Fisher College Business Analysis vs Project Management Discussion

User Generated

GNGBem

Business Finance

Fisher College

Description

Unformatted Attachment Preview

BA vs. PM Assignment FFIRS 09/15/2011 19:16:49 Page 2 FFIRS 09/15/2011 19:16:49 Page 1 Business Analysis FFIRS 09/15/2011 19:16:49 Page 2 FFIRS 09/15/2011 19:16:49 Page 3 Business Analysis Best Practices for Success STEVEN P. BLAIS John Wiley & Sons, Inc. FFIRS 09/15/2011 19:16:49 Page 4 Copyright # 2012 by International Institute for Learning, Inc. (IIL). All rights reserved. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey. Published simultaneously in Canada. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600, or on the Web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions. Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages. For general information on our other products and services or for technical support, please contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at (800) 762-2974, outside the United States at (317) 572-3993 or fax (317) 572-4002. Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. For more information about Wiley products, visit our web site at www.wiley.com. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: Blais, Steven. Business analysis: best practices for success/Steven Blais. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN 978-1-118-07600-2 (hardback); ISBN 978-1-1181-6155-5 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-1181-6157-9 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-1181-6160-9 (ebk) 1. Business analysts. 2. Business planning. 3. Organizational effectiveness. I. Title. HD69.B87B56 2012 658.4 0 013—dc23 2011029140 Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 FFIRS 09/15/2011 19:16:49 Page 5 To Sonia: You are on every page and in every word. FFIRS 09/15/2011 19:16:49 Page 6 FTOC 09/12/2011 15:32:33 Page 7 Contents Preface xv Acknowledgments International Institute for Learning, Inc. (IIL) xxv xxvii PART I THE PROBLEM SOLVER 1 CHAPTER 1 What Is a Business Analyst? 3 CHAPTER 2 The Business Analyst in Context What Is It All About? The Role of the Business Analyst The Business Analyst in the Center Business Analyst Focus The Ideal Business Analyst Last-Liners Notes 3 4 5 6 8 9 11 11 The Evolution of the Business Analyst 13 The Business Analyst Hall of Fame Where It Began Information Systems The Rise of the Business Analyst The Business Analyst Position The Business Analyst Profession The Question of Certification The Challenge of Business Analyst Certification The Value of Certification Notes 13 15 17 18 20 21 24 25 26 27 vii FTOC 09/12/2011 15:32:34 Page 8 viii CHAPTER 3 Contents A Sense of Where You Are 29 Business Analysts Coming from IT Business Analysts Coming from the Business Community Living with the Business The Lone Ranger Working Both Sides of the Street Central Business Analyst Organization 30 31 33 35 36 37 What Makes a Good Business Analyst? 39 The Skillful Business Analyst Is a Business Analyst Born or Made? So What Does It Take to Be a Business Analyst? 40 41 42 Roles of the Business Analyst 45 Intermediary Filter Mediator Diplomat Politician Investigator Analyst Change Agent Quality Control Specialist Facilitator Process Improver Increase the Value of Organizational Business Processes Build It and They Will Come Reducing Complexity Playing Multiple Roles Notes 49 59 63 65 68 69 70 72 73 74 79 79 80 82 83 84 PART II THE PLAYERS 85 CHAPTER 6 The Business Analyst and the Solution Team 89 CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5 Business Analyst and Project Manager Business Analyst and Systems Analyst Trying to Do All Jobs Business Analyst and the Rest of the Solution Team Bottom Line Notes 89 94 98 100 107 108 FTOC 09/12/2011 15:32:34 Page 9 ix Contents CHAPTER 7 The Business Analyst and the Business Community 109 Constituents and Constituencies Business Analysts and Upper-Level Management Product Stakeholders Subject Matter Experts Process Workers Managing Expectations Notes 110 110 113 119 122 126 130 PART III THE PROBLEM 131 CHAPTER 8 Define the Problem 135 First Things First Challenge 1: Finding the Problem Challenge 2: The Unstated Problem Challenge 3: The Misunderstood Problem Define the Real Problem The Problem Determination Game Documenting the Problem Product Vision Define the Vision Checkpoint Alpha Focus on the Problem and Vision Note 135 138 139 140 141 145 154 155 157 159 161 162 Define the Product Scope 163 Project and Product Scopes Product Scope Product Scope Formula Strategic Justification Business and Product Constraints Business and Product Risks Functional Goals Political Success Factors Product Scope Formula Measuring Take the Technical Pulse Applying the Product Scope Notes 163 164 165 165 167 168 169 171 172 173 174 175 177 CHAPTER 9 FTOC 09/12/2011 15:32:34 Page 10 x CHAPTER 10 Contents Confirm Alignment and Financial Justification 179 The Business Case The Value of IT Considering Alignment Organization Mission Organization Goals Organization Strategies Department-Level Mission, Goals, and Strategies At the Tactical Level Determining the Value of the IT Project Provide Financial Justification for Solving the Problem Proof of Solution: Feasibility Study The Metrics Game In the End . . . Notes 179 180 181 182 184 184 185 187 188 190 194 194 195 196 PART IV THE PROCESS 197 CHAPTER 11 Gather the Information 199 Why We Cannot Define Good Requirements Stop Gathering Requirements Users Do Not Have Requirements Gather Information, Not Requirements Gathering the Information Information-Gathering Plan Information-Gathering Session Solving Common Information-Gathering Issues Iterative Information Gathering Interviewing Information-Gathering Meetings Other Elicitation Methods Are We Done Yet? Notes 200 201 203 204 205 206 217 225 227 228 239 245 247 249 Define the Problem Domain 251 Problem Domain Analysis Defining the Domain Changes in the Problem Domain Neighboring Constituencies 253 256 261 263 CHAPTER 12 FTOC 09/12/2011 15:32:34 Page 11 xi Contents Ancillary Benefits Change in the Problem The Essence Note 264 264 265 265 Determine the Solution 267 The Accordion Effect Tools and Techniques Determining the One Best Solution Constraining the Solution Stop Analyzing, Already Confirmation Checkpoint Beta Notes 267 268 278 279 280 280 283 284 Write the Solution Document 285 The Value of Documentation The Anatomy of Requirements Forms of Solution Documentation Write the Right Thing Write the Thing Right Canned Brains Requirements Ownership Complete the Process Note 285 289 300 300 302 305 306 307 308 PART V PRODUCING THE PRODUCT 309 CHAPTER 15 Monitor the Product 313 Entering the Solution Domain Development Processes Implementing the Solution Keep the Light on Things Change Checkpoint Charley The Watchdog The Essence Notes 314 314 317 319 319 320 321 323 323 CHAPTER 13 CHAPTER 14 FTOC 09/12/2011 15:32:34 Page 12 xii CHAPTER 16 CHAPTER 17 Contents Confirm the Business Problem Has Been Solved 325 Correct Behavior Acceptable Level of Confidence Circumstances of Interest The Testing Game User Acceptance Testing? Handling Defects Testing Does Not Stop at Delivery Note 326 326 327 328 333 335 335 336 Transition and Change Management 337 Steps to Ensure Successful Change in the Organization Orchestrate the Transition Facilitate the Transition Timing the Change Major and Minor Changes Do Not Change a Thing Wrapping Up Notes 339 341 342 344 345 345 347 349 POSTSCRIPT Where to Go from Here 351 Future of Business Analysis Why We Need Business Analysts The True Value of the Business Analyst Increasing the Value of the Organization Power to the Business Analyst Notes 351 352 353 354 356 359 APPENDIX A Business Analyst Process 361 APPENDIX B The Principles 365 APPENDIX C Why We Do Not Get Good Requirements 373 APPENDIX D Comparison of the Roles of Business Analyst, Systems Analyst, and Project Manager 379 FTOC 09/12/2011 15:32:34 Page 13 xiii Contents APPENDIX E APPENDIX F Context-Free Problem Definition Questions 383 List of Nonfunctional Requirements Categories 385 Bibliography 387 About the Author 395 Index 397 FTOC 09/12/2011 15:32:34 Page 14 FPREF 09/12/2011 12:48:17 Page 15 Preface It is all about change. There is a problem that needs to be solved. Sales needs support for the new marketing initiative. Human resources (HR) wants the employees to be able to manage their own United Way Fund and other charity deductions online. Marketing needs to change the mailing preferences to allow customers to opt-out of various publications in order to be in conformance with new regulations. The accounts payable system is old and slow and getting more inaccurate by the day. The organization wants these problems solved. People running the business do not have the time to research, investigate, and determine the best way of solving the problems. Besides, today’s solutions require automation, computers, software, and so forth and businesspeople do not do those things. They do not have the expertise. Businesspeople do not want code. They do not want systems. They do not want networks. What they want is a solution to their business problems. The information technology (IT) department will make it happen. The technology professionals write the software, define and populate the databases, connect the networks, and install hardware. All they need to know is what the business wants done. Yet, who is defining what will be done to solve the problem? Who defines the solution in such a way that the business can agree with the solution and the technologists can understand what needs to be done to implement the solution? And when the technology is ready for the business, who will make sure the change is made efficiently and the transition from the current to new process is smooth? The answer to these questions is the business analyst. Over the past 10 years or so the position of business analyst has found its way into the Human Resources job description catalog of many organizations. It has also earned its own trade group, the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA) and its own certification, the certified business analyst professional (CBAP), which is administered by the IIBA. xv FPREF 09/12/2011 xvi 12:48:17 Page 16 Preface The role of the business analyst is to solve business problems. Specifying requirements is a critical function of the business analyst, but so are the many other responsibilities a business analyst can and should undertake all of which lead to the successful solution of a business problem. Business analysis is all about change: changes in business processes, changes in the information technology systems supporting business processes; changes in the way the organization does business. Everything the business analyst does results in some kind of change to the organization. Most of what the business analyst does should be aimed at solving a business problem, and that requires changing the organization from the current situation in which the problem exists to a new process or operation in which the problem has been solved. First and foremost, the business analyst is a problem solver. Kathleen Barrett, President of the International Institute of Business Analysis, calls the business analyst the ultimate problem solver. The business analyst becomes the go-to person in both the business and development communities when there is a problem. Any kind of problem: political, technical, business, misunderstandings, ambiguities, social, technological, philosophical. Big problems, small problems. Problems that require an IT intervention and those that can be fixed by rearranging the office furniture. The business analyst accepts the job of proactively understanding what the business problem is and determining the consequences of not solving it and then defines a solution that will remove or ameliorate the problem. The business analyst does this before development starts and then ensures that the solution as built by IT, in fact, solves the problem and does so in such a way that those affected by the problem can use the solution. By solving business problems, the business analyst is continually adding value to the organization. In fact, all the activities that a business analyst performs add value. The business analyst adds value by: & & & & & Acting as the organizational