Business Analysis Foundation
Quantitative approaches
Allow us to obtain data to quantify information that has been provided during qualitative investigation techniques. Surveys and questionnaires Pros: - can allow us to gain info from a large amount of people Cons: - results can be ambiguous
Definition of the BA's role
An advisory role which has the responsibility for investigating and analysing business situations, identifying and evaluating options fr improving business systems, elaborating and defining requirements, and ensuring effective implementation and use of information systems in line with the needs of the business.
Porter's 5 Forces
An analysis tool to help evaluate an industry's profitability and hence its attractiveness - threat of new entrants: time and cost of entry, specialist knowledge, economies of scale, cost advantages, barriers to entry, technology protection - bargaining power of buyers: number of customers, differences between competitors, price sensitivity, ability to substitute - threat of substitutes: substitute performance, cost of change - bargaining power of suppliers: number of suppliers, size of suppliers, uniqueness of service, ability to substitute, cost to change Rivalry among existing competitors: number of competitors, quality differences, switching costs, customer loyalty, costs of leaving the market, other differences
Process
An entire set of activities that start with a triggering event and end with some output being delivered
Prototyping
Building simulations of process or system in order to review them with the users to increase understanding of requirements Pros: - clarifies uncertainty - helps user identify new requirement - demonstrated the look and feel of the proposed system - validates requirements - identifies errors - provides a means of assessing the navigation paths and system performance Cons: - prototyping cycle can spin out of control with endless iterations - can raise user expectations
PESTLE analysis
Can be used to determine feasibility: - Political - Economic - Socio-cultural: does the solution fit with the organisation's culture - Technological - Legal - Environmental: Does the solution raise any "green" concerns
Workshops
Collaborative form in which issues can be discussed, conflicts resolved, and requirements elicited. You can also gain process models, data requirements, CSFs, and KPIs Pros: - gain a broad view of the area under investigation - fast and productive compared to other techniques - allows us to obtain buy in and acceptance for the project - gain a consensus view or group agreement Cons: - can be time consuming to organise - can be a waste of time in not facilitated carefully - can be difficult to ensure that all participants have the required level of authority
Gap Analysis
Explore the differences between a current state and a desired future state. Can be used to examine: - "as is" and "to be" business processes - the competencies held by an individual and those required for a particular role - The IT system requirements and the features offered by an off the shelf software package
Shadowing
Following a user for a short period of tie. Allows us to understand what a role entails . We can ask for explanations and whatever during shadowing. Allows up to build rapport, but you risk getting annoying.
Resource Audit
Identifies the core competencies or highlights lack of competencies that may undermine competitive advantage - physical resources: buildings, equipment, etc. - financial resources and their availability/liquidity - human resources and their expertise, adaptability, commitment, etc. - Intangibles: know how, reputation
Why Organisational Context is Important
It allows us to be prepared when embarking on a business process improvement project, Also allows us to understand how processes are affected by external factors.
Stakeholder Management Matrix
Low power and interest: monitor High power, low interest: keep satisfied Low power, high interest: keep informed High power and interest: manage closely Some influence and all levels of interest: keep onside, prevent them from taking more interest that could be obstructive. This area could include regulators and middle managers. Provide them with frequent, positive communication
Types of Business Rules
Operational Guidelines: business rules that determine how procedures are conducted within the organisation - ex: how to issue a refund Constraints: business rules that have to be applied and restrict how a process or task is performed. Could be legal or regulatory
POPIT model
Processes: compare the "as is" and "to be" processes IT: IT support, accessibility, alignment with enterprise architecture Organisation: McKinsey 7S model People: Skills, recruitment, staff development, motivation, reward
Interviews
Pros: - helps build rapport - allows us to understand perspectives and attitudes - allows us to understand politics and business environment - allows us to gather important info Cons: - time consuming - info may be biased - expensive How to Prepare: - Who, What, Why, When, Where, How
Boston Box
