Business Analysis Overview

A business case may include (but is not limited to) documenting the following

-cost -benefit analysis -impact to stakeholders -new processes in technology

BA needs to know and have:

-know ho to prepare users for change -have user adapt to new change asap

What are some key business analyst roles

-system analyst - management consultant -Product Manager others: business analyst function, data analyst, enterprise analyst, process analyst and business architect

BA creates a plan of action by

-conducting stakeholder analysis and noting who will be impacted by the change (individuals, deparement) -Identify the requiremenys

BA needs to make sure there are the following to meet objective:

-collaboration -communication -facilitate understanding

The nusiness process management perspective is about improving the business process

- does most work at the operational level -creates an "as is process model" -after understanding the business goals, objectives and key performance indicatiors, the BA will make changes and procedure "the to be process"

system analysis

- focuses on changes to tech -write functional requirements describe how it must be have

What are some elicitation techniques

- interviews, workshops, observation, brainstorm, document analysis, focus groups, prototype, interface analysis, user interface analysis, survey and questionnaires

The stakeholder perception of how the problem is resolved may be different

- solutions take many forms -Everyone needs to collaborate -requirements should be verified

BA assess risk to the solutioon and may include

- tangible impacts such as regulatory fines for non-compliance, - non-tangible like company's reputation may be affected

BA needs to have 1 of all the knowledge areas but usually it is preferred that BA knows most:

-BA Planning and monitoring -elicitation and collaboration -requirements life cycle management -strategy analysis -requirement analysis and design solution -solution evaluation

Requirement analysis and design (RADD) is central to what a BA does. RADD need prior:

-Business analysis plan will outline the information management approach, elicitation result (before analyzing and designing), requirements been approved, Validation

Changes can be

-Tactical work often minor changes (software enhancement) -operational (rules, policies, external drivers-i.e., regulatory changes)

Key project team stakeholders include:

-The sponsor -the business analyst -the project Manager -the domain subject matter expert -implementation subject matter expert -tester

Business Analyst is responsible

-activities and task need to describe solution -execution of the requirements phase of a project -may sometime be a software tester or even a trainer

There are 5 project perspectives

-agile projects -business intelligence perspective -information technology perspective -business architect perspective -business process management perspective

Project manager manages constraints:

-budget and scope -meet the stakeholder's need within time and budget -schedules and resources -managing and obtaining the resources need to deliver the solution -Quality - solutions needs to meet criteria outlines by business analysis -risks (continuously monitors, identifies and mitigate risks to ensure project success)

Business analysis may work in

1. enterprise initiative and projects, 2. Make improvements to solution launch of new project, 3. analyze current enviornemnt, processes, technology to determine optimal changes a

Business analysis conducts

1. stajeholder analysis, 2. analyzes the data related to any errors and documents the process, 3. interviews with stakeholders are conducted to understand problem, objectives and goals, and rules

Business Analyst provides the stakeholders the following to demonstrate their findings

A business case

Process Analysis

A method of paragraph or essay development by which a writer explains step by step how something is done or how to do something.

Domain Subject Matter Expert

A stakeholder with in-depth knowledge of a topic relevant to the business need or solution scope.

What project perspective does the business analyst MAY act as a owner, sponsor, or product owner?

Agile Projects

What BA perspectives can work together in one initiative?

All five

Strategy analysis has a strong connection with

All knowledge areas

Project Manager

An individual who is an expert in project planning and management, defines and develops the project plan, and tracks the plan to ensure the project is completed on time and on budget

Business analyst activities

Analyze need, seek a solution based on information obtain, create strategies to address business issues, facilitate change.

SME can be

Anyone in the organization: - end users of the existing solution who have knowledge of the ins and outs and current issues -Managers who need reports and data to run daily operations -process owners who are responsible for the key performance indictors for a process -legal and regulator experts (assist with constraints imposed by Laws) -Consultants (have specific expertise)

Requirements life cycle management needs ___________ and _____________ to develop guidelines, techniques, how to analyze you will analyze and communicate design, and ensure that the strategies align with requirements.

BA Planning and Monitoring and Elicitation and Collaboration

Business analysis plan will outline the information management approach

BA planning and monitoring

Elicitation Activities need to have a strong connection with ___ and relationship with ___

BA planning and monitoring; stragtegy analysis

Its important to find the solution at the

Beginning of the project

Sponsor are in control of the

Budget- where resources are allocated

Which perspective does not work at the operational level

Business Architect Perspective

If the goal does not align, what can the BA do?

Cancel

End users may be prone to be resistant to

Change due to not as invested as the stakeholders

Technology has a big part to play and should always be examined especially when making

Changes (checking capabilities between systems)

There are 6 core concepts in the model:

Changes, needs, solution, stakeholders, value, and context

Need Core Concept model in BAPM

Choose a BA Approach that provides adequate analysis for the change: -Problem or opportunity -motivates performing activities necessary to make improvements -higher risk/adversity higher the need and vice versa -need is prioritize during project and program allocation

Estimates needs to be

Dependable

Solution Evaluation

Describes the tasks that business analysts perform to assess the performance of and value delivered by a solution in use by the enterprise, and to recommend removal of barriers or constraints that prevent the full realization of the value. (Inquires for recommendation/feedback)

Elicitation result (before analyzing and designing)

Elicitation and Collaboration

BA Planning and Monitoring

Ensures that BA and stakeholders are on the same page in terms of work to be done, timelines, dependencies, and overall expectations.

