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©Adaptive US Inc. Be IIBA® certified in 3 months. Guaranteed. Page 2 of 189

Copyright notice
All rights reserved.
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Analysis, Canada.
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Contents of this document should not be disclosed to any unauthorized person. This
document may not, in whole or in part, be reduced, reproduced, stored in a retrieval
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mechanical.
This publication may be used in assisting aspirants for ECBATMexamination. It does

not warrant that use of this publication will ensure passing the ECBATMexamination.

Introduction
As the book title suggests, this book is a guidebook for the aspirants of the
ECBATMexamination from IIBA®, Canada. We value your time and hence the book is
designed to be extremely specific – Help you pass the certification examination with
least possible effort.
This book is authored by qualified ECBATM trainers who have helped many other
participants clear the ECBATMexamination in the very first attempt. They are also
regular trainers for ECBATM preparations in both corporate and open-hose workshops
and have trained participants across the world – USA, Australia, Middle East, South
East Asia, Europe and Africa.
ECBATMexamination is based on BABoK® v3.0 and so is this book. This book presents
BABoK® concepts in a tabular format which is easy to understand. This book has
also audio book and elearning to further assist participants.
Feedbacks and suggestions on the book

We will be glad and thankful if you can share your feedbacks and suggestions on the
book. Please send your feedbacks and suggestions to Info@AdaptiveUS.com.

Table of contents
COPYRIGHT NOTICE .................................................................3
INTRODUCTION ......................................................................4
FEEDBACKS AND SUGGESTIONS ON THE BOOK .................................4
UNIQUE BENEFITS OF WORKING WITH US ......................................9
OUR KEY CLIENTS....................................................................9
ADAPTIVE WORKSHOPS CATALOGUE ........................................... 10
1.PREFACE AND INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................... 11
1.1 WHAT IS BUSINESS ANALYSIS? ............................................ 11

1.2 WHAT IS IIBA®? ............................................................ 12
1.3 WHAT AND WHY OF ECBATM ............................................. 12
1.4 UNDERLYING COMPETENCIES .............................................. 17
2.BUSINESS ANALYSIS KEY CONCEPTS ............................................................................. 18
2.1 KEY TERMS .................................................................... 18

2.2 REQUIREMENTS CLASSIFICATIONS........................................ 19
2.3 STAKEHOLDERS ............................................................... 20
3. BABOK® V3 TECHNIQUES ............................................................................................... 21
BABOK® V3 TECHNIQUES MIND MAP ........................................ 21

SUMMARY OF BABOK® V3 TECHNIQUES ..................................... 22
3.1 BUSINESS ANALYSIS PLANNING AND MONITORING ................... 45
FUNCTIONAL DECOMPOSITION .................................................. 45
INTERFACE ANALYSIS ............................................................. 46
ORGANIZATIONAL MODEL........................................................ 47
STAKEHOLDER LIST, MAP, OR PERSONAS .................................... 48
3.2 ELICITATION AND COLLABORATIONERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
BRAINSTORMING ...................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
WORKSHOPS........................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
FOCUS GROUPS ....................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
COLLABORATIVE GAMES............. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
INTERVIEWS ........................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
OBSERVATIONS ....................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
SURVEYS AND QUESTIONNAIRE .... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
DOCUMENT ANALYSIS ............... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
BENCHMARKING AND MARKET ANALYSISERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
PROTOTYPING ......................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
3.3 REQUIREMENTS LIFE CYCLE MANAGEMENTERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
GLOSSARY .............................. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
MIND MAP ............................. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
BACKLOG MANAGEMENT............. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
BUSINESS RULES ANALYSIS ........ ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
LESSONS LEARNED (RETROSPECTIVE)ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
PRIORITIZATION ...................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

REVIEWS ............................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

