Introduction to Business Analysis

& Needs Assessment

INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS ANALYSIS

Casey Ayers
MBA PMP
CaseyAyers.com | @caseyayers
linkedin.com/in/caseyayers
PMP is a registered mark of the Project Management Institute, Inc.

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What is business analysis?

Course Intro

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Who conducts business analysis?

Course Intro

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What skills are needed?

Course Intro

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How does it relate to projects?

Course Intro

Introduction to Business Analysis

Identifying Problems & Opportunities
Comparing Capabilities & Requirements

Course Intro

Recommending Action

Business Analysis Learning Path

Course 1
Introduction to Business
Analysis and Needs
Assessment

Course 5
Course 3

Monitoring Requirements
and Evaluating Business
Analysis Solutions

Discovering Information
through Elicitation

Course 2

Course 4

Planning Business Analysis

Conducting Business
Analysis and Developing
Requirements

Business Analysis Learning Path

Course 1
Introduction to Business
Analysis and Needs
Assessment

Course 5
Course 3

Monitoring Requirements
and Evaluating Business
Analysis Solutions

Discovering Information
through Elicitation

Course 2

Course 4

Planning Business Analysis

Conducting Business
Analysis and Developing
Requirements

Business Analysis Learning Path

Course 1
Introduction to Business
Analysis and Needs
Assessment

Course 5
Course 3

Monitoring Requirements
and Evaluating Business
Analysis Solutions

Discovering Information
through Elicitation

Course 2

Course 4

Planning Business Analysis

Conducting Business
Analysis and Developing
Requirements

Business Analysis Learning Path

Course 1
Introduction to Business
Analysis and Needs
Assessment

Course 5
Course 3

Monitoring Requirements
and Evaluating Business
Analysis Solutions

Discovering Information
through Elicitation

Course 2

Course 4

Planning Business Analysis

Conducting Business
Analysis and Developing
Requirements

Business Analysis Learning Path

Course 1
Introduction to Business
Analysis and Needs
Assessment

Course 5
Course 3

Monitoring Requirements
and Evaluating Business
Analysis Solutions

Discovering Information
through Elicitation

Course 2

Course 4

Planning Business Analysis

Conducting Business
Analysis and Developing
Requirements

Business Analysis Learning Path

Course 1
Introduction to Business
Analysis and Needs
Assessment

Course 5
Course 3

Monitoring Requirements
and Evaluating Business
Analysis Solutions

Discovering Information
through Elicitation

Course 2

Course 4

Planning Business Analysis

Conducting Business
Analysis and Developing
Requirements

Helpful for those considering business analyst certifications

Useful for those seeking continuous education credits

Defining Business Analysis

The Business Analysts Toolkit
The Business Analysis Lifecycle

Whats Ahead

Defining Requirements

Defining Business Analysis

Business Analysis

Determine problems &

identify business needs

Elicit, document and

manage stakeholder
requirements to
meet business and
project objectives

Identify & recommend viable

solutions to meet needs

Facilitate implementation of the

product, service or end result of
the program or project

Project Management Institute, Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Project Management Institute, Inc., 2015, Page 3

Business Analysis

Determine problems &

identify business needs

Elicit, document and

manage stakeholder
requirements to
meet business and
project objectives

Identify & recommend viable

solutions to meet needs

Facilitate implementation of the

product, service or end result of
the program or project

Project Management Institute, Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Project Management Institute, Inc., 2015, Page 3

Business Analysis

Determine problems &

identify business needs

Elicit, document and

manage stakeholder
requirements to
meet business and
project objectives

Identify & recommend viable

solutions to meet needs

Facilitate implementation of the

product, service or end result of
the program or project

Project Management Institute, Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Project Management Institute, Inc., 2015, Page 3

Business Analysis

Determine problems &

identify business needs

Elicit, document and

manage stakeholder
requirements to
meet business and
project objectives

Identify & recommend viable

solutions to meet needs

Facilitate implementation of the

product, service or end result of
the program or project

Project Management Institute, Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Project Management Institute, Inc., 2015, Page 3