change agent to improve business processes (Chapter 5). Investigating the real problem so that time and energy are not wasted solving the wrong problem (Chapters 8, 9, and 10). Providing information to upper-level management so their decisionmaking can be faster and more effective (Chapters 5, 8, and 10). Getting the business managers and process workers to talk directly to the technicians and technologists to reduce time and miscommunication (Chapters 5 and 15). Creating an environment where there is an unfettered flow of information between business units and between business and IT that increases quality of overall operations in the organization (Chapters 5, 6, 7, 14, and 17). FPREF 09/12/2011 12:48:17 Page 17 Preface & & & & xvii Managing the organization’s expectations of the solution so that the stakeholders realistically understand and accept the solution to their problem (Chapters 7, 9, 10, 16, and 17). Applying analytical and creative thinking to ensure the organization is making the best decisions and acting on the best solutions to problems (Chapters 5, 8, 12, and 13). Assuring the product developed by the solution team solves the intended problem (Chapters 15 and 16). Orchestrating the transition from the current business operations to the changed operations so that the organization gains the benefits of the new process as quickly as possible (Chapter 17). This is a daunting job, filled with challenges and obstacles, both technical and political. And it is also a job filled with satisfaction and personal reward. The business analyst sits in the center of it all, engaging technologists and businesspeople, mediating misunderstandings, defining functions and features, mollifying management, identifying impacts, creating constructive change, and solving business problems. I have been performing the various roles and activities of the business analyst for 40 years now. I have worked with hundreds of business analysts and have heard their opinions, stories, frustrations, fears, concerns, and questions. This book is in response to them. Their questions, presented as actual quotes from business analysts, appear at the top of each section in which there is an answer. Hopefully, I answered your questions along the way. My goal with this book is to demonstrate that the business analyst is more than a requirements recorder. The business analyst is a central cog in the successful organization’s driving wheel. The business analyst is the organizational change agent. The business analyst is the organizational problem solver. The business analyst is the repository of business process information. In essence, here are the business analyst’s marching orders: & & & There is a problem—define it. There is a solution to that problem—describe it. We need to change the organization to solve the problem—make it happen. How to Use This Book While one use of this book might be as a weapon to threaten recalcitrant users into submission, this book can also be used as a guidebook to the wild environs of business analysis. Reading it straight through, from cover to FPREF 09/12/2011 12:48:17 Page 18 xviii Preface cover, or at least from page one until the end, you will get a fairly complete description of the overall business analyst’s process for solving business problems. You can also use the book to bolster arguments for additional pay and benefits for business analysts or simply to provide supporting information in an effort to establish a centralized formal or informal business analyst group within your organization. However, if you need a quick answer to a question that has been bothering you, the book is also an F&IAQ (frequently and infrequently asked questions) as is described later. While the main thrust of the book is a description of the business analyst’s process for solving business problems, there are also a number of tips, tricks, techniques, and tactics to help to execute the process in the face of sometimes overwhelming political or social obstacles. The typical business analyst has a finely honed associative memory. It is associative memory that allows the business analyst to relate potential solutions to the business problem and see emerging and existing patterns in the business processes. In deference to that associative memory, the book is littered with sidebars. Some sidebars emphasize particular points or expand on them. Example Associative memory also allows us to recognize mistakes we have made in the past when we are making them again. This, according to F.P. Jones is the definition of experience. Throughout the book I highlight tips, techniques, and guerrilla tactics that will serve you in good stead during your business analyst career. Many of the tips are humorous or tongue-in-cheek in nature. Tip When you end an information gathering meeting early announce the time you are ending to let people know you are ending early. This way you will be known as someone who ends a meeting on time. If you realize your meeting may be running late, make an announcement about five minutes before the scheduled end of the meeting that ‘‘It’s about five minutes until the hour and we’re about done here. Just a few more questions.’’ If you end ten minutes late most people will still remember the time you stated and have the impression your meeting got out on time. FPREF 09/12/2011 12:48:18 Page 19 xix Preface The Just for Fun sidebars contain fanciful explanations of why things are as they are. Just for Fun Whenever we brought changes to the Vice President who was acting as the Change Control Board he would either approve the change or defer it to a later release. He asked what the last scheduled release we had, and schedule it for the next release after that, which at the time was Release 9. When, later on after the first releases of the system were delivered, we began to schedule more releases, he told us to move everything that was in Release 9 out to the next release after the last one scheduled, or Release 12. It was his way of not saying ‘‘no’’ to the business requests for changes to the system. Prior to becoming a Vice President of this telecommunications firm, he has spent years as a consultant in the Washington DC area where he learned how to say ‘‘no’’ without ever saying ‘‘no.’’ Some of the sidebars contain some alternate ways for doing some of the activities you have been performing as a business analyst which might make your job just a little easier, or bring about better results. May I Suggest? Instead of thinking ‘‘users’’ and referring and documenting user activities, needs, wants, etc., think instead ‘‘process workers.’’ This enlarges the potential population of people who might be involved in the business process. Users are only involved with the computer and as long as we restrict our views to users we will not see improvements that can be made in processes, especially those improvements that turn process workers into users by automating a part or all of their process activities. Some sidebars track a case study to show the real-life application of the principles and practices of the business analyst process. FPREF 09/12/2011 12:48:20 Page 20 xx Preface Case Study One of the case studies is an accounts payable system revision. It stars Charlie, the accounts payable voucher entry clerk whose primary goal is to get to Happy Hour on time. Questions, Comments, and Complaints Being a business analyst is a complicated job. It is a new profession in many organizations and that newness brings with it confusion, questions, concerns, and the inevitable complaints. Rather than try to guess what the questions are, I asked the business analysts themselves. The following list represents an abbreviated collection of questions, concerns, and complaints that business analysts have voiced to me over the years. Many of these questions and concerns might have occurred to you as you go about your work as a business analyst. I index the questions to the chapter of this book where the question is answered. This provides a quick reference when the question comes up (again) in your day-to-day activities. Questions, Comments, Complaints Answers found in What is my relationship with the project manager? What are the roles and responsibilities of a business analyst? What is the connection between requirements and testing? How do I know what questions to ask the users? How can I do it right the first time and avoid rework? How can I write better requirements? How do we get management and users to cooperate when they refuse to focus on requirements? Is it possible to create a common language for IT and business? Is there a methodology or process for business analysts? Chapter 6 Chapter 5 Chapter 16 Chapter 11—The InformationGathering Session Part Four: The Process Chapters 11, 13, and 14 Chapter 9 Chapters 6 and 7 This whole book (continued ) FPREF 09/12/2011 12:48:20 Page 21 xxi Preface How can I improve the communication between stakeholders and business and developers? Since I’m doing all three roles, what is the difference between the project manager, the systems analyst, and the business analyst? Are there any tools for business modeling, and if so which ones should business analysts use? How do I negotiate with the business to change their expectations? Or if you can’t change them, how do you keep them in line with reality? Is there an efficient, effective way to define the requirements? I have to do everything from defining the requirements to coding and testing; how can I effectively be a one-man band? How can we make sure there are no surprises at the end when we are delivering the solution? How do we deal with customers who give us the solution and not the problem? What is the best way to objectively define requirements after the boss has given us the solution? What do we do if the real solution isn’t his? I deal with both internal and external teams, including offshore developers. How can I make sure all the communications are consistent and effective? What’s the best way to create the business case? Is it the job of a business analyst? Where does the business analyst fit into our software development life cycle? We’re using agile development (Extreme Programming). What is my role as a business analyst in this situation? Is it necessary to provide cost justification, such as an ROI for projects, and if so, how do you do it? How do I separate the noise from the true requirements? This whole book Chapter 6, Appendix B Chapter 13 Chapter 7 Chapters 13 and 14 Chapter 6 Chapters 11, 15, and 17 Chapter 11—Interview Issues Chapter 11—Interview Issues Chapter 5 (Intermediary), 6 (Solution Team), and 15 Chapter 10 Chapter 15 Chapter 15 Chapter 10 Part Four: The Process (continued ) FPREF 09/12/2011 12:48:21 Page 22 xxii How can I get good requirements when management dictates schedules that don’t allow enough time? What are some techniques that can be used to work with groups who won’t cooperate? What do I do about new requirements that are defined after the project starts? How do I handle the project manager and project team? How do I negotiate with the business to change their expectations? How do we handle changes after getting signoff on a hundred-page document? The business analysts are tasked with testing the results of the development efforts. We are not given much advance warning. Then when we use the requirements as a guideline to what we expect the system to do, it’s all different. The technical team has made changes and we don’t know what the system is supposed to do. How can we test it on behalf of the users if it isn’t what the users asked for anymore? I have been a systems analyst for over five years; how do I transition to my new job as business analyst? Communication with the developers is not very satisfactory. They have no respect for what we do. Over-commitment—management is trying to do too many things without evaluation or prioritization. How do I explain to my kids what a business analyst does? I transitioned from system analyst to business analyst. Will be technical background help me or hurt me? How does the time spent in business process modeling help me? Do I need to know how to do all the different types of models, like entity relationship diagrams? Preface Chapter 11 Chapters 7 and 12 Chapters 11 and 15 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 