ITEM TRACKING ....................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
3.4 STRATEGY ANALYSIS ........... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
SWOT ANALYSIS ..................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
3.5 REQUIREMENTS ANALYSIS AND DESIGN DEFINITIONERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
USER STORIES ........................ ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
NON-FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS (NFR) ANALYSISERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
ROLES AND PERMISSIONS MATRIX ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
PROCESS MODELING ................. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
CONCEPT MODELING................. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
DATA DICTIONARY ................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
DATA MODELING ..................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
DATA FLOW DIAGRAMS (DFDS) .. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
3.6 SOLUTION EVALUATION........ ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
ACCEPTANCE AND EVALUATION CRITERIAERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
ROOT-CAUSE ANALYSIS (RCA) ... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
VENDOR ASSESSMENT ............... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
BABOK® V3 TASKS MIND MAP ............................................ ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
4. BUSINESS ANALYSIS PLANNING AND MONITORING..... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
ACTIVITIES............................. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

4.1 PLAN BUSINESS ANALYSIS APPROACHERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
4.2 PLAN STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENTERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
4.3 PLAN BUSINESS ANALYSIS GOVERNANCEERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
4.4 PLAN BUSINESS ANALYSIS INFORMATION MANAGEMENTERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
4.5 IDENTIFY BUSINESS ANALYSIS PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENTSERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
5.ELICITATION AND COLLABORATION ............................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

5.1 PREPARE FOR ELICITATION ... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
5.2 CONDUCT ELICITATION ........ ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
5.3 CONFIRM ELICITATION RESULTSERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
5.4 COMMUNICATE BUSINESS ANALYSIS INFORMATIONERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
5.5 MANAGE STAKEHOLDER COLLABORATIONERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
6.REQUIREMENTS LIFE CYCLE MANAGEMENT ................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

6.1 TRACE REQUIREMENTS......... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
6.2 MAINTAIN REQUIREMENTS .... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
6.3 PRIORITIZE REQUIREMENTS .. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
6.4 ASSESS REQUIREMENTS CHANGESERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
6.5 APPROVE REQUIREMENTS ..... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
7.STRATEGY ANALYSIS ....................................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

7.1 ANALYZE CURRENT STATE..... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

7.2 DEFINE FUTURE STATE ........ ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

7.3 ASSESS RISKS ................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
7.4 DEFINE CHANGE STRATEGY ... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
8.REQUIREMENTS ANALYSIS AND DESIGN DEFINITION ... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

8.1 SPECIFY AND MODEL REQUIREMENTSERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
8.2 VERIFY REQUIREMENTS ........ ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
8.3 VALIDATE REQUIREMENTS .... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
8.4 DEFINE REQUIREMENTS ARCHITECTUREERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
8.5 DEFINE DESIGN OPTIONS ..... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
8.6 ANALYZE POTENTIAL VALUE AND RECOMMEND SOLUTIONERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
9.SOLUTION EVALUATION .................................................. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

9.1 MEASURE SOLUTION PERFORMANCEERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
9.2 ANALYZE PERFORMANCE MEASURESERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
9.3 ASSESS SOLUTION LIMITATIONSERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
9.4 ASSESS ENTERPRISE LIMITATIONSERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
9.5 RECOMMEND ACTIONS TO INCREASE SOLUTION VALUEERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
10.UNDERLYING COMPETENCIES ....................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
ANALYTICAL THINKING AND PROBLEM SOLVINGERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

BEHAVIORAL CHARACTERISTICS ... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
BUSINESS KNOWLEDGE.............. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
COMMUNICATION SKILLS............ ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
INTERACTION SKILLS ................ ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
TOOLS AND TECHNOLOGY .......... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

About Adaptive US Inc.

Adaptive US Inc. provides CBAP®, Key facts
CCBA®, ECBATM online trainings,  World’s #1 ECBATM training organization
question banks, study guides,  World’s largest BA publisher and
simulators, flash cards, audio books, assessments provider
digital learning packs across the  Premiere Partner to IIBA®, Canada and
globe.
IREB, Germany
Adaptive US Inc. is the only training  300+ certified BA professionals
organization to offer success  300+ BA workshops – 5000+ BAs trained
guarantee and all-inclusive plans for  Our trainers are part of BABoK® V3 team
its workshops.

Unique benefits of working with us
Our key clients
Govern

Adaptive workshops catalogue

Category Course Name
Business analysis Certified Business analyst Professional (CBAP® ) (Endorsed by

IIBA®, Canada)
Business analysis Certification of Capability in BA (CCBA®) (Endorsed by IIBA®,

Canada)
Business analysis Entry level certificate in Business Analysis (ECBATM) (Endorsed

by IIBA®, Canada)
Business analysis Certified Professional in Requirements Engineering(CPRE-

FL®)(Endorsed by IREB®, Germany)
For the latest information, always refer to our web-site, www.AdaptiveUS.com.