Provides a means of conducting a portfolio analysis. This allows organisations to categorise their SBUs and products/services A successful product/SBU starts as a wild car and moves clockwise around the model wild cat/problem child - low market share, high market growth: investments for the future that are currently unprofitable Star - high market share and growth: strengthen their position in a growth industry until they become big profit earners Cash Cow - high market share, low growth: mature products/services in markets with little to no growth. The money made from them funds other segments of the matrix Dog - low market share and growth: low market share in markets with low growth and are areas that are removed or allowed to whither away
Alternative View of an Organisation
Shows the internal processes and the external world. Developed by considering the external factors that influence the organisation and then analysing the internal business process. It shows how inputs come from suppliers, go into company processes, and go to customers as outputs to fulfil their requests. Also shows how suppliers interact with competitors and subsequently how competitors interact with customers, as well as how the external environment influences inputs, outputs, and requests from customers
Functional View of an Organisation
Shows the way an organisation is structured First we have general management, then below them we have: - engineering - production - finance - marketing - sales and support
Types of Options we Have for Solving a Business Issue
- Business options that explore what the proposed business solution is expected to achieve in business terms (think CPFs and KPIs) - Technical Options that consider how the solution is to be implemented, often through the use of IT
Strategy Drivers
- Individual (CEO) - Experiences and views of internal managers - innovation - formal design process - company politics
Business Context
- Mission - Objective - Strategy - Tactics
Internal Environment Analysis Methods
- Most Analysis - Resource Audit - Boston Box - SWOT analysis
Tools to understand stakeholder perspectives
- Soft Systems Methodology - CATWOE - Business Activity Models (BAMs)
Threat of substitute products is high when
- product substitution from new tech is convenient - need for the product is replaced with a different need - it is possible to do without it (want vs need)
Business Architecture Techniques
1) Business Capability Modelling 2) Value Stream Analysis
Process for developing scenarios
1) identify task or actions 2) identify steps and sequence 3) define control conditions 4) identify alternative paths
Porter's Value Chain
A good way to make sure that you haven't missed any processes that are required to deliver value. It identifies ey areas of primary and support activities perfored by an organisation. Start with operations and then consider other areas.
Step
Activities carried out within a task
Task
An individual activity within a process
Protocol Analysis
Asking a user to carry out a task and describe each step as it is performed. Allows us to understand the skill needed o perform a task and what degree of unconscious skill is involved
Technical Feasibility
Does the proposed system meet the organisation's demand in terms of tech performance/ability, security, etc. and if the organisation has the technical expertise to use/implement the system
Business Process Map
Formed from a high level set of activities carried out in order to benefit or bring value to customers. The process receives an input and produces an output. Start by producing a process map that shows the inputs going into the process and the outputs leaving it
The Context for Strategy
Strategy is all about trying to understand what will happen in the future, and trying to position yourself to take advantage of those changes
Business Case
The document where analysts present their findings and propose a course of action for senior management to consider. It is a sales document with the purpose of making people take action
Observation
Types: - formal observation - shadowing - protocol analysis - ethnographic studies Pros: - gain tacit knowledge - gain a better understanding of problems facing the business user - allows us to prepare questions for interviews - will help us create workable solutions that are more likely to be accepted by the business user Cons: - Being observed can be unnerving - when people are being observed they may not act naturally
Mind Maps
Useful for summarising a lot of information in a simple visual form that highlights connections between different ideas and topics. Draw the business system or situation at the centre of the map and then connect the processes, systems, and equipment to it. Use the least amount of words possible
Special Purpose Records
When the user writes down what they do and how long it takes them to complete it
Financial Feasibility
Whether the organisation can afford the proposed solution
Business Feasibility
Whether the proposal matches the business objectives and strategy of the organisation and if it can be achieved in current market conditions.
