3. Analysing the Current State (15%)
What are scenarios in simple English?
"Telling the story of a task or transaction"
What is protocol analysis?
- A form of observation used to elicit, analyse and validate requirements - Protocol analysis involves requesting the users to perform a task and describe each step as they perform it
What is shadowing?
- A form of observation used to find out what a particular JOB entails - Shadowing involves following an individual for 1-2 days
What is the applicability of Document Analysis?
- Situation investigation and problem definition: R - Requirements definition (Linear): HR - Requirements definition (Agile): R
What are the advantages of scenarios?
- Step-by-step development ensures there are no 'taken for granted' elements / addresses problems associated with tacit knowledge - Top-down approach helps user visualise all possible situations / removes uncertainty - Provides basis for prototypes - Provides framework for discovering exceptions that require alternative paths to be followed - Requires user to include each step of transaction so nothing is omitted - Scenario definitions used for preparing acceptance test scripts
What does a scenario description include?
- The business event that triggers the transaction - The set of actions that have to be completed in order to achieve a successful outcome - The exception situations to be handled - The actor responsible for carrying out the task - The preconditions of the task - The post-conditions of the task
What 3 areas are considered during an investigative and requirements elicitation interview?
- The current functions that need to be fulfilled in any new business system - The problems with the current operations or performance that need to be addressed - The additional features required from the new business system.
What information do rich pictures capture?
- The human, organisational, and cultural characteristics of business situation - The processes and information flows within a business system
Why are scenarios useful in requirements elicitation and analysis?
- The transition from each step to the next provides an opportunity to analyse what else might happen or be true - This analysis often uncovers additional information or tacit knowledge
What is an ethnographic study?
A form of observation concerned with spending an extended period of time within an organisation, community or society in order to obtain a detailed understanding of its culture and behaviours
What is Formal Observation?
A form of observation where an analyst watches and documents a specific TASK being performed
What are Rich Pictures?
A pictorial technique offering a free format approach that allows analysts to document whatever is of interest or significance in the business situation
What are Customer Journey Maps?
A representation of the way a customer interacts with an organisation, including their activities and perceptions at each stage of the interaction
What are Surveys/Questionnaires?
A requirements elicitation approach used to obtain quantitative data during an investigation of a business situation
What is Document Analysis?
A requirements elicitation technique where samples of documents are examined in order to analyse the data recorded and the usage made of that data
What is a 'concrete' scenario
A specific narrative or story that is developed and then tested against the requirements to find any gaps
What are Mind Maps?
A technique pioneered by Tony Buzan that represents an issue as a diagram with the name of the issue in the centre and aspects associated with it as radiating branches
What is observation?
A technique used within requirements elicitation where an analyst observes WORK being performed with a view to identifying issues and/or requirements to improve a business situation
What are extensions to the default scenario?
All diversions from the default scenario that have been documented as alternative paths
What is the main value gained from ethnographic studies?
An appreciation of intangible aspects such as the organisational culture
7. Emotional responses of persona (Customer Journey Map)
Statements made by personas on feedback that reflect the emotional response to the customer experience at each touch point
What are scenario pre-conditions?
The characteristics of the business or state of the IT system that must be true for the scenario to begin
What are scenario post-conditions?
The characteristics that must be true following the conclusion of the scenario
2. Persona (Customer Journey Map)
The creation of a fictitious profile that comprises a named individual, their characteristics and abilities
1. Role (Customer Journey Map)
The customer role e.g. consumer, purchaser, reseller etc
4. Stages of customer journey (Customer Journey Map)
The high level stages when there is customer engagement
What is scenario analysis?
- A technique used to elicit, analyse and validate requirements - Will will trace the course of a transaction from an initial business trigger through each of the steps needed to achieve a successful outcome
What is an interview?
- An investigation technique to elicit information from business users - An agenda is prepared prior and distributed to participants - It is carried out in an organised manner and a report is produced once the interview has been concluded
What are the disadvantages of observation?
- Being observed can lead to people acting unnaturally - The business analyst just sees what happens on that occasion and may be unaware of infrequently performed tasks
What are the advantages of observation?
- Better understanding of problems + challenges faced by business users - Seeing tasks performed helps identify relevant questions for follow up interviews - Depth of understanding gained helps identify workable solutions likely to be accepted by the business
What are the advantages of document analysis?
- Can supplement other techniques i.e. workshops, interviews, observation - Can help to clarify the key items of data used to carry out work of business area - Offers basis for data modelling
What is in the classification section of a survey?
- Details of respondent are recorded - Enables data to be classified by age, gender etc - Sometimes responses can be anonymous
What is an example of the steps within a scenario for a sales assistant conducting a telephone order?