1.Preface and Introduction
1.1 What is business analysis?

BABoK®definition:
Business analysis is the practice of enabling change in an enterprise by defining needs and
recommending solutions that deliver value to stakeholders.
Business analyst enables an enterprise to articulate its needs, rationale for change and to
design and describe solutions that can deliver value.
Business analysis can be performed within a project or across the enterprise. It can be used
to understand the current state, Define future state and determine activities required for
transition. Business analysis can be performed from various perspectives like agile, business
intelligence, information technology, business architecture, business process management
etc.
Who is a Business analyst?
A person who performs BA tasks mentioned in BABoK® is considered a Business analyst

irrespective of his job title or organization role.
Business analysts elicit actual needs of stakeholders, not simply capture expressed desires.
They are also responsible for discovering and analysing information from various sources.
Common job titles for BAs are business architect, system analyst, requirements engineer,
process analyst, management consultant, product manager etc.
Business analysts help organizations define the optimal solutions for their needs, given the
set of constraints (including time, budget, regulations and others).
Key activities BAs perform are:

1.2 What is IIBA®?

International Institute of BA (IIBA® ) was founded in Toronto, Canada in October of 2003 to
support the BA community by:
 Creating and developing awareness and recognition of the value and contribution of
the business analyst.
 Defining the BA body of knowledge (BABoK®).
 Providing a forum for knowledge sharing and contribution to the BA profession.
 Publicly recognizing and certifying qualified practitioners through an internationally
acknowledged certification program.
What is BABoK®?
BABoK® contains a description of generally accepted practices in the field of business

analysis. It gives a guidance on the skills and knowledge that a business analyst must
possess. Contents of BABoK® have been verified thoroughly by practitioners.
BABoK® does not mandate that practices described should be followed under all
circumstances. Any set of practices MUST be tailored to the specific BA conditions.
1.3 What and Why of ECBATM

ECBATM stands for Entry Certificate in Business Analysis, 1st level certification provided by
International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA®), Canada (www.IIBA.org).
Following are some of the benefits of becoming a ECBATM :
 Be recognized for your competency in business analysis.

 Business analysis is the fastest growing career opportunity for IT professionals.
 People with domain experience can move into IT sector by becoming a business
analyst.
 Better job prospects.
 Better salary.
Target Audience for ECBATM
ECBATM examination targets the following audience:
 Individuals entering the BA profession,

 Students enrolled in BA academic programs,
 New graduates,
 Professionals transitioning careers, and
 Functional managers who are not BAs but manage them.
Eligibility for ECBATM
 Prior business analysis-related work is not required.

 Professional development: 21 hours of verifiable BABOK® coursework in the last 4
years. Adaptive US Inc. is an authorized EEP of IIBA®, its trainings provide desired
PDUs for the ECBATM certification examination.
 References: Not required.
 Prior knowledge area expertise is not required.
 Signed code of conduct is required.
ECBATM Question pattern
 This will be a knowledge based examination.

 50 multiple choice questions
 1 hour proctored online test
Examination weightage – KA wise
Business Analysis Knowledge
Domain % Distribution
Business Analysis & the BA Professional 2.5%
Underlying Competencies 5%

Business Analysis Key Concepts 5%
Techniques 12.5%
BABOK® Guide Knowledge Areas

Domain % Distribution
Business Analysis Planning and Monitoring 5%
Elicitation and Collaboration 20%
Requirements Life Cycle Management 20%
Strategy Analysis 5%
Requirements Analysis and Design Definition 24%
Solution Evaluation 1%
Additional Information
Application expires within 1 year from approval
3 exams can be taken within a year without requiring any waiting time in between
Certification process
 Become an IIBA® member at www.IIBA.org.

 Benefits include free, unlimited access to the BABOK® and 500+ online books, local,
national and international networking opportunities and ability to influence the
growth and direction of the BA profession.
 Take required training from an IIBA® EEP, such as Adaptive US Inc.
(www.AdaptiveUS.com).
 Download BABOK® and start reading.
 Join a study group, or start one.
 Begin preparing for the application.
Preparing the application
 Begin the application at least 2 weeks before you plan to apply.