Scenario Analysis
Telling the story of a task or transcription. Useful when analysing or redesigning a business process Pros: - require the user to include each step and the transitions between steps - step by step development approach - developed using a top down approach that covers all possibilities - can identify paths that do not suit the corporate culture - provides a basis for developing stereotypes - provides a tool for preparing test scripts Cons: - time consuming - complex
Activity Sampling
The analyst observes the user and writes down what they do and how long the do it. Allows us to understand how people split up their work time amongst a range of activities. Gives us quantifiable data
Strategy
The direction of scope of an organisation over the long term, which achieves advantage in changing environment through its configuration of resources and competencies with the aim of fulfilling stakeholder expectations
Balanced Business Scorecard
The strategic balance sheet for an organisation as it captures the means of assessing the financial and non-financial components of strategy. It shows hw the strategy execution is working and the effectiveness with which the levers of change are being used. See attached picture. We need to ask questions about each of these perspectives in order to evaluate the way a strategy is being implemented. The balanced business scorecard helps us to define CSFs and KPIs
Business Capability Modelling
capability models represent what an organisation needs to be able to do in order to deliver value - does not reflect how delivery is actually achieved in practice. Investigates and models the following areas: - strategic or direction setting - core or customer facing - supporting
SWOT analysis
Used to pull together the results of external and internal analysis - strengths - weaknesses - opportunities - threats Strengths and weaknesses should be measured against competitors all statements in SWOT should be specific, realistic, and supported by evidence
Product attributes
- functionality - price - quality - choice - availability or timing
Value Proposition Attributes
- product/service attributes that define the product itself - customer relationship aspects - image and reputation aspects
5 Components of Business Analysis
- tasks - process flow - decision points - actors that carry out the tasks - outcome of the business process
Value Stream
An end to end collection of high level linear stages that create an outcome of value to a specific customer group. Used to identify and map that value exchanged between the organisation and various stakeholders.
Force Field Analysis
Consider the forces inside and outside the organisation that will support and oppose the proposal, make sure positive forces outweigh negative forces
McKinsey 7-S model
Describes the 7 layers of an organisation that can be used in the implementation of strategic change - strategy - skills - style - staff - systems - structure - shared values The point of the model is that everything is interconnected - changing one thing will change everything else as well
PESTLE analysis
Provides a framework for organisations to assess their broad environment - Political Influences: government stability, policies, regulation - Economic influences - Socio-Cultural Influences: demographics, social mobility (how likely people are to move countries), lifestyle changes - technological influences - legal influences: legislation, employment law, company law, etc. - environmental influences: golbal warming, animal welfare, waste, etc.
Business Activity Models (BAMs)
Shows what the system should be doing We make one BAM per stakeholder, and we use them to see where there is agreement and conflict, then we make a consensus BAM Approach for completing a BAM: 1) Identify the doing activities that are at the heart of the model - defined from the transformation part of CATWOE 2) Enabling activities are added next. these lead into doing activities and they acquire or replenish the resources to carry them out 3) determine the planning activities 4) monitoring activities 5) control activities
Ethnographic studies
Spending an extended period of tie (minimum 1 month) in a specific environment. Allows the business users to get used to the presence of the observer, so they show their true colours
CATWOE
W: worldview - a stakeholder's beliefs about the organisation or business system, which explain why it exists and what it should be doing. How the stakeholder thinks the business will be successful T: transformation - what the stakeholder thinks the principal business activity of the business system is. What lies at the hear of the operation? Called transformation because all systems exist to transform an input to an output C: customers - who the stakeholder thinks the customers are or who they should be A: actors - who the stakeholder thinks the actors are that carry out the transformation O: owners - who the stakeholder thinks controls the system and who could instigate change E: Environment - what the stakeholder thinks is the business environment
Reasons a written statement of strategy is needed
- Allows all parts of the organisation to understand what's happening and keeps everyone focused - provides a framework for allocation of resources and investment - provides a guide for innovation - allows for the development of performance measures - tells the outside world about us (influences markets)
Business knowledge a BA must have
- Business Finance - business case development domain knowledge subject matter expertise - principles of IT (how computers work, systems dev, systems modelling new trends and opportunities, etc.) - organisation structures - supplier management - business architecture (understanding how business behave)
Personal Qualities of a BA
- Communication (building rapport, listening, influencing, building empathy, avoiding jargon) - Relationship building - influencing - team work - political awareness - analytical sills and critical thinking - attention to detail - problem solving - leadership - self belief - professional development
3 Types of Business Events
- External - Ex: customer makes an order - Internal: typically involve business managers making decisions - Time-based - ex: salary is paid on the last day of every month
Things we expect to deal with in business strategy
- Goal, mission, direction of the business - the time frame - organisation of resources - the business environment
Strategic Analysis and Definition Responsibilities
- Identify Business Transformation actions - understand strategy - support execution of strategy - recommend and design tactics to deliver business objectives and strategy - demonstrate strategic level of thinking - advise on the use of technology to drive business change
Analysing the "as is" process
- Identify problems (check efficiency, check if customers are happy, check how well the current process supports the business) - Analyse hand offs between tasks (are there delays, bottlenecks, queues, problems moving between systems?) - Analyse tasks - check for duplication, redundancy, lack of standardisation, incompleteness, inconsistent measurement of control - check if staff have required skills, if there are sufficient resources, if processes are managed well
Business Analysis Responsibilities
- Investigate a business system where improvements are required - resolve a localised bysiness issue - recommend actions that would overcome a problem or achieve business benefits - analysis of the business area to do a broad investigation into several issues - make recommendations of business changes that are supported by a particular business case - enhance or replce an IT system in line with business requirements - deliver requirements document - prioritise requirements - identify requirements to be input in the next iteration - analysis of workstreams compromising of various actibities and systems - working crossfunctionally
Most Analysis
- Mission - Objectives - Strategy - Tactics: the means by which the strategy will be executed You must also consider the following: - Is the MOST swell defined? - Is there congruence between elements of the SWOT? - Has the MOST been communicated to managers?
