Professional Documents
Culture Documents
A Step-by-Step Guide to
Starting Your Next
Business Analysis Project
Alexandra Cordes
Acknowledgements
I would to thank Michelle Kandiliotis for her immeasurable support and
meticulous editing of this eBook.
www.businessanalyststoolkit.com
www.businessanalyststoolkit.com
ii
Table of Contents
What Can This Guide Do For You? .................................................................... 1
Step 1 On The First Day Arrive With Your Questions ...................................... 2
Step 2 Schedule the Project Kick-Off Meeting................................................. 5
Step 3 Start Your Desktop Analysis ................................................................ 6
Step 4 Write Down As Much As Possible ........................................................ 7
Step 5 Attend the Kick Off Meeting ................................................................. 8
Step 6 Write the Terms Of Reference ........................................................... 12
Final Words From Alexandra ............................................................................ 13
Recommended Resources ............................................................................... 14
Thank You So Much! ........................................................................................ 14
www.businessanalyststoolkit.com
iii
www.businessanalyststoolkit.com
Identifying and understanding the stakeholders involved in this new initiative is high
priority. Quite often the project manager has already performed, or will perform, a
stakeholder analysis. However, from a business analysis perspective its important to
know the various stakeholder classes involved so you can plan your engagement
activities, and the questions youll ask.
www.businessanalyststoolkit.com
These are the questions I ask and the rationale behind asking them.
www.businessanalyststoolkit.com
www.businessanalyststoolkit.com
In this meeting you will have the opportunity to ask questions relating to scope and
the organisational context. This includes the questions described in Step 1 and Step
4 on page 1.
A number of times I havent had the opportunity to ask all of my questions because
the agenda was not clear. An unclear agenda may result in a mixed, and sometimes
confused, discussion of high-level organisational requirements and detailed system,
data or process specific requirements.
Make it clear in your meeting invitation, and through verbal confirmation, that you
intend to ask a number of questions. Deliver a meeting agenda that contains a
summary of your discussion points, or ask to have your questions included in the
overall agenda. This will give your stakeholders the opportunity to think about your
questions before the meeting. It also sets the context for discussion.
Another point to note is that you may be commencing a new project in an
organisation where nobody knows who you are as yet. In this case, ask the project
manager, or appropriate business contact, to schedule the meeting on your behalf.
That way you have the appropriate introduction.
www.businessanalyststoolkit.com
Project plans,
Business cases,
Business process documentation,
Business and system requirements documents,
Organisation chart,
Policies and legislation, and
Strategy documents, business plans and mission statements.
All of this information may seem overwhelming at first, so scan the documentation
and then focus on the information that is most relevant.
If your project involves existing business processes with supporting systems, try to
get access to these systems. This way all documentation and supporting systems
can be reviewed to:
Of course, the documentation you receive may be out of date. Therefore, validating
the information you uncover will be vital at the appropriate time.
www.businessanalyststoolkit.com
You dont need to rewrite every single piece of information you find but make sure
you list or model the relevant information for each of the points made above. For
instance, I wont rewrite system requirements, but I will certainly read the
documentation to understand the work that was done previously.
www.businessanalyststoolkit.com
Usually, the kick-off meeting is schedule for one hour. Considering that there may be
other items on the agenda, you may only have 2 or 3 minutes for each question.
www.businessanalyststoolkit.com
Ive compiled ten core questions that I ask in most of my projects along with my
rationale for asking them. These questions will provide a solid beginning. With each
question below, another question may arise, especially if you ask Why.
www.businessanalyststoolkit.com
7. What are the main issues and risks currently affecting the
business to achieve the required outcomes?
This question dominates the context. It relates to desired outcomes and
performance and how existing issues impact them. It also relates to trust (I never
mention the word trust in a meeting) and the relationships between all parties in a
system. An example of a trust issue is where a worker maintains parallel record in
a spreadsheet because the system contains data quality issues pertaining to
accuracy and reliability. For each issue stated, ask why to each reason given at
least four times to get to the root cause of the problem. Read more about root
cause analysis in the article Why is the How of Getting to the Root Cause of a
Problem A Five Whys Example. If you dont have time, set aside time to follow
up with this line of questioning. A root cause analysis will uncover important
details about the best approach going forward.
www.businessanalyststoolkit.com
10
10. What are the main factors that drive this project?
Its important to identify the relevant business drivers that are aligned with the
business objectives. Another way of asking this question is: what do you consider
to be the main criteria for success? Examples of business drivers are:
In addition to the above questions, its important to ask why for each. This is advice
given to me by Yamo, The BA Coach.
Its important to ask Why as much as possible to ensure that there are no
inefficiencies in the processes or to uncover something that was not obvious.
Asking "Why" is not a very easy thing to do sometimes, but a business analyst
must be courageous enough to question things when there is a need.
So remember to ask Why!
If you dont have the opportunity to collect all of the information from the above
questions, ensure that you have the opportunity to follow up via email or phone calls.
At the end of the kick-off meeting I usually state that Ill be writing up the meeting
notes and that I may have any further questions. I then ask if it would be okay for me
to call or email. Making a phone call is more effective than email. Emails are easily
ignored if your stakeholders are busy people.
Remember to write up the meeting minutes and distribute them to all meeting
participants so they have the opportunity review the outcomes.
www.businessanalyststoolkit.com
11
Thats it! After your terms of reference document is approved youre ready to
commence the work according to the plan youve created.
www.businessanalyststoolkit.com
12
Be Prepared
Dont waste stakeholder time. If youre under prepared for a meeting or workshop it
will waste stakeholders time and undermine your credibility. It will be hard to get their
attention again, especially if theyre very busy.
Respond to Feedback
Dont react and dont take it personally. Listen to what people have to say and accept
their feedback with gratitude. If you think theres a reason why their feedback cannot
be adopted, then calmly raise your concerns for open discussion.
Manage Expectations
Be impeccable with your word. If you say youre going to do something on a certain
day, then do it. Otherwise communicate a new expectation before that time. People
will remember you more for good quality work over being a little late on delivery,
especially if you alert them to the changed schedule.
Ask Questions
Dont make assumptions. Ask questions and clarify concepts to stay on course.
Theres nothing worse than going off on a time-wasting tangent because of an
assumption about what was required. Be brave and ask questions. Be patient and
ask questions!
Be Resourceful
Every project is a new experience, youll learn new things, and experience new
challenges. Do some research, ask questions, and meet with people or do whatever
you can to learn. Be adaptable to change and new experiences. And, most
importantly enjoy the experience!
www.businessanalyststoolkit.com
13
Recommended Resources
Business Analyst Template Toolkit: this resource provides you with an excellent
starting point for your next business analysis project. It gives you 12 annotated
templates and corresponding work samples which will help you save time and
produce more concise documentation.
Visual Model Sample Pack: this resource helps you speed up your requirements
process by helping you to quickly develop visual models. It provides you with 22 realworld visual samples that cover everything from UML diagrams to white board
drawings, so you can easily incorporate more visuals into your requirements process,
and get the process moving faster.
Requirements Discovery Checklist Pack: this resource gives you over 700 questions
categorized and cross-referenced so you can prepare for your next elicitation session
with a sense of ease and confidence.
Disclosure: Please note that the links above are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I will
earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase. Please understand that I have experience with
all of these resources, and I recommend them because they are helpful and useful, not because of the
small commissions I make if you decide to buy something. Please do not spend any money on these
products unless you feel you need them or that they will help you achieve your goals.
www.businessanalyststoolkit.com
14