Stakeholder: End User
role: Those who directly use the product or solution.