15 Chapters 15 and 16 Chapters 3 and 6 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Part One: The Problem Solver Chapter 3 Chapter 13 (continued ) FPREF 09/12/2011 12:48:21 Page 23 xxiii Preface How do I get the business to give us information? Is there a holistic view of requirements and testing? There are last minute changes made to the releases which are done directly with the project team. When this causes the delivery to be delayed or there are impact problems, the business analysts are blamed. There is no single point of responsibility for documenting and maintaining all the communications between business and technical teams about the project and requirements. How can we convince the users that we do more than prepare and maintain documents? There are user meetings every month, but the business analysts are not allowed to attend since we represent IT and the meetings are for the business. Are there any overall guidelines that will assist business analysts in doing their job successfully? What can I do to increase collaboration among all the parties in the solution development effort? Why is there always such a gap between the user requirements and the delivered product? How can we make successful changes to the processes without encountering so much resistance from the users? I feel like we are an afterthought. Is there really a business analyst profession? What is the difference between the ‘‘what’’ requirements and the ‘‘how’’ requirements? Who defines acceptance test cases? Who executes acceptance test cases? How do we convince the customer to do something different, such as another approach? Chapter 11 Part Four: The Process Chapter 15—Checkpoint Charley Chapter 5—Intermediary Chapter 1 and Postscript Chapter 7 This whole book Chapter 5—Diplomat Chapters 8, 9, and 15 Chapters 12 and 17 Chapters 2, 4, and Postscript Chapter 14—Anatomy of Requirements Chapter 16 Chapters 7, 11, and 12 FPREF 09/12/2011 12:48:21 Page 24 FLAST01 09/16/2011 11:25:11 Page 25 Acknowledgments Thanks to all the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of business analysts I’ve worked with over the past 15 years in meeting rooms, lunch rooms, conference rooms, class rooms, hallways, parking lots, airport waiting areas, break rooms over the coffee machine, offices and cubicles, and hotel lobbies, each of whom has contributed a little to this book. Specific thanks go to John Vervoort who was the first President of the New York IIBA chapter, and to Tyson Faircloth of CACI, and to the group down at Dominion Power in Virginia, and Phil Skepnic of CVS/Caremark, all of whom provided valuable information and/or allowed me to spend time with their business analysts and learn from them. Thanks to a group of people who helped instill some agility into the business analyst processes in the book: Scott Ambler, Dr. Steven Gordon, Paul Oldfield, Pete Ruth, and Ron Jeffries. Thanks also to the many who shared their ideas and concerns about business analysts and the business analysis profession especially Laura Brandenburg, Adriana Beal, Jon ‘‘Kupe’’ Kupersmith, Nathan Caswell, Leslie Munday, Mara Burns, who provided insights on the relationship of business analysts and the project management office (PMO) in major financial organizations, E. LaVerne Johnson, Founder, President & CEO of International Institute for Learning, Inc., John Winter of Internal Institute for Learning, and Kevin Brennan and Julian Sammy of the IIBA. Thanks to those who helped make the pages read better: Dr. Roberta Simmons, Nancy Mingus, Judy Umlas of International Institute for Learning (IIL), and Tim Burgard, Stacey Rivera, Helen Cho, and Chris Gage at John Wiley & Sons. Thanks to those whose support and encouragement along the way helped keep me on track over a somewhat lengthy process, with a special tip of the hat to my family: children—Summer, Sean, Terry, and Brian—and grandchildren, as well as Elaine Lincoln, Rob Molina, John Kupiec, and Eddie and Karen Martinez. And a special thanks to Josefina Martinez, who never lost faith for a minute. xxv FLAST01 09/16/2011 xxvi 11:25:11 Page 26 Acknowledgments Thanks most of all to my wife, Sonia, who put up with vacations spent in writing and rewriting to hit deadlines and missed appointments and engagements, late nights and constant travel that come with the jobs that generated the ideas and examples included in the book. Finally, thanks to all the business analysts everywhere who through their persistence and hard work are creating the profession that will be at the center of every successful business in the twenty-first century. FLAST02 09/15/2011 19:21:57 Page 27 International Institute for Learning, Inc. (IIL) With operating companies all over the world and clients in more than 150 countries, IIL is a global leader in training, consulting, coaching and customized course development. Our core competencies include: Project, Program and Portfolio Management; Microsoft1 Project and Project Server; Business Analysis; Lean Six Sigma; PRINCE21; ITIL1; Leadership and Interpersonal Skills. Using our proprietary Many Methods of LearningTM, IIL delivers innovative, effective and consistent training solutions through a variety of learning approaches, including Virtual Classroom, Traditional Classroom, Simulation Training, Interactive On-Demand Training and a blended approach. Our roster of international trainers is comprised of elite professionals whose industry experience is enhanced by their practical classroom expertise. To learn more please visit www.iil.com or email Learning@iil.com.  PMI1, PMP1, PMBOK1 and the PMI1 Registered Education Provider logo are registered trademarks of the Project Management Institute, Inc. registered in the United States and other nations. PRINCE21, ITIL1, M_o_R1, MSP1 and P3O1 are Registered Trade Marks of the Office of Government Commerce in the United Kingdom and other countries. The Swirl logoTM is a Trade Mark of the Office of Government Commerce. Microsoft1 is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. CBAP1 and IIBA1 are registered trademarks of International Institute of Business Analysis. #2000-2011 International Institute for Learning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. xxvii FLAST02 09/15/2011 19:21:57 Page 28 PART01 08/17/2011 15:47:0 Page 1 PART I The Problem Solver The business analyst solves business problems. The business analyst adds value to the organization. The business analyst does this not by defining a set of requirements so that a solution development team, at the behest of a technical project manager, can use them; nor does he run interference between the business wonks on one side and the technology geeks on the other. Being a business analyst means one is in the center of change in the organization, and that is a dangerous place to be without a map, or at least a good plan of action, or perhaps a better escape route. The problems that face today’s organizations and the fast pace of business change can seem overwhelming to one who is charged with solving those problems and keeping up with the pace. Being in the center can give the business analyst the uneasy feeling that BA stands for Blame Attractor. The whole process of solving problems and implementing solutions, especially technological solutions, can be made easier by adopting a systematic approach, one that can be used each and every time and one that has gained credibility through successful use in the past. Thus we have the systems approach to solving business problems. And at the center of this approach is the business analyst. 1 PART01 08/17/2011 15:47:0 Page 2 C01 09/15/2011 12:30:1 Page 3 CHAPTER 1 What Is a Business Analyst? The job market is undergoing a shift in requirements from general computing knowledge and programming skills to those of interdisciplinary domain knowledge and integrated application development and problem-solving skills. —Jiming Liu What is a business analyst? Why is such a position necessary to organizations? Is the business analyst simply a middleman between the technologists and the businesspeople, acting as a go-between, translator, and conduit? Or is there some larger, more important role being played in the center of the organization? This chapter explores what makes a business analyst and what a business analyst does for the organization. It also takes a look at the potential of the position and the direction in which the business analyst role is evolving. The Business Analyst in Context There is a new position in the corporate hierarchy. A purebred technologist or an entirely business-oriented worker cannot fill this position. It is not management level and does not possess authority; however, it is a key contributor to most of the successful IT-related changes in an organization. Those occupying this position are fully versed in how to increase productivity, lower costs, and comply with regulations from both the business and technology perspectives. They can look at any problem from the perspective of the entire organization to determine the impacts, positive and negative, of any proposed change. They are adept at fashioning solutions to business problems, generally using computer technology. This position is the business analyst. 3 C01 09/15/2011 12:30:1 Page 4 4 The Problem Solver Since the first time a computer was used to support a business process, there has been a need for someone to talk to businesspeople. Until there is a time when businesspeople can solve their problems directly with the computer without needing a technologist to design the programs and change the code, there will be a need for someone to help businesspeople define the problem and describe the solution to the technical people who solve it. ‘‘I’ve been a business analyst for twelve years. My new boss doesn’t have a clue about business analysts. He thinks ‘business analyst’ is just a new term for requirements collector. Can you tell him the value of business analysts? He won’t believe me.’’ The business analyst position is relatively new in the organization. Many organizations do not have a defined business analyst position as yet. The reality is, though, that the business analyst is not a new role to the organization, but rather a role that has been played since the first business owner challenged his staff to come up with a more efficient way to produce wheels. While there may not have been an official position in most companies called business analyst, for years the role has been performed by other positions in the organization, such as project manager, systems analyst, and business manager. What Is It All About? ‘‘Can you tell me in a nutshell, like an elevator pitch, what it is that a business analyst does so I can tell my mother-in-law?’’ In Version 1.6 of its Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK), the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA) has the following definition of the role: A business analyst works as a liaison among stakeholders in order to elicit, analyze, communicate and validate requirements for changes to business processes, policies, and information systems. The business analyst understands business problems and opportunities in the context of the requirements and recommends solutions that enable the organization to achieve its goals.1 In 2009, the IIBA updated its definition to ‘‘A business analyst is any person who performs business analysis activities, no matter what their job title or organizational role may be.’’ Business analysis activities involve ‘‘understanding how organizations function to accomplish their purposes, and C01 09/15/2011 12:30:1 Page 5 What Is a Business Analyst? 