Business Analysis

Determine problems &

identify business needs

Elicit, document and

manage stakeholder
requirements to
meet business and
project objectives

Identify & recommend viable

solutions to meet needs

Facilitate implementation of the

product, service or end result of
the program or project

Project Management Institute, Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Project Management Institute, Inc., 2015, Page 3

Full-Time Business Analyst

Exclusively focused on
Discovery and analysis of information
Investigating stakeholder needs
Determining underlying issues and
identifying opportunities

Part-Time Business Analyst

Conducts business analysis in addition to
other responsibilities
Business architect
Business systems analyst
Enterprise analyst
Systems analyst

Process analyst
Product manager
Project manager
Requirements engineer

The Business Analysts Job

Understand the
present state

Define the desired

future state
Determine how to
get there

The Business Analysts Toolkit

The Business Analysts Toolkit

Analytical

Technical

Interpersonal

What information is valuable to gather

and analyze?
How do we analyze gathered information?
Analytical

What kinds of analysis are most

effective and helpful?
How do we contextualize information
that has been analyzed?
Understand the
present state

What is the optimal outcome, given

project and/or business objectives?
What evidence do we have that this is
indeed the optimal outcome?
Analytical

How can we ensure the proposed solution

leads to the most optimal outcome?
How can we verify the solution remains
aligned with business objectives as it is
developed and deployed?
Define the desired
future state

What are the organizations current

competencies?
Analytical

What competencies are required to move

to the desired future state?
Does the expected benefit exceed the
expected cost?

Determine how to
get there

Analytical skills
Creative thinking
Analytical

Critical thinking
Knowledge of business and industry
Organizational skills
Project management methodologies

Key Tools & Skills

The Business Analysts Toolkit

Analytical

Technical

Interpersonal

What are the organizations current

technical capabilities?
Technical

What technical factors may be responsible

(in part) for the challenge/opportunity?
What technical prowess must you exhibit
in order to fully grasp the situation?

Understand the
present state

Technical

What changes in technical capabilities are

expected following completion of work?
What new technical skills will/must
stakeholders gain along the way?

Define the desired

future state

What capabilities must be developed in

order to reach the desired future state?
Technical

What skills must be developed in order to

reach the desired future state, and by
whom?
Does the expected benefit exceed the
expected cost?

Determine how to
get there

Varies based on type of work

Technical

Technical awareness and systems

thinking abilities useful in all endeavors

Key Tools & Skills

The Business Analysts Toolkit

Analytical

Technical

Interpersonal

How do stakeholders view the issue?

What stakeholders are impacted by the
issue, and to what degree?
Interpersonal

How much support exists for progress to

be made?
What cultural factors relate to the issue?
Whats the impact of the political climate?

Understand the
present state

Interpersonal

What will be different better and worse

from the perspective of relevant
stakeholders?
What skills and knowledge will have been
created within the organization?

Define the desired

future state

What communication methods are

most effective and efficient?
What cultural factors require attention?
Interpersonal

How will issues be managed and

conflicts resolved?
What kind of influence must be used?
By whom? On whom?
What kind of team environments must
be managed?

Determine how to
get there

Interpersonal

Key Tools & Skills

Communication skills

Facilitation

Conflict resolution

Leadership

Cultural awareness

Negotiation

Decision making

Political awareness

Elicitation

Presentation skills

The Business Analysis Life Cycle

The Business Analysis Life Cycle

Assess
Needs

Plan Business
Analysis

Elicit
Information

Develop
Requirements

Monitor/Control
Requirements

Evaluate
Solutions

Assess current environment and capabilities

Define desired environment and capabilities
Identify differences/gaps between current
and desired states

Assess Needs

Develop a business case for action

Analyze stakeholders
Assess environmental factors
Develop plans for business analysis work