- Enter customer reference number - Confirm customer details - Record order items - Accept payment - Advise customer of delivery date
What are the disadvantages of workshops?
- Extensive preparation time - Undue influence of dominant personalities - Authority limitations - difficult to get people there with the right level of authority
What are the advantages of workshops?
- Gain broad view of area under investigation - Increase speed + productivity - Obtain buy-in and acceptance for project - Gain a consensus view or group agreement
What are the advantages of surveys?
- Helpful to get limited amount of info from large group of people that may be geographically spread - Can be used in advance of interviews - Can be used to validate information already obtained
What are the key strengths of Shadowing?
- Helps business analysts understand a specific users role - Improves requirements definition work as it provides visual context for processes described during interviews/workshops - Helps uncover taken for granted knowledge
What type of questions does a BA typically ask during shadowing?
- How is the work done? - What information is used to complete the work? - What is the workflow sequence?
What is in the data section of a survey?
- Main body of questions are posed - Open questions should be avoided - Pose questions with simple answers e.g. yes/no, agree/disagree/neutral
What objectives can be achieved via an interview?
- Making initial contact with key stakeholders and establishing a basis for the business analysis work - Building and developing rapport with different members of staff and business managers - Acquiring information about a business situation, including any issues and problems - Discovering different stakeholder perspectives and priorities.
What are the advantages of interviews?
- Opportunity to build relationship with individual stakeholders - Help the analyst to understand different viewpoints and attitudes across the user group - Provide an opportunity to investigate new areas that were not previously mentioned - Enable the analyst to identify and collect examples of documents, forms and reports used by the clients - Allow an appreciation of political factors that may affect how the business performs its work - Provide an opportunity to study the environment in which the business staff carry out their work
What are the key specific aspects of customer journey maps?
- POV: role/persona at the centre of customer journey map - Structure: chronological - Scope: end-to-end customer interaction with organisation. one role/persona considered at a time - Focus: customer experience/external perceptions - Uses: basis for analysing customer experiences to identify where improvement is possible
What is in the heading section of a survey?
- Purpose of survey is explained - Contains instructions on its completion - Explains how the data is intended to be used
What interview questions concern the OP / Operational level?
- Represent staff who perform tasks and can accurately describe business situations - Can identify problems + workarounds to deal with current procedures
What are the disadvantages of interviews?
- Require high investment of time + budget if business staff is widely dispersed - Interviewees may struggle to find time due to busy schedule - Information provided is based on opinion and quantitative data may be needed to confirm information before conclusions are drawn - Conflicting views means business analyst must analyse info gathered to identify conflicts
What is the applicability of Interviews?
- Situation investigation and problem definition: HR - Requirements definition (Linear): HR - Requirements definition (Agile): HR
What is the applicability of Workshops?
- Situation investigation and problem definition: HR - Requirements definition (Linear): HR - Requirements definition (Agile): HR
What is the applicability of Observations?
- Situation investigation and problem definition: HR - Requirements definition (Linear): HR - Requirements definition (Agile): R
What is the applicability of Surveys?
- Situation investigation and problem definition: HR - Requirements definition (Linear): R - Requirements definition (Agile): LR
What is the applicability of Scenario Analysis?
- Situation investigation and problem definition: LR - Requirements definition (Linear): HR - Requirements definition (Agile): R
How are concrete scenarios helpful?
- They uncover where possible extensions lie during one-to-one discussions or workshops - They can be used as the basis for the scenario analysis - They engage stakeholders to develop concrete scenarios that do not conform to the 'happy day' path
What are the disadvantages of scenarios?
- Time consuming to develop - Scenarios can become complex when there are several alternative paths
What are the disadvantages of surveys?
- Time consuming to prepare - People often fail to complete them - They can be too complex - Questions may elicit meaningless responses
How are Rich Pictures constructed?
- Unstructured/unorganised - No fixed notation - Shows connections between different issues - Are enriched as more information is revealed
What interview questions concern the S / Strategic level?
- confirmation of Terms of Reference [ToR] - management info needs - approach to investigation - alignment of project with business objectives + strat
What interview questions concern the T / Tactical / Middle Management level?
- issues related to 1) performance 2) targets 3) management control - organisational processes + the staff responsible - new business requirements to aid alignment of tactics
What is included in the body of Interview?
- open questions - summarise every 10 mins - keeps notes as you go
What is included in the introduction of an interview?
- personal introductions - reiterate purpose of project + interview
What occurs post interview?
- summarise main points and send copy of written note to interviewee within 24 hours - file notes
What is included in the closure of an interview?
- summarise main points of interview - explain next steps - ask how further contact can be made
How are Mind Maps used/constructed?