5 defining the capabilities an organization requires to provide products and services to external stakeholders. It includes the definition of organizational goals, how those goals connect to specific objectives, determining the courses of action that an organization has to undertake to achieve those goals and objectives, and defining how the various organizational units and stakeholders within and outside of that organization interact.’’2 The British Computer Society proposes the following definition of a business analyst: An internal consultancy role that has the responsibility for investigating business systems, identifying options for improving business systems, and bridging the needs of the business with the use of IT.3 These authorities have different slants on the business analyst job: analyst, liaison, communicator, internal consultant, improver of business systems, and business problem solver. Putting it all together, the business analyst is an agent for change in the business, summoning the forces of technology to make changes in the organization, solving problems, and improving processes, thereby increasing the value of the organization. The Role of the Business Analyst ‘‘I’m a project manager and it sounds like I have been doing the business analyst’s job for quite a while. Is that possible? Should I get two salaries?’’ Over the years the work of business analysts evolved first into a role and more recently into a position in the organization. Where there is not a business analyst position, the role has been played by other positions, such as the IT project manager or a business line manager, on a part-time or temporary basis. In some organizations, it is divided among several positions, such as requirements engineer, quality assurance analyst, quality control specialist, product owner, project manager, business champion, software configuration manager, and so forth. Organizations are now realizing that the majority of IT project failures occur because no one person took on the role of business analyst, but still there is no true agreement on what that role should be. This section explores many of the options. The following is a quote from an East Coast utility company’s internal document entitled Business Analyst Handbook. Note the emphasis on the business analyst’s roles: At [company name], the business analyst serves many functions, from operational business support of a business area to deep involvement C01 09/15/2011 12:30:1 Page 6 6 The Problem Solver in software development projects. The business analyst’s role changes based on the customer area he or she is supporting. This situation exists because the expectations for a business analyst are customer driven. A business analyst can be focused on a business area supporting many applications and processes or a single large application (such as an enterprise application) or they may possess extensive knowledge in a particular business area process and support technology associated with that process. Whatever the role, the business analyst must possess a wide variety of skills and knowledge ranging from strong relationships, excellent communication skills, problem solving, facilitation, quality assurance techniques, presentation skills, and analytical/critical thinking. Sprinkled in with all these skills, it is important for the business analyst to have a surface understanding of the technological infrastructure (network, applications, software and hardware) that supports his or her business area.4 The Business Analyst in the Center No matter how you look at it, the business analyst’s role is in the center. As shown in Figure 1.1, there are three communities that the business analyst must deal with throughout any project and thereafter. Business Community Development Community Management ULM EDM Business Manager Problem Owner IT Manager Project Manager BA Defines Process Workers Solve Products (solutions) Problems Produce Solution Team Projects ULM = upper-level management EDM = executive decision makers FIGURE 1.1 The Business Analyst in the Center C01 09/15/2011 12:30:1 Page 7 What Is a Business Analyst? 7 The business community represents the slice of the business that is involved with the problem to be solved. It might be a large slice, such as accounting, or it might be a small slice, such as the collections department. Generally this business slice represents the problem domain. The business manager is the highest-ranking person in the organizational hierarchy directly associated with the business area. For example, when a problem exists in the collections department, the business manager might be the manager of the collections department. When a problem exists in accounting, replacing the accounting system for example, the business manager might be the CFO. The problem owner is the primary point of contact for the problem. The problem owner is the person who has authority to seek a solution to a perceived problem in the business area. The process worker is anyone who actually works with the system or business process in question as a part of his or her daily job. The term user refers to a subset of process workers, namely those who actually use a computer system and put data into a system, extract information from the system, and manipulate the information within the system. I suggest instead the term process worker to expand the business analyst’s view to include those in the business community who are involved with the overall business process being improved, but who are not necessarily users of a computer system. This helps to keep our focus on the business rather than the technology. The business community has problems. There are changes in government regulations to deal with, new products introduced by the competition to keep up with, new markets to break into; there is expansion of sales and support, mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, and personnel turnover. There are old legacy systems that cannot cope with the new marketplace and product lines; and there are the inevitable defects that crop up and small changes to be made to the computer system. When the business community can solve these problems, it does. Because of the impact of computer technology on every aspect of the business for most organizations, the business community generally needs the help of development community personnel to solve the business problem. In fact there are many times that the development community looks on the business community as nothing but one big problem. This is good. If the business did not have problems, the development community would not have work. The development community in Figure 1.1 represents all of IT. So the IT management circle is the highest-ranking person on the IT side, such as the CIO or vice president of management information systems (MIS). The job of the development community is to execute a successful project. A successful project is defined as being within budget, meeting the scheduled deadline, and delivering everything that was promised for that budget and schedule. Except for ongoing operations, everything on the C01 09/15/2011 12:30:1 Page 8 8 The Problem Solver development side is a project. From a project perspective, the team is not concerned with whether the result of the project actually solves the problem, only that the project is a success. The project manager and solution team rightfully assume that the business has done due diligence and determined that the product to be developed is necessary and will provide a benefit to the organization. The solution team’s job is to make it happen within the budget and timeframe. So here is the situation: The business community has a problem and the technical community creates a product purportedly solving that problem, and there is no correlation that the problem is solved until the project is done, if then. Perhaps the coordinating function is upper-level management. The management box across the top of Figure 1.1 represents upper-level management and executive decision makers up to and including the CEO and board of directors. Upper-level management charts and monitors the strategic direction of the organization. Since projects are tactical, upper-level management is not typically concerned with the details of projects. When upper-level management does get too involved in the project details, we have a word for it: micromanagement. Process workers also have a word for the upper-level managers who do this sort of thing, but that word is better left unsaid. So we still have a situation. The business community has a problem, one of a tactical nature, and the development community has a project, also of a tactical nature. This project is designed to produce a product. That product should be the solution to the business problem. However, there is no formal correlation between project and problem. The solution team assumes that the business has determined why the project is needed and what value the results of the project will provide to the business. The business assumes the solution team is going to come up with a solution to their problem and that it should be obvious why the project needs to be done and what the results have to be. So who will verify that the result of the project—the product—completely solves the business problem? The role that ensures the results of the project solve the business problem is the business analyst. That is why the ideal position in the organization for the business analyst is in the center, unaligned with either community. The business analyst independently evaluates the business problem and specifies the solution for the solution team and then makes sure that the solution solves the problem it was intended to solve. Business Analyst Focus The business analyst focuses primarily on the business. In some cases, this means that the business analyst is not involved with IT at all. For example, the business analyst may be involved in rearranging job descriptions and C01 09/15/2011 12:30:1 Page 9 9 What Is a Business Analyst? reorganizing manual tasks as part of a process improvement effort, assisting upper-level management in determining business strategy, or gathering the information and performing benchmarks for requests for proposals (RFP). Regardless, the focus is always on the product, the solution to the business problem. The ultimate goal of the business analyst is to solve that business problem, nothing less. When technology is involved the business analyst is a member of the solution team, but is still focused on the solution. In many situations, the business analyst is the only one so focused. ‘‘I’m not really sure of my job duties as a new business analyst. What is a business analyst supposed to be doing? What do other business analysts in the industry do?’’ The truth is that the industry has not really come up with a standard definition of what a business analyst does, even with the definitions in the IIBA’s Business Analyst Body of Knowledge and other sources. This is because business analysts have come from both the technical and business sides of organizations and the role is still evolving (see Chapter 5 for a view of the various roles of the business analyst), so there has not been coalescence on a single definition. Here is an analogy that I think captures the essence of the business analyst: the business internist. The Ideal Business Analyst ‘‘Can you tell me what to expect when I start my job as business analyst next week? What do management and everyone else expect from me?’’ Table 1.1 provides a generic job description for the ideal business analyst broken down into task-related categories. TABLE 1.1 The Ideal Business Analyst Problem Analysis and Solution Definition General Communication Determines the actual problem to be solved in the organization. Understands the business issues and challenges of the organization and industry. Identifies the organization’s strengths and weaknesses and suggests areas of improvement. Both facilitates and moderates meetings. Delivers informative, well-organized presentations. Understands how to communicate difficult/sensitive information tactfully. (continued) C01 09/15/2011 12:30:1 Page 10 10 The Problem Solver TABLE 1.1 (Continued ) Problem Analysis and Solution Definition General Communication Reviews and edits requirements, specifications, business processes, and recommendations related to proposed solution. Documents the solution to the business problem in a form approvable by the business, acceptable to the solution team, and understandable to management. Pushes creative problem solving beyond the boundaries of existing organizational practices and mind-sets. Identifies areas for improvement in internal processes and suggests potential solutions. Possesses enough understanding in technical disciplines to be able to converse intelligently with solution team. Mediates conflicts between business and the solution team and different business units being impacted by the solution Generates enthusiasm for the product among product stakeholders and solution team members Facilitates decision making among organization executives Product Delivery Receives input from managers and appropriately and accurately provides comments/feedback. Communicates non-technical product and business standards and constraints. Product Quality Assurance Evaluates requested changes from the business and communicates needed changes to development team. Ensures product issues are identified, tracked, reported on, and resolved in a timely manner with both the solution team and the business. Leads and/or participates in acceptance testing efforts. Facilitates the business-community transition from current problem state to solution state. Product Stakeholder Relationship Corresponds effectively with the business to identify needs and evaluate alternative business solutions. Identifies and manages product stakeholder expectations effectively. Ensures that the organization will be ready to accept and affect the change. Conducts effective product evaluations to ensure the problem is being solved in the business environment. This is quite a responsibility for a business analyst to undertake. It is all part of a holistic view of the organization, the business problems, and the IT solutions. Creating positive change for the organization is the essence of the business analyst. Problem solver, communicator, facilitator, analyst—the business analyst works in the center of the organization improving C01 09/15/2011 12:30:1 Page 11 What Is a Business Analyst? 11 processes, clarifying communications, investigating problems, producing solutions, and adding value to the organization. Last-Liners Reviewing the list of jobs a business analyst does from Table 1.1 there seems to be very little in the organization that the business analyst does not do. I did not include in that list random tasks mentioned, such as prepare for executive meetings and make coffee. The business analyst position seems to be the epitome of what we call last-liners, referring to the last line on most job descriptions, which says something like ‘‘and any other activity or task required by management.’’ Last-liners are those whose entire workday is filled with tasks and activities not listed on their job description but are covered by that last line. So is the business analyst really the new kid on the block? Has there been a sea change in business and IT that has resulted in the creation of this position? No. Actually, the role of business analyst has been around for centuries, perhaps as long as there has been business or at least accounting for business. Business analysts are not quite the oldest profession, but the position actually predates the modern computer, giving further support to the contention that business analysts solve business problems rather than write software requirements. Don’t believe it? The next chapter describes a bit of the evolution of the business analyst and identifies some of the famous and infamous business analysts throughout history. Notes 1. International Institute of Business Analysis, A Guide to the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge, version 1.6 (2006), page 9. 2. International Institute of Business Analysis, A Guide to the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge, version 2.0 (March 31, 2009), page 4. 3. Debra Paul and Donald Yeates, Business Analysis (British Informatics Society Ltd, April 2006), 4. 4. Excerpted from internal corporate business analyst handbook for an East Coast utility company, published 2006. C01 09/15/2011 12:30:1 Page 12 C02 09/15/2011 12:33:31 Page 13 CHAPTER 2 The Evolution of the Business Analyst It is our responsibilities, not ourselves, that we should take seriously. —Peter Ustinov Every profession has its history and heroes. The medical profession’s progression from Hippocrates to Gregory House is well documented. The legal profession can point to Clarence Darrow and Daniel Webster, among many others. These luminaries stand as models and beacons of their profession. Defining the origin of the business analyst and tracing the profession’s history is much more difficult. The need for a business analyst would exist without computers or information systems, although the present-day business analyst role has roots in the evolution of business computer technology. The role is a melting pot of professions and disciplines, technology and intuition, solitary analysis and personal interaction, engineering and business practice. Let’s look at the history of the business analyst and some of the influences on the profession. The Business Analyst Hall of Fame There have been people playing the role of business analyst for centuries now. Perhaps our first recorded business analyst might be Adam Smith, who documented the business process of manufacturing a straight pin to make a point about separation of skills. Smith’s assertion that the economy and all business is ruled by the invisible hand of self-interest has great influence on 13 C02 09/15/2011 14 12:33:31 Page 14 The Problem Solver the business analyst’s work, as stated in this oft-quoted passage from Wealth of Nations: It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest. We address ourselves, not to their humanity but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our own necessities but of their advantages.1 This may be the original WIIFM (What’s in It for Me?) statement. As we will see, the business analyst who understands this philosophy in business will have a much easier time obtaining his or her own goals. Another who might be placed in the Business Analyst Hall of Fame would be Herman Hollerith, who solved a compelling business problem in the late 1800s. The U.S. Census Bureau is legally mandated to count the people in the country every 10 years. The 1880 census took seven years to complete and by 1890, the country had grown so much more it would have taken more than 10 years to conduct the census. Hollerith borrowed an idea from the textile industry and created a mechanical counting device based on cards with holes punched in them. While the machine was a computing device (thus qualifying Herman for the Computer Hall of Fame as well), Hollerith was truly a business analyst solving a business problem using computer technology. Hollerith, incidentally, founded a company called the Computing Tabulating Recording (CTR) Corporation. You have probably not heard of the company, except that later on, when the president of CTR was Thomas Watson, the company was renamed International Business Machines (IBM) Corporation. Also in our Hall of Fame is Frederick Winslow Taylor, who solved business productivity problems with innovative workforce management approaches. Taylor was the first to apply systematic observation and study to the workplace. He also believed that by analyzing work activities and flow, the one best way to perform the work could be determined. Business analysts today use systematic observation and analysis to determine the one best way to solve the business problem they are assigned to solve. They routinely find the best practice wherever it exists, decompose tasks into essential parts, and remove things (e.g., operations, activities, etc.) that do not add value. A special niche is reserved for Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle’s fictional detective. He established, fictionally of course, the basics of scientific investigation and examining all the available data before coming to a conclusion about a solution. We discuss the advice that Mr. Holmes makes to the business analyst throughout the book. We might also find nearby a plaque with the face of Mark Twain, who provided significant guidance in gathering data and assembling facts from a reporting perspective. For C02 09/15/2011 12:33:31 Page 15 The Evolution of the Business Analyst 15 example, he is reputed to have said, ‘‘Gather the facts first. You can distort them later.’’ This is sage advice for the practicing business analyst. We see more of his counsel later when we discuss elicitation and investigation. Quality gurus such as Armand Feigenbaum (Total Quality Management or TQM), Phil Crosby (Quality Is Free), and William Edwards Deming (Theory of 14 points, among others) might also be added to the list of people who have significantly influenced the business analyst profession. Feigenbaum’s book Total Quality Control established a holistic approach to instilling quality in the workplace. The business analyst uses a similar holistic approach to solving business problems. We would have to include Alex Osborn, an advertising manager from Buffalo, New York, who was one of the founders of BBDO (Batton, Barton, Durstine, and Osborn), one of the largest and best-known advertising companies in the world. An advertising manager in the Business Analyst Hall of Fame? Yes. Alex Osborn developed the brainstorming method and other techniques used often by business analysts, as well as other creative thinking and problem solving methods. Influencers of more recent vintage are Michael Hammer and James Champy, who coined the term business process re-engineering (BPR) in the seminal volume, Re-Engineering the Organization; Bill Smith of Motorola, who brought Six Sigma to the attention of business and IT; and others whose words of wisdom and guidance to the business analyst are liberally sprinkled throughout this book. You might notice that the honorees in the Business Analyst Hall of Fame are primarily non-IT people. Where are John Van Neumann, father of the computer, and Vint Cerf, father of the Internet, and Tim Berners-Lee, father of the World Wide Web? How about Bill Gates, Larry Ellison, and Steve Jobs? Certainly, these illustrious gentlemen would grace any technological or IT Hall of Fame—but not our Hall of Fame. These titans of the IT industry gave us better means to solve problems, not the solutions themselves. Some might even argue that their contributions have created more obstacles to solving business problems because the technological advances tend to move our focus from the business to technology. Our hypothetical shrine is for luminaries who have developed and practiced methods for solving business problems with technology and improving the organization’s business processes. Where It Began Back in the 1960s when I started in the computer business as a programmer, there were no business analyst positions. In fact, there were few systems analysts or software architects, or any other intermediary role. We were all programmers and we met with the businesspeople directly. Since user C02 09/15/2011 16 12:33:32 Page 16 The Problem Solver nowadays refers to someone who interacts directly with a computer system, we cannot even say there were users at the time. There were employees performing work that might be done better and faster on a computer. The user interface was limited to what was punched onto Hollerith cards (called 5081 cards or simply punched cards) and the reports that were generated by the computer. The people we talked to were cooperative, although somewhat skeptical, and certainly a bit fearful. Despite that, we communicated fairly well. We paid no attention to the business processes these computer systems supported; that was not our job. Most of the programmers and computer technicians at that time came from engineering and mathematics curricula in college or from the fledgling Computer Science departments, and were not skilled in human interaction and tact, much less business. Programmers and other computer technicians lived behind the glass walls of computer rooms whispering incantations over their machinery and posting large ‘‘Keep Out’’ signs on the doors. A sizable contingent of the data processing populace believed that computer technology was a science or engineering discipline and that producing reports for business was a sideline, something to be tolerated. This, of course, led to severe misunderstandings between the business community and the programmers. As a result, data processing departments created the programmer analyst role. Technicians given this role talked to the business and translated the business requests into program specifications for the programmers. This excused programmers from having to converse directly with the businesspeople who