Plan Business
Analysis

Define various work processes

Identify objectives and participants

Determine elicitation techniques
Develop questions and choose formats

Elicit Information

Analyze results of elicitation

Compare findings to assessed needs
Use models to enhance requirement details
Specify and prioritize requirements

Develop
Requirements

Ensure requirements align with needs

Use requirement traceability methods

Measure requirements performance
Continually verify requirements match needs

Monitor/Control
Requirements

Manage changes to requirements

Develop/select key performance indicators

Ensure solution matches requirements
Verify solution meets underlying needs
Ensure solution meets acceptance criteria

Evaluate Solutions

Obtain sign-off or release for work completed

Developing Requirements

Needs may be problems or opportunities;

they motivate stakeholders to take action

Developing
Requirements

Requirements are refined from needs,

outlining what should be done about them
Solutions are particular methods of meeting
requirements and satisfying needs
Value is tangible or intangible worth created
when requirements are met using solutions.

Hierarchy of Requirements
Business Requirements

Stakeholder Requirements

Solution Requirements

CHARACTERISTICS

Strategic and broad in nature

Describe why action is being taken

Business
Requirements

May apply at an enterprise level, department

level, or to a particular initiative

EXAMPLES

Increase top-line revenue by 10% next year

Reduce customer hold times by an
average of 3 minutes per call

Business
Requirements

Introduce a new product to effectively

compete with new competition

CHARACTERISTICS

Expectations regarding
Work to be done
Methods of work
Timeline of work

Stakeholder
Requirements

Communication of progress
Level of required contribution

EXAMPLES

These features are most important to me.

We need this completed within a month.
We need a solution including this supplier.

Stakeholder
Requirements

Minimize the number of focus groups used.

I dont have much time to contribute.

CHARACTERISTICS

Details regarding solutions to

business requirements

Solution
Requirements

Indicate how solutions should be

developed and deployed

CHARACTERISTICS

Functional requirements: Describes

capabilities designed to meet stakeholder
and business requirements

Solution
Requirements

Non-functional requirements: Describes

situations and environments in which the
solution should fulfill its job

EXAMPLES

Functional requirements
System must be able to accurately route
15,000 packages per hour

Solution
Requirements

Solution must be able to generate price

quotes within 10 seconds of request

EXAMPLES

Non-functional requirements
Uptime for solution must be at least
99.999% following its deployment

Solution
Requirements

System must be able to operate in

temperatures ranging from -20-110F

CHARACTERISTICS

Requirements that apply while moving from

the present to future state

Transition
Requirements

Temporary, unlike other requirement types

EXAMPLES

The old and new ticketing platforms must

operate in tandem until the trial period has
ended successfully

Transition
Requirements

Provisional results from the newly automated

system should be verified by staff until
enough data is collected to prove efficacy

DEFINING BUSINESS ANALYSIS

Identifies capabilities and needs

Takeaways

Once problem/opportunity
identified, input from
stakeholders is elicited

DEFINING BUSINESS ANALYSIS

Solutions may be recommended

and developed based on input

Takeaways

Important to ensure work

consistently aligns with needs

THE WORK

OF

BUSINESS ANALYSIS

Business analysis may be

conducted on a full or part-time
basis by a variety of individuals

Takeaways

Project and product managers,

engineers and analysts among
those most likely to conduct
business analysis

BUSINESS ANALYSIS SKILLS

Analytical: Analytical skills, creative thinking,

critical thinking, organizational skills
Technical: Skills directly related to the type of
work or issue at hand

Takeaways

Interpersonal: Communications skills, conflict

management, cultural awareness, facilitation,
leadership, negotiation, political awareness

HIERARCHY

OF

REQUIREMENTS

Business requirements are high-level goals

and objectives of an enterprise, subset of an
organization, or an initiative

Takeaways

Stakeholder requirements determine context

of work, based on power, responsibility and
interest of involved parties
Solution requirements detail how stakeholder
and business requirements may be met

Identifying Problems &

Opportunities
Whats Next