- the business system/problem is drawn at the centre - the main topics/issues are shown as 1st level branches radiating from the middle - each branch is labelled using 1-2 words - a branch can represent a process/system/relationship etc - 2nd level branches are used to show more detail - mind maps help BAs structure information in a organised way, showing connections between problems
How long does shadowing typically last?
1-2 days
Which 2 techniques are used to show a process from the customer's perspective and provide further insight into the customer experience.
1. Customer Journey Maps 2. Empathy Maps
What 4 tools can be used to represent the current business situation?
1. Customer journey maps 2. Rich pictures 3. Empathy maps 4. Mind maps
What are they key 3 quantitative techniques?
1. Document Analysis 2. Surveys / Questionnaires 3. Data Analysis
What are the different types of observation
1. Formal Observation 2. Protocol Analysis 3. Shadowing 4. Ethnographic studies
What are the 3 parts of a questionnaire?
1. Heading Section 2. Classification Section 3. Data Section
What are the 4 steps of scenario process development?
1. IDENTIFY the task/interaction to be modelled as a scenario 2. IDENTIFY steps carried out during usual progress and the flow of steps 3. DEFINE the control conditions that must be met to move from one step to anther 4. IDENTIFY alternative paths required to handle situations where condition conditions are not met
What are the most commonly used qualitative one-to-one approaches?
1. Interviews 2. Meetings with individual stakeholders 3. Shadowing sessions
What are the 3 parts that make up an interview?
1. Introduction 2. Body of Interview 3. Closure
What is the top down order of a customer journey map?
1. Persona 2. Persona Goal 3. Stages of customer journey 4. Customer activities during each stage (touchpoints?) 5. Customer perceptions of experience during each stage 6. Emotional state of persona 7. Potential opportunities for improvement
Which 2 techniques offer a visual representation of a whole solution, in a simple format?
1. Rich Pictures 2. Mind Maps
What are the 8 elements considered within a customer journey map?
1. Role 2. Persona 3. Persona goal 4. Stages of customer journey 5. Touchpoints 6. RAG assessment of touch points 7. Emotional responses of personas 8. Potential opportunities for improvement
How can information be sourced for background research of an organisation?
1. Website for the organisation 2. Company reports 3. Internal procedure manuals and documentation 4. Organisation chart
What are scenarios most useful for?
Analysing or redesigning business processes
5. Touch points (Customer Journey Map)
Breakdown of high level stages into touch points between customer and the organisation
3. Procedure manuals and documentation [Background Research]
Can discover: - info about current processes + procedures - can easily become outdated over time
2. Company reports [Background Research]
Can discover: - organisations financial health - future direction of company - target market - the strategic intentions of an organisation
4. Organisation chart [Background Research]
Can discover: - the shape of the organisation - the span of control (the area and people for whom a manager has oversight) - structure of organisation, e.g. according to function, products, services, geography? - if the organisation has a centralised or de-centralised business model
1. Website for the organisation [Background Research]
Can discover: - what the organisation does - its missions / values - info about its products / services - feedback / query processes - branding - customer reviews - quality of products / services - perception of quality - technological maturity of the company
6. RAG assessment of touch points (Customer Journey Map)
Customer experience perceptions are colour coded using RAG categorisation - GREEN: positive - AMBER: neutral - RED: negative
What is the purpose of the STOP model?
It Illustrates a hierarchy for different levels of management and corresponding questions.
How does MECE help when creating questions for surveys
It ensures that: - only one response would apply to each survey participant - the range of responses cover every possible situation
Why are documenting alternative paths helpful in scenario analysis
It helps to ensure that all possible situations and exceptions are anticipated and managed
8. Potential opportunities for improvement (Customer Journey Map)
Opportunities for improvement at each stage
How are rich pictures different from data/business process models
Rich pictures provide an overview of an entire business situation whereas data/business process modelling only shows a specific aspect of a business system
What does the STOP model stand for?
S = Strategic Level of Management T = Tactical Middle Management OP = Operational Level
Why is it important to prepare staff that are due to be observed by a BA?
So that staff are aware that the focus is on understanding the task rather than assessing competence and performance
During formal observation, why is it beneficial to watch a task being completed multiple times?
So that the BA can understand: - The standard sequence - Possible exception situations and how they are handled - Timings for the task - Ergonomic factors or physical working conditions that may enhance or hinder performance
3. Persona Goal (Customer Journey Map)
The outcome required by the persona e.g. a product or service and intangible emotional outcome
How can mind maps be helpful?
They are useful for summarising a lot of information in a visual form
How are surveys useful?
They can obtain a limited amount of information from a large group of people
What is the key strength of scenarios?
They provide a framework for discovering the exceptions that require alternative paths to be followed when carrying out a task
What is the main drawback of ethnographic studies
Too costly and too time consuming
