Rights Contact Login For More Details
More About This Title Business Analysis: Best Practices for Success
English
Business Analysis offers a complete description of the process of business analysis in solving business problems. Filled with tips, tricks, techniques, and guerilla tactics to help execute the process in the face of sometimes overwhelming political or social obstacles, this guide is also filled with real world stories from the author's more than thirty years of experience working as a business analyst.
- Provides techniques and tips to execute the at-times tricky job of business analyst
- Written by an industry expert with over thirty years of experience
Straightforward and insightful, Business Analysis is a valuable contribution to your ability to be successful in this role in today's business environment.
English
STEVEN P. BLAIS is a solution architect and a consultant, coach, trainer, and course author in business analysis, software development, and project management. He contributes articles on a regular basis to allPM.com, a project management webzine published by the International Institute for Learning (IIL). He is a frequent content provider to numerous BA blogging sites, including EssenceoftheBA.com, and chairs a committee for the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge R3 with the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA), the predominant organization for the growing discipline of business analysis, with currently over 15,000 members in ninety chapters worldwide.
English
Preface xv
Acknowledgments xxv
International Institute for Learning, Inc. (IIL) xxvii
PART I THE PROBLEM SOLVER 1
CHAPTER 1 What Is a Business Analyst? 3
The Business Analyst in Context 3
What Is It All About? 4
The Role of the Business Analyst 5
The Business Analyst in the Center 6
Business Analyst Focus 8
The Ideal Business Analyst 9
Last-Liners 11
Notes 11
CHAPTER 2 The Evolution of the Business Analyst 13
The Business Analyst Hall of Fame 13
Where It Began 15
Information Systems 17
The Rise of the Business Analyst 18
The Business Analyst Position 20
The Business Analyst Profession 21
The Question of Certification 24
The Challenge of Business Analyst Certification 25
The Value of Certification 26
Notes 27
CHAPTER 3 A Sense of Where You Are 29
Business Analysts Coming from IT 30
Business Analysts Coming from the Business Community 31
Living with the Business 33
The Lone Ranger 35
Working Both Sides of the Street 36
Central Business Analyst Organization 37
CHAPTER 4 What Makes a Good Business Analyst? 39
The Skillful Business Analyst 40
Is a Business Analyst Born or Made? 41
So What Does It Take to Be a Business Analyst? 42
CHAPTER 5 Roles of the Business Analyst 45
Intermediary 49
Filter 59
Mediator 63
Diplomat 65
Politician 68
Investigator 69
Analyst 70
Change Agent 72
Quality Control Specialist 73
Facilitator 74
Process Improver 79
Increase the Value of Organizational Business Processes 79
Build It and They Will Come 80
Reducing Complexity 82
Playing Multiple Roles 83
Notes 84
PART II THE PLAYERS 85
CHAPTER 6 The Business Analyst and the Solution Team 89
Business Analyst and Project Manager 89
Business Analyst and Systems Analyst 94
Trying to Do All Jobs 98
Business Analyst and the Rest of the Solution Team 100
Bottom Line 107
Notes 108
CHAPTER 7 The Business Analyst and the Business Community 109
Constituents and Constituencies 110
Business Analysts and Upper-Level Management 110
Product Stakeholders 113
Subject Matter Experts 119
Process Workers 122
Managing Expectations 126
Notes 130
PART III THE PROBLEM 131
CHAPTER 8 Define the Problem 135
First Things First 135
Challenge 1: Finding the Problem 138
Challenge 2: The Unstated Problem 139
Challenge 3: The Misunderstood Problem 140
Define the Real Problem 141
The Problem Determination Game 145
Documenting the Problem 154
Product Vision 155
Define the Vision 157
Checkpoint Alpha 159
Focus on the Problem and Vision 161
Note 162
CHAPTER 9 Define the Product Scope 163
Project and Product Scopes 163
Product Scope 164
Product Scope Formula 165
Strategic Justification 165
Business and Product Constraints 167
Business and Product Risks 168
Functional Goals 169
Political Success Factors 171
Product Scope Formula 172
Measuring 173
Take the Technical Pulse 174
Applying the Product Scope 175
Notes 177
CHAPTER 10 Confirm Alignment and Financial Justification 179
The Business Case 179
The Value of IT 180
Considering Alignment 181
Organization Mission 182
Organization Goals 184
Organization Strategies 184
Department-Level Mission, Goals, and Strategies 185
At the Tactical Level 187
Determining the Value of the IT Project 188
Provide Financial Justification for Solving the Problem 190
Proof of Solution: Feasibility Study 194
The Metrics Game 194
In the End . . . 195
Notes 196
PART IV THE PROCESS 197
CHAPTER 11 Gather the Information 199
Why We Cannot Define Good Requirements 200
Stop Gathering Requirements 201
Users Do Not Have Requirements 203
Gather Information, Not Requirements 204
Gathering the Information 205
Information-Gathering Plan 206
Information-Gathering Session 217
Solving Common Information-Gathering Issues 225
Iterative Information Gathering 227
Interviewing 228
Information-Gathering Meetings 239
Other Elicitation Methods 245
Are We Done Yet? 247
Notes 249
CHAPTER 12 Define the Problem Domain 251
Problem Domain Analysis 253
Defining the Domain 256
Changes in the Problem Domain 261
Neighboring Constituencies 263
Ancillary Benefits 264
Change in the Problem 264
The Essence 265
Note 265
CHAPTER 13 Determine the Solution 267
The Accordion Effect 267
Tools and Techniques 268
Determining the One Best Solution 278
Constraining the Solution 279
Stop Analyzing, Already 280
Confirmation 280
Checkpoint Beta 283
Notes 284
CHAPTER 14 Write the Solution Document 285
The Value of Documentation 285
The Anatomy of Requirements 289
Forms of Solution Documentation 300
Write the Right Thing 300
Write the Thing Right 302
Canned Brains 305
Requirements Ownership 306
Complete the Process 307
Note 308
PART V PRODUCING THE PRODUCT 309
CHAPTER 15 Monitor the Product 313
Entering the Solution Domain 314
Development Processes 314
Implementing the Solution 317
Keep the Light on 319
Things Change 319
Checkpoint Charley 320
The Watchdog 321
The Essence 323
Notes 323
CHAPTER 16 Confirm the Business Problem Has Been Solved 325
Correct Behavior 326
Acceptable Level of Confidence 326
Circumstances of Interest 327
The Testing Game 328
User Acceptance Testing? 333
Handling Defects 335
Testing Does Not Stop at Delivery 335
Note 336
CHAPTER 17 Transition and Change Management 337
Steps to Ensure Successful Change in the Organization 339
Orchestrate the Transition 341
Facilitate the Transition 342
Timing the Change 344
Major and Minor Changes 345
Do Not Change a Thing 345
Wrapping Up 347
Notes 349
POSTSCRIPT Where to Go from Here 351
Future of Business Analysis 351
Why We Need Business Analysts 352
The True Value of the Business Analyst 353
Increasing the Value of the Organization 354
Power to the Business Analyst 356
Notes 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
APPENDIX E Context-Free Problem Definition Questions 383
APPENDIX F List of Nonfunctional Requirements Categories 385
Bibliography 387
About the Author 395
Index 397