 Download and use Adaptive Application Simulator.
 Apply within 1 month of when you plan to write.
 You can refer application process at IIBA® web-site.
Tips for the certification examination
 Please keep it in your mind that ECBATM is a test on your knowledge of BABOK®, not
your knowledge on BA practice as you may be following in your workplace.
 Answers need to be as per BABOK®, not what you may think appropriate.
 Questions are pretty much straight forward.

 No long answers. All questions had single statement answers.

 Avoid answers which are prescriptive. BABOK® does not provide any specific level of
rigor to be adopted in any activity.
 Be careful with answers which say something should be 100% or 0% - It’s very hard
to find such digital options in life.
 Avoid terms which are not mentioned in BABOK®. Such a term can be technically
correct, for example a specific company may have a Wok Breakdown System –
however BABOK® does not have any such term. BABOK® term is Work breakdown
structure.
 Multiple options can be technically correct; choose the BEST option.
 Do not trust long lists.
Knowledge areas
Knowledge areas represent areas of specific BA expertise.

There are 6 knowledge area in BABoK®:
1. BA planning and monitoring
2. Elicitation and collaboration
3. Requirements life cycle management
4. Strategy analysis
5. Requirements analysis and design definition
6. Solution evaluation
Knowledge Areas Description
BA planning and Tasks BAs perform to organize and coordinate efforts of BAs and
monitoring stakeholders
Elicitation and Tasks BAs carry out to Prepare for elicitation, Conduct elicitation
collaboration activities, confirm results, communicate and collaborate with
stakeholders
Requirements life Tasks BAs perform to manage and maintain requirements and
cycle management design information from start till end
Strategy analysis Tasks BAs perform to identify a need of strategic or tactical

importance, how to collaborate and enable stakeholders to address
that need etc.
Requirements analysis Tasks BAs carry out to organize elicited requirements, model them,
and design definition validate and verify them and identify and estimate Potential value
of solution options

Solution evaluation Tasks BAs perform to assess the performance and value delivered
by a solution
Diagram below depicts the relationships between different knowledge areas:
Tasks
A task is an essential piece of work to be performed as part of business analysis.

There is no upper limit to the number of times any task may be performed. Tasks
may be performed at any scale – from few minutes to few months.
In this book, tasks are structured in the following manner:

Purpose: Short description as to why a BA performs a task and the value derived from it
Inputs Stakeholders Outputs
This section lists the inputs This section lists stakeholders This section lists the results
for a task which will lead to who are likely to participate in produced by performing a
outputs a task task
Guidelines and Tools: This section lists resources which are required to transform input
into output.
Techniques: This section lists the techniques that can be used to perform the BA task
1.4 Underlying competencies

Underlying competencies are skills, knowledge and personal characteristics that
support effective performance of business analysis.

2.Business Analysis Key Concepts
2.1 Key Terms

Business analysis Broad and diverse set of information at any level of detail which are
information analyzed, transformed and reported during business analysis. e.g.:
elicitation results, requirements, solution options etc.
Design A usable representation of a solution.
Enterprise A system of one or more organizations and the solutions they use
to pursue a shared set of common goals.
Organization An autonomous group of people which work towards achieving

common goals and objectives.
Plan Proposal for doing or achieving something.
Requirement Usable representation of a need.
Risk Effect of uncertainty on the value of a change, solution or

enterprise.

2.2 Requirements Classifications

Business Goals, objectives and outcomes which indicate the reason for initiating
requirements a change
Stakeholder Stakeholder needs which must be met to achieve business

requirements requirements
Solution Capabilities and qualities of a solution that meets stakeholder and

requirements business requirements. Broadly classified into:
• Functional requirements
• Non-functional requirements or quality of service requirements
Transition Capabilities that the solution must possess in order to facilitate

requirements transition from current state to future state

2.3 Stakeholders
Individuals or groups with whom business analysts interact directly or indirectly. They are
major sources of requirements, assumptions or constraints.
Stakeholder Role
Business analyst Default stakeholder in all business analysis activities.
Customer Has a contractual right. May use products or services produced by