OSCAR mneumonic
- Objectives - Scope - Constraints - Authority - Resources
Swimlane/BPML Diagramming Elements
- Overall layout - Symbols used - Sequencing of the symbols
Types of external environmental analyses
- PESTLE analysis - Porters 5 forces
POPIT Model
- Processes: are they well defined and communicated? Is there good IT support, or are there many work arounds to problems? Are processes efficient? Is there potential for delays or errors? - People: Do they have the necessary skills? How motivated are they? Do they understand the business objectives? Do they need support? - Information: DO the staff have the info they need to do their jobs? Can Managers make decisions based on accurate and timely info? Technology: Do systems support the business as needed? Do systems provide the info to run the organisation?
Professional Techniques
- Project Management Strategy analysis - stakeholder management and analysis - investigation techniques - requirements engineering - business modelling - visualising business systems - data modelling - gap analysis - facilitation skills - portfolio management - Benefits managements - agile thinking
Rationale for Business Analysis
- Root causes, not symptoms - Business Improvement, not IT change - Options, not Solutions - Feasible, contributing requirements, not meeting all requests - entire business change lifecycle, not just requirements definition - negotiation, not avoidance
Results of Effectively Employing a Robust Business Architecture
- Strategy driving the business and architecture - business architecture informs and refines strategy - business architecture translates the strategy for execution - the strategy execution enables and generated improvement to the overall business architecture
5 Contextual Issues to Consider
- Time - Scope - Capability - Readiness - Strategic Leadership
Standards for creating a Business Process Model
- Unified Modelling Language (UML) - Business Process Model and Notation (BPML) - often called swimlane diagrams
Ways in which an organisation can differentiate itself
- being the most efficient (and subsequently the cheapest - having the best products - providing the best customer service
Rules When Producing Business Capability Models
- capabilities should be defined in business terms - capabilities should be names as nouns, not verbs - capabilities are static - capabilities should be unique across the entire capability model - capabilities are enabled via value streams
Changes that strategy development tries to moderate
- changes in the way we are employed - changes in society - organisations are more flexible (less overhead) - contradictions (just because a company has a global reputation, does not necessarily mean that it is large, financies are centralised but prices and discounts are set locally
3 Aspects of Implementing Strategy
- context for strategy - role of the leader - tools (balanced business scorecard and McKinsey 7-S model)
Levels of strategy
- corporate strategy - Business unit strategy (SBU: strategic business unit) - Operational Strategy
Stakeholder Categories and Identification
- customers - partners - suppliers - competitors - regulators - owners - employees - managers - others (insurers, police, general public, etc.)