Examples of Operational risks

Financial loss, processes that don't meet regulatory constraints

Requirements been approved

Life Cycle of Requirements

Operational analyst (support/analyze)

May provide support to end users and/or analyze the solution for enhancements and/or change

Can requirements be traced or maintain without being verified?

No

Can the Business case be completed without stakeholder's collaboration?

No, it is necessary to obtain the need to develop requirements

Does a BA always need to make a change?

No, the BA may determine that no change is necessary.

Elicitation and Collaboration uses ___ to plan the activities that the BA will do with the stakeholders

Planning and Monitoring

Operational Risks

Possible events and situations resulting from employee actions, core processes, and daily business activities

Business case

Presentation to management that establishes that a specific problem exists and argues that the proposed solution is the best way to solve the problem in terms of time, cost efficiency, and probability of success.

Project scope needs to:

not expand, needs to be aligned with business needs, help with minimize costs and schedule overruns

RADD

Requirements Analysis and Design Definition

What process verifies requirements

Requirements analysis and design

Strategy analysis is connected to requirements life cycle management as a

Risk Management

A solution: core concept Model in BAPM

Should satisfy need, resolve a problem, or use an organization's strengths to exploit an opportunity

What skills must Business intelligence perspective require

Skills in data modeling, decision modeling, knowledge of information dashboards

Validation

Strategy

Elicitation and Collaboration

Tasks BAs carry out to Prepare for elicitation, Conduct elicitation activities, confirm results, communicate and collaborate with stakeholders

Data Analysis

The process of compiling, analyzing, and interpreting the results of primary and secondary data collection.

Elicitation

The process of setting or producing something, especially information or a reaction

Project Scope

The work performed to deliver a product, service, or result with the specified features and functions.

Enterprise Analysis

This knowledge area describes how a BA identifies a business need, refines and clarifies the definition of that need, and defines a solution scope that can be feasibly implemented by the business.

Risk is the

Uncertainty on the value of a change, solution, or enterprise

A design is a

Usable representation of solution

A prototype may be used to have

a understanding if its working

management consultant

adviser to business about efficient management practices// Advises company on the best ways to manage and operate business

Change Core concept model in BAPM

are responsible for determining how changes to Business Analysis results will be requested and authorized. -Introduce as solutions -transformation (small, complex, simple, large) -is predicted on a need -doesn't always include improvement (but should) -Project controls activity of change

The information Technology perspective focuses on

changes to information technology. BA provides enhancements to implementation of large systems, and/or act as a liaison between the business and info technology

The culture (Demographics, current processes, structures, environment) of the organization should always be taken into consideration when

choosing a solution.

Agile Projects

consist of constant changes requiring the BA to be flexible and modify how the approach the business analyst tasks. (change is done iterations)

tester role is to verify the solution and ensure it meets specification by

creating test cases aligned to ensure that the processes and software perform according to specifications. -reduce risks and defects if outcome is satisfactory

Once project is over, the solution is provided to operational support for

day to day management of the solution (maintenance, updates, and enhancements)

Requirements needs to be

decomposed

Enterprise is comprised of

departments or business units

Requirements Life Cycle Management

describes the tasks that business analysts perform in order to manage and maintain requirements and design information from inception to retirement. These tasks describe establishing meaningful relationships between related requirements and designs, and assessing, analyzing and gaining consensus on proposed changes to requirements and designs.

The process involves in Business analysis

people, processes, and technology

Product manager

development of new products for the company

Sponsor is usually an

executive or senior manager and they are truly invested

Corporation helps the BA by

facilitates transition to production

Constraints needs to be identified during the

formulation and application of requirements

The business analysis core concept model is a

framework for business analysis. Common approach to Any Domain, Scope, Approach

An organization is a

group of people under management who have common objectives that need to be met in order to achieve the goals and meet the enterprise strategy

The sponsor is a driving force

in defining the overall needs goals, objectives for organization and development of solutions

SME has

in dept knowledge of the current state and the needs of operation

business analysis

is a set of practices that uses to analyze an organization, business unit, or business process to take advantage of business opportunities or solve problems.

Product Analysis

making cost estimates and sales forecasts to get a feeling for profitability of new-product ideas

Implementation Subject Matter experts are

project librarian, change manager, process owner, configuration manager, solution architect, developer, database admin., information architect, usability analyst, trainer, organizational change consultant

A plan is a

proposal (plan tasks, activities, and the sequence of those events)

Strategy Analysis

study of firms' external and internal environments, and their fit with organizational vision and goals

The business Architect perspective provides

the blueprint of the business and manages or identifies identifies changes to business capabilities; processes, and they drive the need for a business case and a project

Business analysis information refers to

the broaden verse set of information that business analyst analyze, transform, report.

Implementation Subject Matter experts are responsible for

the implementation of the described solution (typically assigned to Project and use requirements to implement solutions)

Requirement life cycle management is comprised of

tracing, maintaining, prioritizing, approving requirements, only for one initiative

The recommendation is important to

understand if the business will be able to adapt to change.

A requirement is a

usable representation of a need and should provide something of valuse to the stakeholders.

Detail rules, processes, and instructions decreases:

users mistakes and assist in identifying defects and/or errors

Business intelligence perspective

utilizes data from multiple sources to provide information enbaling evidence base decisions, reporting needs, or changes to data integration systems

Elicitation and collaboration describes

what the BA will undertake to engage with stakeholders to obtain information