enterprise.
Domain Subject Matter People with in-depth knowledge of a topic relevant to business
Expert (SME) need or solution scope. Examples: Managers, Process owners,
Consultants etc.
End user Those who directly use the product or solution.
Implementation SME Has specialized knowledge pertaining to implementation of

solution components. Examples: Change manager, Solution
architect, Information architect etc.
Operational support Responsible for managing and maintaining systems.
Project manager Ensures project objectives are met considering several project
factors. Manages work required to deliver a project.
Regulator Define and enforce standards.
Sponsor Authorizes work to be done, controls the budget and scope of the
initiative.
Supplier Provides products or services to the organization.
Tester Determines whether the solution meets requirements and quality

standards.

3. BABoK® V3 Techniques
BABoK® V3 Techniques Mind Map

Summary of BABoK® V3 Techniques

Techniques Purpose of the technique Strengths Limitations Key elements
Functional Functional decomposition breaks Helps to manage complex No way to be certain that all Aspects those can be
decomposition down a large aspect (processes, problems by breaking them into components have been decomposed are: Business
functional areas, deliverables, parts. captured. outcomes, Work to be done
scope, or problems) into smaller Provides shared understanding Missing or incorrect elements Business processes,
aspects, as independent as of complex matters. can lead to re-work. Functions, Business units
possible, so that work can be Helps in estimation. Not understanding of Solution components,
assigned to different groups. This relationships between pieces can Activities, Products and
reduces complexity of analysis. create an inappropriate services, Decisions
structure.
Need deep subject knowledge
and collaboration with
stakeholders.
Estimation Estimation techniques are used Better decisions based on an Stakeholders treat estimates as Types of estimation:
for better understanding of improved understanding costs commitments.
• Top-down
possible range of costs and and time. Using a single estimation
efforts associated with any Teams provide a better estimate method can set undue • Bottom-up
change. than a single individual. expectations. • Parametric
Accuracy depends on knowledge • Rough order of magnitude
level about elements. (RoM) / Ball park
Often altered to match desires of • Rolling wave
influential stakeholders. • Delphi
• PERT (Program Evaluation
Review Technique)


Interface An interface is a connection Helps in identifying stakeholders Does not provide insight into Types of interface:
analysis between 2 components or for elicitation. internal components / other
1. User interfaces - Users
solutions. Identify interfaces and Early identification leads to aspects of solution.
interacting with system plus
interactions between solutions increased functional coverage.
reports.
and/or solution components Interfaces specifications provide
2. Data interfaces between
a structured means of allocating
systems.
requirements, business rules and
3. Application programming
constraints to the solution.
interfaces (APIs).
Avoids over analysis of fine
4. Hardware devices.
details owing to its broad
5. Business processes.
application.
6. External partners.
Organizational Org. modelling describes roles, Common in most organizations. Out of date at times.
modelling responsibilities, and reporting Enables future projects to know Does not tell about real
structures that exist within an participants involved and their influencers in the organization.
organization, and aligns those roles.
structures with organization’s Helps to identify influencers in
goals. Visual representations of organization.
organizational units.


Stakeholder Identify stakeholders affected by Identifies stakeholders for Those who continuously work RACI Matrix:
list, map, or a proposed initiative or share a requirements elicitation. with same stakeholders may not
Responsible
personas common business need, level of Helps to engage all stakeholder use stakeholder analysis
Accountable
decision making authority, groups. technique as they don’t feel
Consulted
authority within domain and Useful to understand changes in much change will happen in their
Informed
organization, attitude/ interest impacted groups over time respective team.
towards change, and business Assist in analyzing stakeholders Assessing influence and interest
analysis work. and their characteristics of specific stakeholders can be
Helps to identify all possible complicated and risky.
sources of requirements
Scope Describe scope of analysis or Help in defining contractual At a high-level. Scope model can include:
modelling scope of a solution. They serve as obligations. Scope change can be difficult
1. Business processes,
a basis for defining and limiting Helps in project effort due to political and contractual
functions, capabilities to be
scope of business analysis and estimation. obligations.
defined or modified.
project work Provide justification of In Wrong assumptions, changing
Use cases to be supported.
scope/Out of scope decisions. needs, technological
2.Technologies to be
Help in assessing completeness advancements can change
changed.
and impact of solutions. scope.
3.Organizational roles and
units impacted.
4.Events to be responded to
and impacted.
5.Systems, tools, assets
required for change or
impacted by change