were, in turn, much relieved. Interestingly, those assigned the role to talk directly to the business tended to be graduates of vocational schools teaching computer programming rather than the computer scientists matriculating from colleges. Colleges and universities at that time did not teach business courses to computer scientists and engineers, and the graduates from the programming schools came from professions and businesses already possessing insights into how business worked. As technology became pervasive in business and government organizations, it became increasingly difficult to merge the demands of the organization and the technological advances of computers. Computer scientists added more complexity to the technology with newer, faster computers and peripheral devices. Businesspeople then discovered the many things computers could do to make their work easier, and started demanding computer departments to harness computer power for business processes. This, in turn, caused the computer scientists to build bigger, better, and faster computers to keep up with the business demand, which caused the business to create new demands for the better and faster computer technology, and around it went. Unfortunately, the advances in both arenas did not proceed in the same direction. As a result, the programmer analysts became too technical for the business and the business became too complicated for the programmer analyst. C02 09/15/2011 12:33:32 Page 17 The Evolution of the Business Analyst 17 Then the data processing department, as it was called then, invented the position of systems analyst to reconcile the divergent areas. The systems analyst was supposed to talk to the business and arrive at a technical solution for an entire system consisting of hardware, data, and software (networks were not an issue then), which was then turned over to the programmer analyst to write program specifications, which were then turned over to the programmer to code. However, systems analysts still did not concern themselves with business process. They focused solely on computer support of those business processes. On the business side, senior managers drew straws to see who would be the one to have to explain their needs to the computer guys. The user interface at that time was a simple terminal on which questions were displayed. The responses were entered in a scrolling, sequential fashion in gray characters on a green background. Secure in the notion that we knew best what the users wanted, we designed the systems without consultation with those users. We occasionally consulted with the managers of those users, but they rarely understood exactly what their people did. Because we systems analysts ignored the impact of the systems we were designing on the business processes in place, the newly minted users of the systems were forced to change everything they were doing and use keyboards instead of paper and pen and then wait for hours, if not days, to see the results printed on 1114-inch green bar (striped) paper. Just for Fun This was also when the first occurrence of the now legendary Stupid User Error happened. The exchange went something like this: Business manager: The system crashed when the user entered the date wrong. Programmer: Well, if the user entered the date right, it wouldn’t have crashed. My code works. Tell your users to enter the date right. (To himself) Stupid users! Information Systems Even though it was still a back-room function in the 1970s, data processing was coming into its own as a viable department in the organization. With the newfound power it was experiencing, data processing renamed itself C02 09/15/2011 12:33:32 Page 18 18 The Problem Solver information systems (IS) or the management information systems (MIS) department, which elevated it to a larger influence in the business. Those in IS/MIS making direct contact with the businesspeople were still the same technically-oriented engineers who were not familiar with the business and, for the most part, did not care to be. These technicians were too busy dealing with rapidly evolving computer technology that went from second to third generation computers and trimmed down from large, roomsized mainframe computers to mini-computers, then micro-computers, and then personal computers. The software industry expanded and changed, creating new programming languages, moving from second-generation languages to third generation to fourth generation, and then to visual development environments. Software development progressed from the controlled, linear approaches typical of engineering with structured design, to objectoriented analysis and design, to iterative and incremental approaches, to agile software development methods. Coders became programmers and then became developers. The computer technician became a technologist and had to become more technology focused, just to stay viable in the industry. And the business started selling internationally, dealing with regulations of multiple nations and varying cultures. As we entered the last decade of the twentieth century, businesses started merging and acquiring, growing bigger and more complex, becoming global in their scope. The Rise of the Business Analyst Businesspeople found themselves increasingly unable to communicate with the staff working in information technology (a term more reflective of the prevailing attitude). Business management was forced to delegate members of its staff to meet with the IT people and explain what the business needed, and saw its employees relegated to the role of user. The thinking went like this: ‘‘He uses the computer, therefore he is a user, therefore he knows what he wants to use the computer for, therefore he can explain it clearly to those technical people. Better him than me.’’ Usually the one designated was a super-user (an IT term) who was not cowed by the computer or technology, and was the user other users called when they had computer problems and were too afraid or embarrassed to call in the nerds. (Nerd is a term invented in 1950 by Dr. Seuss in the book If I Ran the Zoo. The term evolved over the years to connote a person more interested in esoteric and technological activities than in social interactions. The word described the stereotypical computer programmer back in the early days of the industry.) This super-user was, most likely, the first official business analyst but probably did not have that title. We do not have a date or name or location to commemorate the first time a businessperson was assigned the job of C02 09/15/2011 12:33:32 Page 19 The Evolution of the Business Analyst 19 crossing the no-man’s land between business and IT to solve a problem. We do not even know whether that representative was issued a white flag to wave. Just for Fun How it might have happened . . . Anne, an accounts receivable supervisor, went to the VP of Finance saying that she was spending all her time with the computer guys discussing new systems and was not getting her accounts receivable work done. The VP of Finance decides to create a new job for Anne, and made her a full-time business analyst. Or, on the IT side, David, the developer, complained to the Director of Software Development that he did not have time to code or design because he was spending too much time in meetings trying to find out what he was supposed to code and design. The Director gave him the choice of continuing to meet with the business or go back to coding and designing. When David chose the former, the Director assigned him the title of business analyst and banished him from the technologists’ lunchroom. IT also recognized the communication problem. Perhaps IT departments saw the business sending representatives over the wall to talk with them and decided that IT needed its own representatives. Perhaps the IT department was tired of having all its systems analysts and programmers talking directly to the users, which caused all sorts of havoc, and decided to funnel the communications to the few technologists who could string together a meaningful English sentence and possessed enough tact to keep from insulting the other parties for at least the first half hour. In any case, IT began assigning and appointing the role of point person to meet with the business and discuss what really had to be done to solve the problems of the business. The actual term business analyst had been used in business in a different context for a long time. The title referred to someone who analyzes business processes or activities to discern better ways of operating and making a profit, such as analyzing the competition’s product line to locate holes that can be filled by the analyst company’s products. Another type of business analyst also analyzes other businesses and reports his or her findings to stockholders, investors, financial institutions, market researchers, and so on. These business analysts are found on Wall Street and in companies like C02 09/15/2011 12:33:32 Page 20 20 The Problem Solver Gartner and Forrester. Typically, neither of these types of business analysts have direct interaction with a software development team. Throughout the history of business there has been a need to search for the solution to business problems. Businesspeople, inventors, technicians, managers, company founders, innovators, and workers have all sought to solve new and recurring business problems, some achieving Hall of Fame status with their efforts. Over the years a key role has emerged whose specific purpose is to solve those business problems: the business analyst. The Business Analyst Position Think as you work, for in the final analysis, your worth to your company comes not only in solving problems, but also in anticipating them. —Tom Lehrer ‘‘My position is business systems analyst. Is that the same thing as a business analyst?’’ There are a multitude of titles describing the business analyst. Each organization seems to have its own view of what a business analyst is and does. I worked in some organizations where the definition of system analyst is indistinguishable from that of business analyst. I also worked with business analysts who shared the same title but do completely different jobs. A large U.S. government agency had about 30 business analysts all working in the same large room in cubicles. The agency assigned about half of the business analysts to define the requirements and assigned the other half to do testing of completed systems against those requirements. The testers never defined the requirements and the requirements group never tested. They were all called business analysts. In a health insurance company in New York, the business analysts are referred to as customer champions. A New England insurance company assigns the business analyst role to an IT function called business relationship manager, whose job it is to keep the business informed and satisfied with the work that IT is doing. In a large U.S. federal government agency, the business analyst is drafted from the line managers and wears the business analyst hat for the duration of the project before returning to their regularly assigned duties. In one of the larger U.S. banks, the business analyst position is split into technical business analyst (TBA), who focuses on specifying the software requirements, and business business analyst (BBA), who creates the business requirements. C02 09/15/2011 12:33:32 Page 21 The Evolution of the Business Analyst 21 In fact, without too much of a stretch, sales support people might well fall within the overall category of business analyst. They bridge the gap between external customers who have problems and may be in need of the products the organization is offering, and the solution represented by those products. The bottom line is that the role of the business analyst is the customer-facing member of the solution team, or, looking at it from the other direction, the representative of the business on the solution team. In all cases, the business analyst, under whatever guise or title, determines the business problem, analyzes the situation, identifies the best solution, and ensures that the solution solves the problem in the business environment. The Modern Analyst Forum Web site for business analysts and systems analysts lists the following variations for business analyst roles, each variation defined in detail by the Modern Analyst Forum: & & & & & & & Business analyst (general) Business process engineer/analyst Data analyst/modeler Product manager/functional architect Requirements engineer Systems analyst Usability/UX professional The Web site goes on to list related roles: & & & & & Designer/architect Developer Quality Assurance analyst/tester Project manager Technical writer2 The Business Analyst Profession The most likely way for the world to be destroyed, most experts agree, is by accident. That’s where we come in; we’re computer professionals. We cause accidents. —Nathaniel S. Borenstein ‘‘Are there any business analyst organizations where I can meet other business analysts?’’ C02 09/15/2011 12:33:32 22 Page 22 The Problem Solver One indication of the maturity of a profession is the existence of professional organizations devoted to the advancement of those members of that profession. Business analysts have a range of professional organizations that relate to some of the roles business analysts play, predominant of which is the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA) and the Project Management Institute (PMI). Business analysts become members of other professional societies and related organizations, such as the American Society for Quality (ASQ), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Computer Society (IEEE), the International Standards Organization (ISO), the British Computer Society (BCS), the Institute of Analysts and Programmers (IAP) in the United Kingdom, the Australian Business Analyst Association (ABAA), and others. The International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA) describes itself: The IIBA is an independent, non-profit, international professional association that is dedicated to advancing the professionalism of its members as well as the business analysis profession itself. IIBA recognizes the important contributions business analysts make to organizations every day . . . The IIBA is seeking to establish common standards of knowledge within the BA profession and is committed to work with practitioners around the globe to continually add to those standards through education, research, and the sharing of effective tools and techniques.3 The IIBA was formed in October 2003 with 28 founding members. In April 2006, it became incorporated federally as a nonprofit association under the Canada Corporations Act with headquarters in Toronto, Canada. The organization has grown to more than 18,000 members (as of 2011) and over 100 chapters worldwide. The Australian Business Analysis Association (ABAA) describes itself: The ABAA was formed in 2003 to define, promote and support Business Analysis as a profession nationwide. ‘Business Analysis’ as a term, provides a collective umbrella for professionals working in the areas of ‘Commercial, Process, Technical and Systems Analysis.’ ABAA seeks to provide a professional framework supporting those who work in this area. The Australian Business Analysis Association is a nonprofit, vendor independent, professional association with the objective to: & & Define the profession of Business Analysis, Promote the profession and increase public awareness of Business Analysis, C02 09/15/2011 12:33:32 Page 23 The Evolution of the Business Analyst & & & & 23 Develop a Business Analysis competency framework, Improve the practice of Business Analysis and the knowledge, competence and standing of its practitioners, Represent the profession nationally and internationally, Provide a forum for the free exchange of information and ideas.4 ‘‘Are there any business analyst best practices?’’ The Guide to the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK), the current version of which is 2.0 released on March 31, 2009, is: The collection of knowledge within the profession of Business Analysis and reflects current generally accepted practices. As with other professions, the body of knowledge is defined and enhanced by the Business Analysis professionals who apply it in their daily work role.5 The BABOK is similar to what is perhaps the most important document in the project management profession: The Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) compiled by the Project Management Institute (PMI). The PMBOK: Offers a set of processes, generally recognized as good practice, which delivers results across industries and organizations.6 The BABOK describes its mission this way: The primary purpose of the BABOK Guide is to define the profession of business analysis. It serves as a baseline that practitioners can agree upon in order to discuss the work they do and to ensure that they have the skills they need to effectively perform the role, and defines the skills and knowledge that people who work with and employ business analysts should expect a skilled practitioner to demonstrate. It is a framework that describes the business analysis tasks that must be performed in order to understand how a solution will deliver value to the sponsoring organization.7 The BABOK divides the activities of a business analyst into five knowledge areas. Knowledge areas ‘‘define what a practitioner of business analysis needs to understand and the tasks a practitioner must be able to perform.’’8 The BABOK defines the knowledge areas this way: 1. Enterprise analysis. ‘‘Describes how business analysts identify a business need, refine and clarify the definition of that need, and define a C02 09/15/2011 12:33:32 Page 24 24 2. 3. 4. 5. The Problem Solver solution scope that can feasibly be implemented by the business.’’ The knowledge area includes problem definition, developing and justifying the business case, and defining product scope.’’ Business analysis planning and monitoring. Concerned with determining ‘‘which activities are necessary in order to complete a business analysis effort’’: It covers stakeholder identification, selection of business analysis techniques, defining a process for managing requirements, and assessment of progress. Elicitation. Addresses working with stakeholders to determine what their needs are and ‘‘the environment in which they work,’’ and ensuring that we have correctly and completely understood them. Requirements analysis. Progressively elaborating the solution definition to enable the solution team to ‘‘implement a solution that will meet the needs of the sponsoring organization and stakeholders.’’ Within this knowledge area, the business analyst analyzes the stakeholder information within the current state of the business to identify and recommend improvements and solutions. The knowledge area also addresses validation and verification of the solution. Requirements management and communication. Describes the techniques for managing conflict, issues, and changes and ensuring that stakeholders and the solution team are in agreement on the solution. This knowledge area also is concerned with ‘‘how knowledge gained by the business analyst is maintained for future use.’’ & Solution assessment and validation. Covers the role of business analysis once the solution team proposes a solution: assessing proposed solutions, ‘‘identifying gaps and shortcomings in solutions,’’ and assessing ‘‘deployed solutions to see how well they met the original need.’’9 The BABOK goes on to describe underlying competencies that describe the ‘‘behaviors, knowledge, and other characteristics that support effective performance of business analysis.’’10 These include analytical thinking and problem solving, behavior characteristics, business knowledge, communication skills, interaction skills, and software applications. The Question of Certification ‘‘Is it necessary to get certified as a professional business analyst?’’ Business analysts in the field seem to be split on the subject of certification. Many already have other certifications. Some, because they are accidental business analysts, do not consider business analysis as their lifelong C02 09/15/2011 12:33:32 Page 25 The Evolution of the Business Analyst 25 profession and are not interested in getting certified. Others, new to the field, are seeking a certification route to establish their credentials in the business analyst world to enhance their careers. Many business analysts have earned a number of other certifications, mostly from their previous life before becoming a business analyst. A large number of business analysts have the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification from the PMI. This certification may reflect the collateral duties business analysts perform and also that some project managers choose to move in the direction of business analysis even after they have achieved the PMP status. The IIBA offers the CBAP (Certified Business Analyst Professional) specifically for the business analyst professional. There are also commercial training companies that offer certifications for passing exams after taking their courses, and colleges and universities, such as Boston University, University of California–Irvine, and Villanova have certification programs. There are a number of degree programs for business analysts mostly located in the United Kingdom. Current working business analysts tend to have computerrelated degrees, management degrees, or MBAs. The British Computer Society (BCS) has a certification program called the Information Systems Examination Board (ISEB) that includes a certification in business analysis. The ISEB and the BCS are well respected in the United Kingdom and in Europe. The certification consists of three levels: foundation, practitioner, and higher levels. To gain a diploma in business analysis a candidate must pass two core examinations and two other examinations in selected topics. The ISEB allows candidates who have received a CBAP from the IIBA exemption from the requirements engineering core examination. The ABAA offers the qualified business analyst practitioner (QBAP) certification: The qualified business analysis practitioner (QBAP) is a base-level certification readily available to practicing BAs based on an initial audit of their competencies and experience. This accreditation represents a base level of competency for a business analyst and confirms the bona fides of the skills, training and experience a business analyst asserts at the time of registration.11 The Challenge of Business Analyst Certification ‘‘Is there really a way of assessing a business analyst’s competence and experience? How would they determine my skills in health care business analysis? It has got to be different than someone in finance or manufacturing.’’ C02 09/15/2011 12:33:32 Page 26 26 The Problem Solver Because of the breadth of knowledge and skills that a business analyst is required to possess, many of which cannot be determined with a written exam, the concept of certifying a business analyst as a competent professional may be beyond any organization’s capability. Consider that it is universally agreed that communication skills are central to the success of the business analyst. How can you assess the professionalism of a business analyst’s communication abilities with a multiple-choice exam? Most certification programs include a number of years experience along with a requirement to pass the exam for requisite knowledge of the profession. None of the programs evaluate that experience to determine whether the experience proves that the professional has been successful at any point. A business analyst who has continually failed to grasp the responsibilities of the role and as a result moves from job to job and failed project to failed project can certainly amass enough time-in-grade to qualify for the certification. Studying for exam and memorizing a manual or taking a class might get this business analyst past the knowledge hurdle. If the business analyst is still unable to communicate successfully or analyze and produce successful solutions to business problems, how is it possible to grant such a person a certification that bestows the prestige of professionalism on them? It is not a matter of rejecting certification as a means of separating levels of quality in the ranks of business analysts. The real question is whether the current means of certifying really addresses the qualities needed by a business analyst to be successful, much less labeled as professional. The Value of Certification ‘‘Is the CBAP certification really worth getting?’’ That said, the IIBA certified business analyst professional (CBAP) certification is becoming the standard for assessing the basic knowledge of a business analyst. As of the middle of 2011 there are over 1,000 recipients of the CBAP from over 20 countries. The IIBA lists the following benefits of acquiring the CBAP certification: & & & & & Demonstrated knowledge of the skills necessary to be an effective business analyst. A proven level of competence in the principles and practices of business analysis. Participation in a recognized professional group. Recognition of professional competence by professional peers and management. Advanced career potential due to recognition as a professional business analysis practitioner.12 C02 09/15/2011 12:33:32 Page 27 The Evolution of the Business Analyst 27 The certification requires a level of experience and passing an exam based on the current official version of the BABOK. The first exam was given in Orlando, Florida, on November 10, 2006. The exam is now available in a computerized version at various test centers so that applicants no longer have to sit for the exam in specific locations at specific times. The CBAP establishes a level playing field for all professional business analysts, organizations hiring business analysts, and organizations considering the establishment of a business analyst function in their organization. The certification provides proof of a basic level of knowledge and understanding of the precepts of business analysis that are essential to the successful execution of the business analyst role. Knowing the history of the business analyst and seeing that the history of the profession basically mirrors the history of business, what does that mean to you? Well, for one thing it means that the noble profession is not an afterthought of the onslaught of computer technology in business. The business analyst solves business problems, regardless of whether the problem or solution involves information technology. Now that we know where we come from, the next question might be where are we now? Most business analysts appear to work for IT, but is that the right place to be for a profession whose mission is in the business realm? In the next chapter we explore the alternatives. Notes 1. Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Cause of the Wealth of Nations. 2. Modern Analyst Media LLC. Available from www.modernanalyst.com. 3. International Institute of Business Analysis. Available from www.theiiba.org. 4. www.aaba.org.au. 5. International Institute of Business Analysis. Available from www.theiiba.org. 6. Project Management Institute. Available from www.pmi.org. 7. International Institute of Business Analysis, A Guide to the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge, version 2.0 (March 31, 2009) 2 8. Ibid., 6. 9. Ibid., 9. 10. Ibid., 9. 11. www.abaa.org.au. 12. International Institute of Business Analysis. Available from www.theiiba.org. C02 09/15/2011 12:33:32 Page 28 C03 09/12/2011 14:14:9 Page 29 CHAPTER 3 A Sense of Where You Are Strive to make proposed solutions as self-executing as possible. As the degree of discretion increases, so too does bureaucracy, delay, and expense. —Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense From a vice president in the PMO of a large New York bank: ‘‘Most of our staff are senior project managers with their PMPs. I was thinking of adding some of our senior business analysts to the staff to fill in spaces that the project managers don’t have. Does that make sense, or should I leave well enough alone?’’ So, where do you hail from? Today, business analysts are mostly draftees or volunteers; that is, they did not start out in professional life to be business analysts. They were not members of the Future Business Analysts of America club in secondary school or majors in business analysis in college. As more colleges and universities create business analysis curricula, the next generation of business analysts may well be professionals who have chosen business analysis as their life’s work. Today, however, business analysts generally started as systems analysts, product managers, project managers, architects, or any number of other professions and ended up as business analysts by either showing a predilection for the role, at least as perceived by management, or were the only ones available when the position was announced. So, are you a former technologist or did you work in some capacity for a business before becoming a business analyst? There is no evidence that a business analyst’s previous life has any affect on whether a person is successful in the role of business analyst. 29 C03 09/12/2011 14:14:9 Page 30 30 The Problem Solver Business Analysts Coming from IT CIO of a Midwest manufacturing firm: ‘‘We’re new to the business analyst position, just creating it now. I think we are going to assign the business analysts to work for IT. I’m thinking that each business analyst will be assigned to a project manager. Is that a good way to go?’’ The majority of business analysts today gravitated to their position from the technical side of the organization. Most were drafted. Some simply had their job title changed from requirements analyst to business analyst with no change in duties. Others left the technical field for a more hands-on role with the customer or stakeholder. There are positive aspects for having a technically oriented business analyst. The business analyst with a technical background: & & & & & Has a better understanding of computers and technology and can filter out the operational errors from real problems. Can provide quick fixes to the business in emergency situations. Generally knows what technology is available to solve problems. Can be an extra technical resource on the solution team and can relate to the rest of the team. May bring a different perspective or objectivity about the business problem than a business analyst from the business side. ‘‘I transitioned from system analyst to business analyst. Will my technical background help me or hurt me?’’ The primary drawback with business analysts coming from the IT side is that they do not have independence. Although their job is to define an IT solution to a business problem, they are constrained to define that solution within the framework of the current IT structure and are not free to discuss the business problem with real platform and solution independence. They are usually in the role of IT emissary, counseling the business as to what IT has available to solve the problem. When the business analyst has an IT background they: & & Will tend to view all business problems from the perspective of how computer technology can be applied rather than how they can be solved. Many business analysts think of themselves as IT emissaries to the business. They are paid by IT so it is a logical assumption. Carries with them the baggage of the ongoing historical distrust of the business for IT and vice versa. The business will naturally view the business analyst as one of them rather than someone to independently C03 09/12/2011 14:14:9 Page 31 31 A Sense of Where You Are TABLE 3.1 Benefit and Concerns of a Business Analyst Coming from IT Benefits Concerns Independent from the influences of business management. May understand the technical impacts and induce the business impacts to a given solution. Has a good relationship with the technicians on the solution team. Is a better filter to discern real problems from the noise due to lack of training or technological unfamiliarity. Conflict of interest trying to represent business to the IT project. Influenced to come up with an IT solution rather than a business solution. Looks ahead at the solution instead of studying the problem. Does not have that feel for business. The technician may not really care about the business as much as about the technology. Keeps solution within the confines of existing systems and knowledge. Jumps to solutions. Can be an additional resource on the solution team. Will be able to diagnose technical issues faster. & assess the problem and produce a satisfactory solution. This makes elicitation that much harder. Will exhibit a tendency to circumscribe solutions within the framework of existing systems and facilities rather than explore unique business solutions that may increase the value of the organizational unit, IT, and the organization as a whole. This leads to another issue: lack of understanding of the real problem. Since many IT people suffer from Gerald Weinberg’s NPS (No Problem Syndrome), it is natural for IT people to arrive at an early solution before the problem is fully defined, implement the solution, and then spend years adjusting the resulting product until it finally solves the original unstated problem. A business analyst from IT is subject to that form of groupthink. Table 3.1 summarizes the benefits and concerns of a business analyst hailing from IT. Business Analysts Coming from the Business Community A director of business relations at a large Pennsylvania bank: ‘‘Our business analysts primarily come from the business side. I’d like to keep their affiliation with the businesspeople with which they have relationships. I’m thinking of keeping C03 09/12/2011 32 14:14:10 Page 32 The Problem Solver the current business analysts with their business units and creating new business analysts for all the other business units.’’ There is much to be said for business analysts with solid business experience working directly for the business area rather than for IT. The business analyst is able to build strong relationships with process workers and others in the business unit. This enables the business analyst to get a deep understanding of the problem domain. The business analyst is more likely to suggest non-IT solutions to business problems, and be more concerned with all the nonautomated activities, such as forms redesign, job description changes, training, and so on that accompany a typical business process. The transition from the current process to the changed process is typically smoother. As with IT-side business analysts, there are also concerns with the business-side business analysts. There are technical considerations for practically all business processes in an organization today. The business analyst from the business side may not be aware of the technical considerations that may impede their solution, and may not know of technological advances that may bring about a better solution. When the business analyst reports to a single business entity within the organization, he or she will likely be unduly influenced by that business entity, and especially the head of that entity. The business analyst will most likely not perform due diligence in verifying alignment with overall organizational strategy. They may not verif...
Purchase answer to see full attachment
User generated content is uploaded by users for the purposes of learning and should be used following Studypool's honor code & terms of service.

Explanation & Answer

View attached explanation and answer. Let me know if you have any questions.

Running head: BUSINESS ANALYSIS

1

Business Analysis
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation

BUSINESS ANALYSIS

2
Business Analysis

The business analysis represents a critical aspect in every organization. Business analysis
involves identifying specific organizational needs and articulating methods/approaches to
address business problems. Ideally, the business analysis comprises three core structural
elements, which define the scope of business analysis practices in the organization, i.e.,
Redesigning, application/implementation, and management (Milani, 2019). The redesigning
involves a critical assessment of business needs, planning, and restructuring the core business
process. It represents the most fundamental elements of business analysis. Next is the application
or implementation aspect, which incorporates the formalization of technologies and
methodologies to support the identified new core processes. It may also involve traceability and
monitoring ...


Anonymous
Really useful study material!

Studypool
4.7
Trustpilot
4.5
Sitejabber
4.4

Similar Content

Related Tags