IMPORTANCE OF ANALYZING CURRENT STATE

Objectives

To know what are the components of a Current State

To define what is a current state
To know the importance of current state
Define some techniques and terminologies
What is “Current
Sate”?

Let’s start with the definition.

Analyze Current State is the first step in strategy analysis. It includes the existing characteristics of the
environment, existing components of the enterprise, and its needs.

Analyze Current State

Understanding “Why?” the change is needed.

The single most important element is a blunt assessment of the true state of the business and an in-depth
analysis of the root causes.

Your audience will listen to you or read the content, but won’t do both.

“BIGGER PICTURE”
One of the characteristics a BA should have. Bigger ideas. Bigger mind. Bigger future.
Inputs: Elicitation Results & Needs

Elicitation Results

used to define and understand the current sate

Needs

it is an unsatisfied goal or objective

problem or opportunity faced by an enterprise

Needs
Goals and objectives of the business

Capability Needs

Improvement Needs

*What objectives or goals are being served?

*What are the results desired?
*What problems are getting in the way?
*What are the solutions being considered?

Four Different Levels of Enterprise that business need should identify:

From the top-down: a strategic goal that needs to be achieve.

From the bottom-up: a problem with the current state of a process, function or system.

From middle management: a manager needs additional information to make sound decisions or must
perform additional functions to meet business objectives.

From external drivers: customer demand or business competition in the marketplace.

Four Factors in Business Needs that business analyst may consider:

adverse impacts the problem is causing within the organization and quantify those impacts (for example,
potential lost revenue, inefficiencies, dissatisfied customers, low employee morale),

expected benefits from any potential solution (for example, increased revenue, reduced costs, increased
market share),

how quickly the problem could potentially be resolved or the opportunity could be taken, and the cost of
doing nothing, and

The underlying source of the problem.

Organizational Structure and Culture

Defines the formal relationship between people working in the enterprise

Beliefs, values, and norms shared by the members of an organization

Identify if cultural changes are required

Identify whether stakeholders understand the rationale for the current state

Ascertain whether the stakeholders view the current state as satisfactory

Capabilities and Processes

Describes the activities an enterprise performs. Also include the knowledge it has, products and services it
provides, function it supports, and decision making methods being used

Capability-centric view – innovative solutions; existing – new outcome

Process-centric view – ways to improve the performance of current activities

Technology and Infrastructure

Information system being used by the enterprise

Infrastructure describes the enterprise’s environment with respect to physical components and capabilities

Policies

Define the scope of decision making at different levels

Business Architecture

No part should be in complete isolation from the rest

Internal Assets

Tangible and intangible resources of the enterprise

External Influencers

They do not participate in a change but might present constraints

Industry Structure – value created within the industry

Competitors – nature and intensity

Customers – size and nature of existing and potential customers

Suppliers – variety and diversity

Political and Regulatory Environment – laws and regulations

Technology – technological innovations

Macroeconomic Factors – constraints and opportunities within the environment (trade, inflation,
unemployment)

Guidelines and Tools

Business Analysis Approach - guides hot the business analyst undertakes an analysis
Enterprise Limitation - used to understand the challenges existing in the enterprise

Organizational Strategy – set of goals and objectives that serves as guide in operations

Solution Limitation – used to understand cu7rrent state and challenges of existing solutions

Solution Performance Goals – measure the current performance

Solution Performance Measures - describe the actual performance of existing solutions

Stakeholder Analysis Results – stakeholders will contribute to an understanding and analysis of the
current state

Techniques

Benchmarking and Market Analysis

Business Capability Analysis
Business Model Canvas
Business Cases
Concept Modelling
Data Mining
Document Analysis
Financial Analysis
Focus Groups
Functional Decomposition
Interviews
Item tracking
Lessons Learned
Metrics and KPIs
Mind Mapping
Observation
Organizational Modelling
Process Analysis
Process Modelling
Risk Analysis and Management
Root Cause Analysis
Scope Modelling
Survey or Questionnaire
SWOT Analysis
Vendor Assessment
Workshops

Stakeholders

Business Analyst- involved in the design or modification of business systems. They can be an individual
or a group of people who interact with the business stakeholders and subject matter experts in order to
understand their problems and needs. They also gather documents, analyses business needs and
requirement.

Customer- a person who uses or may use products or services produced by the enterprise and may have
contractual or moral rights that the enterprise is obliged to meet.

Domain Subject Matter Expert- a person who has expertise in some aspect of the current state. People
who may be end users or people who have in-depth knowledge of the solution such as managers, process
owners, legal staff, consultants, and others often fill the role of subject matter experts.

End users- are stakeholders who directly interact with the solution. End users can include all participants
in a business process, or who use the product or solution.

Implementation Subject Matter Expert- any stakeholder who has specialized knowledge regarding the
implementation of one or more solution components. Some common roles are project librarian, change
manager, configuration manager, solution architect, developer, database administrator, information
architect, usability analyst, trainer, and organizational change consultant.

Operational Support- responsible for the day-to-day management and maintenance of a system or
product. They are directly involved in supporting the operations of the organization and provides
information on their ability to support the operation of an existing solution, as well as any known issues,
some of the most common roles are operations analyst, product analyst, help desk, and release manager.

Project Manager- responsible for managing the work required to deliver a solution that meets a business
need, and for ensuring that the project's objectives are meet while balancing the project factors including
scope, budget, schedule, resources, quality, and risk. Some of the most common roles are project lead,
technical lead, product manager, and team leader.

Regulator- responsible for the definition and enforcement of standards that can inform interpretations of
relevant regulations that apply to the current state in the form of business policies, business rules,
procedures, or role and responsibilities. They might have a unique input to the operational assessment, as
there might be new laws and regulations with which to comply.

Sponsor- responsible to authorize the work to be perform, and control the budget and scope for the
initiative. These people provide needs and objectives for the approach and ensures that organizational
policies followed.

Supplier- a stakeholder outside the boundary of a given organization or organizational unit. Suppliers
provide products or services to the organization and may have contractual or moral rights and obligations
that must be consider. Alternate roles are providers, vendors, and consultants.

Tester- responsible for determining how to verify that the solution meets the requirements defined by the
business analyst, as well as conducting the verification process. Testers also seek to ensure that the
solution meets applicable quality standards, and that the risk of defects or failures is understood and
minimized able to provide information about issues with any existing solution
Outputs