Brainstorming One or group of stakeholders Excellent way to foster creative Depends on participants’ Steps for brainstorming:
deliberate on an idea to produce thinking as ideas are not judged. creativity and willingness to
Prepare
numerous new ideas in a non- Fun, engaging, and productive. participate.
Conduct session
judgmental environment, and to Generate many ideas in a short Participants must agree to avoid
Wrap-up
derive themes for further time. debating / criticizing ideas during
analysis. Useful to reduce tension brainstorming.
between participants.
Workshops Requirements workshop, also Get detailed requirements in a Highly dependent on expertise of Roles during the workshop:
known as JAD (Joint application short time. facilitator, and knowledge of
Sponsor
design) session, is a highly Means for stakeholders to participants.
Facilitator
productive focused event collaborate Too many participants can slow
Scribe
attended by carefully selected key down workshop process.
Costs are lower than cost of Time keeper
stakeholders, and SMEs for a Not collecting inputs from all
performing multiple interviews Participants
short, intensive period (typically 1 participants can lead to
or a few days). Immediately validate facilitator’s overlooking of important
interpretation. requirements.
Focus groups Elicit ideas, impressions, Learning people’s attitudes, Unwillingness to discuss Can be carried out for
preferences, and needs and experiences and desires. sensitive or personal topics. products under
attitudes from pre-qualified Encourages active participation What people say is inconsistent development, to be
individuals about a specific and discussion. with how they actually behave. launched, in production
product, service or opportunity in Online focus groups works best Homogeneous groups do not
an interactive group environment. when participants are distributed represent complete set of
Guided by a moderator. Typically geographically. requirements.
1 to 2 hours with 6-12 attendees. Skilled moderator needed.
Can’t read body language in
online focus groups.


Collaborative Uses game playing techniques to Identifies hidden assumptions or Can be perceived as silly and Example collaborative
games collaborate in developing common differences of opinions. unproductive. games:
understanding of a problem or a Encourages creative thinking. Uncomfortable for reserved
Product box
solution. Involves strong visual or Participants play a more active participants.
Affinity map
tactile (activities) elements such role.
Fishbowl
as moving sticky notes, writing on Exposes needs that aren't being
whiteboards, or drawing pictures. met.
A neutral facilitator guides the
game flow.
Interviews Most common form of elicitation Encourages participation. Needs significant time. Interview success depends
technique where interviewers ask Builds rapport Needs commitment and on:
questions to stakeholders. Simple and direct. involvement of participants.
1. Interviewer skills
Effective interviewers control Allows discussions and Needs trained facilitator.
a. Domain understanding
discussions, understand needs explanations and non-verbal Subject to interviewer's
b. Documentation skills
from ALL stakeholders, probe behavior. interpretation.
c. Experience and
deeper when needed and ensure Allows follow-up and probing Unintentionally leading the
willingness
completeness of answers. questions to confirm interviewee.
2. Interviewee
understanding.
a. Readiness to provide
Allows interviewees to express
relevant information
opinions in private.
b. Clarity about interview
goal
3. Rapport between
interviewer andinterviewee


Observation Elicit information by observing Documenting details about Possible for existing processes Observation types:
activities and their contexts. current processes. only.
Active/Noticeable – Ask
When stakeholders are unable to Time-consuming and can be
questions during process.
express requirements well. disruptive.
Interrupts work flow but
Provides realistic and practical Participants may alter work
helps in gaining a quick
insight into business processes. practices when observed.
understanding.
Identify non-documented Can’t evaluate knowledge based
Passive/Unnoticeable - Ask
informal tasks or work-arounds. activities.
questions at end. Do not
Recommendations for
interrupt work.
improvement are based on
evidence.
Survey or Administers a set of written Quick and inexpensive to collect Open-ended surveys require Survey questions can be
questionnaire questions to stakeholders and information from a large more analysis. Open ended or close ended.
SMEs. Survey can elicit audiences. Specialized skills in statistical
information from many people, Does not require significant time sampling methods required.
sometimes anonymously, in a from stakeholders. Questions left unanswered or
relatively short period of time. Effective and efficient when answered incorrectly due to their
Can collect information about stakeholders are not located in ambiguity.
customers, products, work one location. Follow up questions or more
practices and attitudes. Closed-ended surveys are survey iterations may be
Alternatively, respondents are effective in statistical analysis. required.
provided with a series of Open-ended surveys can provide Response rates can be too low
statements and asked for their insights and opinions. for statistical significance.
level of agreement.
Document Elicit BA information, by Analysis without creating new Limited to “AS-IS” perspective. Steps for document analysis:
analysis examining materials describing content. May not be up-to-date or valid.
1.Prepare
business environment or Useful when SMEs are not Authors may not be available for
2.Perform document review
organizational assets. Document available. clarification.
and analysis