Barriers to entry that organisations build
- economies of scale - substantial investment required - product differentiation - access to distribution channels - existence of patented resources - need for regulatory approval
Roles and Responsibilities of a BA
- investigate business systems - evaluate actions - document requirements - elaborate requirements More senior BAs: - Strategy implementation - busi ess case production - benefits realisation post implementation - specification of IT requirements - data modelling and use case modelling
Commonly Used Approaches to Improve Business Processes
- simplifying the process - extend the process - remove bottlenecks - change the sequence of tasks - redefine process boundary - automate processing - redesign the process
Customer/buyer power is high when
- supliers are small - alternative sources of supply are plentiful and easy to find - cost of product or service is high - causes buyer to find alternatives - switching costs are low
IT Systems Analysis Responsibilities
- systems analysts are responsible for analysing and specifying IT systems requirements in enough detail to allow devs to build a system off of it - data modelling - process or function modelling - describe how the user system will operate - BAs must have detailed understanding of how systems operate - consider a range of business options to solve a problem or capitalise on an opportunity - work closely with end users and dev team to clarify the detailed requirements as they evolve thorugh the development process
Issues to be considered during strategy analysis
- the long terms direction of the organisation - scope of an organisation's activities - the organisation's competitive advantage - strategic fit with the business environment - organisation's resources and competencies - the values and expectations of powerful actors
There is high competitive rivalry when
- there are many competing firms - buyers can easily switch from one firm to another - market is not growing or only growing slowly - industry has high fixed costs - products are not well differentiated - costs of leaving are high
Supplier power is high when
- there is a concentration of suppliers - suppliers are bigger than customers - costs of switching suppliers are high - supplier brand is powerful (think intel) - customers are fragmented (they do not have collective influence)
Business Change Lifecycle
1) Alignment: analysis of organisation, business needs, strategy, environment, enterprise architecture 2) Definition: Requirements 3) Design 4) Implementation 5) Realisation All stages must be linked to the business case
Soft Systems Methodology
1) Identify the situation. investigate the issues and causes 2) stakeholders' views - perspectives - are sought about what the organisation is about, what it should be doing, etc. 3) from each stakeholder's perspective, a conceptual model is crated to show what the organisation should do to fulfil the perspective 4) Compare conceptual models with real world situation and generate a consensus model, possibly by combining elements from various stakeholder's perspectives 5) Actions are defined to address the situation by implementing the consensus model in place of whatever is happening currently in the organisation
How to Build a Process Model
1) Identify who takes part in the process - actors and roles 2) determine tasks performed by each actor. Tasks performed my different actors are shown in separate swimlanes , arrows are used to show the flow of work between swimlanes 3) Determine the order in which actors take part, this determines the order in which they will appear in the diagram. It is an informal convention that the customer swimlane is on the top 4) If there are alternative path options, you can use a diamon to branch work flows 5) name each process or task using a verb-noun approach
Structure of an Interview
1) Introduction: introduce yourself and communicate the purpose of the project and interview, ask interviewee if they have any questions about the agenda or the objectives 2) Body of the interview: begin by obtaining context for the info you want and the interviewee's range of responsibilities, then move onto the issues and their impacts 3) Closure: Summarise the points that were covered and actions agreed. 4) Follow up: write up notes/minutes and send them, ensure actions are completed
The Business Analysis Model
1) Investigate Situation - use OSCAR mneumonic, use elicitation techniques to learn about the organisation 2) Consider Perspectives - identify stakeholders and understand their perspectives, understand/model business activities 3) Analyse Needs - use gap analysis to understand where we are and where we want to be 4) Evaluate Options - identify options and assess feasibility 5) Define Requirements
Objectives of Business Architecture
1) Promote organisational health 2) Help fulfil unrealised opportunities 3) Aid organisational performance in a competitive marketplace
Scope of Business Analysis Work
1) Strategic Analysis and Definition 2) IT Systems Analysis 3) Business Analysis
3 Factors needed for IT systems to deliver competitive advantage
1) The needs of the business must drive the development of IT systems 2) Implementation of an IT system must be accompanied by the necessary business changes 3) Requirements for IT systems must be defined with rigour and accuracy - this is the main role of systems analysts
Power comes from 5 main sources
1) dependency of departments on departments that control resources 2) financial resources 3) position 4) uniqueness (the more unique or specialised a department or actor is within an organisation, the more powerful they are) 5) uncertainty (power resides with people and groups that can best cope with unpredictable events and protect others from associated impacts)
Rich Picture
A pictorial technique offering a free format approach that allows analysts to document whatever is of interest or significance in the business situation. It provides an overview of an entire business situation. Allows the analyst to use symbols or notation. Shows the human characteristics of the business
Stakeholder Assessment
A plan to manage stakeholders. Should follow the following form - name - current influence - current interest - issues and interests - current attitude (champion, supporter, neutral, critic, opponent, or blocker) - desired support - desired role - desired actions
Business Architecture
a blueprint of the enterprise that provides common understanding of the organisation that can be used to align strategic objectives and tactical demands
Value Proposition
a definition of an organisation's product or service that illustrates to customers that the organisation understands their needs and desires