analysis helps in understanding Determine what is current and Time-consuming. 3.Record findings
context of a business need, or what has changed.
understanding how existing Results can be to validate
solutions are implemented. Based against results of other
on BA information being explored, elicitation techniques. Findings
purpose, scope and topics to be can be presented in easy to
researched are determined. understand formats.
Benchmarking Benchmarking compares org. Provides information about new Time-consuming and expensive. Key principle: No criticism.
and market practices against best-in-class methods, ideas, and tools to Need expertise to conduct
analysis practices from competitors, improve. analyze gathered information.
government, industry associations Target specific groups and Benchmarking can’t produce
or standards. products to answer specific innovative solutions.
Market analysis understands needs. Needs proper market
customers’ needs, factors Determine when to enter or exit segmentation.
influencing purchase decisions, a market.
and studies competitors. Expose weaknesses within a
certain company or industry.
Identify differences in product
offerings and services available
from competitors.


Prototyping Provides an early model of final Supports users who are more Can take considerable time if Throw-away prototype
result, widely used for product comfortable and effective at process gets bogged down by Evolutionary or Functional
design. Details UI requirements articulating their needs by using “how’s” rather than “what’s”. prototype
and integrates them with other pictures. Assumptions about underlying
requirements such as use cases, Early user interaction and technology needs to be made for
scenarios, data, and business feedback. functional prototype.
rules. Stakeholders often find Throw-away prototypes are Users may develop unrealistic
prototyping to be a concrete inexpensive to quickly uncover expectations
means of identifying, describing and confirm a variety of
Users may focus on design
and validating their interface requirements.
specifications than requirements.
needs. Prototypes can discover Proof of concepts demonstrate
desired process flow and business technical feasibility.
rules.
Glossary Comprises of key terms relevant Promotes communication and Requires dedicated persons to What glossary should
to a business domain to provide a common understanding of maintain. contain:
common understanding of terms. business domain. Challenging to get stakeholder
1. Unique to a domain.
Contains definitions and Encourages consistency as single agreement on a single definition
2. Multiple definitions.
synonyms. Needs to be organized reference source for business for a term.
3. Commonly used meaning
and be accessible to all terms.
is different from that which
stakeholders. Simplifies writing and
is used within domain.
maintenance of BA information.
4. Chance for
misunderstanding.


Mind Map Articulates and captures ideas in Collaboration and Can be misused as a
a non-linear (tree) structure. communication tool. brainstorming tool.
Ideas are grouped as topics, sub- Structures complex thoughts, Can become complex with
topics, further sub-sub-topics. ideas, and information. details.
Mind maps use words, images, Facilitate understanding and
color, and connections to decision making.
structure thoughts, ideas, and Enable creative problem solving.
information.
Backlog Backlogs record, track and Prioritization for changing needs. Large backlogs can be difficult to
management prioritize remaining work items. Elaborate and estimate in detail manage.
Backlog management is a ONLY priority items. Needs experience to break down
planned approach to manage Tells what items need to be items for accurate estimate.
remaining work for project. In worked on and what items can Lack of details can result in lost
managed backlogs, items at top wait. information over time.
have highest business value and
priority. Backlog items can be
user stories, use cases, defects,
CRs, risks etc.
Business Business policies dictate actions An enterprise-wide rules engine When combined, rules can be 1.Use business terminology
rules analysis of an enterprise and people in it can assist in quick lengthy, inconsistent or produce for validation.
by broadly controlling, implementation of rules unanticipated results. 2.Document independently
influencing, or regulating them. changes. Poorly defined vocabulary can from enforcement.
Business rules serves as a Centralized rules repository result in inaccurate or 3.Stated in declarative
criterion for guiding behavior and enables reuse. contradictory business rules. format at atomic level.
making decisions in a specific, Allows organizations to make 4.Maintained in a manner
testable manner. changes to policies without enabling monitoring and
changing processes. adaption as they change.


Lessons Discusses and documents Identifies areas of improvement. Can become blame game. Discuss BA activities &
learned successes, failures and Assists in building team morale. Lack of willingness to discuss deliverables, Final solution,
improvement recommendations Reinforces positive experiences. and document problems. service, or product,
for future phases or projects. Can Reduces risks for future projects. Facilitation required to ensure Automation introduced or
include any format or venue that Recognizes strengths or discussions remain focused on eliminated, Impact to
is acceptable to key stakeholders. shortcomings. solutions and improvement organizational processes,
Can be formal facilitated meetings opportunities. Performance expectations
or informal. and results, Root causes
impacting performance
results
Prioritization Provides a framework for Helps in consensus building and Stakeholders often avoid difficult Techniques for prioritization:
stakeholder decisions to trade-offs. choices and do not make trade-
Grouping
understand relative importance of Ensures maximum solution offs.
Ranking
requirements. Importance may be value. Solution team may try to
Time boxing/ Budgeting
based on value, risk, difficulty of Assists in meeting initiative influence prioritization by over
Negotiation
implementation etc. timelines. estimating complexity of certain
requirements.
Lack of defined metrics may
make it subjective.


Reviews Communicate, verify and validate Promotes stakeholder Rigorous team reviews can be Purpose of review:
content of work products, discussions and involvement for time consuming.
Remove defects
formally or informally. quality output. Informal reviews are more
Check conformity to
Communicate review objectives in Identifies defects early. practical but may not ensure
specifications or standards
advance to participants. Desk checks and pass around removal of significant defects.
Check completeness
reviews are convenient. Difficult to validate whether prior
Quality measurement
independent review in desk
Reach consensus on
check and pass around reviews.
approach or solution
Can lead to repeated revisions if
Issue resolution
changes are not carefully
Alternative exploration
managed.
Education of reviewers
Sharing and discussing review
comments over e-mail can
elongate approval process.
Item tracking Captures and assigns Stakeholder concerns are Can be expensive to capture and • Item identifier: Unique ID
responsibility for issues and tracked and resolved. track items. • Summary
stakeholder concerns. Items can Allows to rank importance of Consumes productive time. • Category & Type
refer to actions, assumptions, outstanding items. Stakeholders could become • Date identified
constraints, dependencies, mired in details and statistics. • Identified by
defects, enhancements and • Impact
issues.
• Priority
• Status etc.


Balanced A strategic planning and Monitor progress against Lack of clear strategy can make 4 dimensions of balance
scorecard management tool to measure org. objectives and adapt strategy as aligning dimensions difficult. score card are:
performance beyond traditional needed. Stakeholders may perceive this
Learning and growth
financial measures aligned to Balanced planning and thinking. as the only tool for strategic
dimension
organization's vision and strategy. Encourages forward thinking and planning than one tool among
Business process dimension
competitiveness. many.
Customer dimension
Misinterpreted as a replacement
Financial dimension
for strategic planning, execution
and measurement.
Business Capability maps provide a Create focused and aligned Requires a broad, cross–
capability graphical view of capabilities. initiatives by providing a shared functional collaboration in
analysis Capabilities describes ability of an outcomes, strategy, and defining capability model and
enterprise to act on or transform performance. value framework.
something that helps achieve a Align business initiatives across No set standards for notation of
business goal or objective. multiple units of the capabilities maps.
Capabilities describe outcome of organization.
performance or transformation,
not how it is performed.
Business Formally or informally, justify Integrated view of facts, issues, Subject to biases of authors. Steps:
cases investments based on estimated and analysis. Often not updated after funding.
1. Define needs.
value compared to cost. Spend Financial analysis of costs and Assumptions wrt costs and
2. Determine desired
time and resources on business benefits. benefits may be invalid.
outcomes.
case proportional to the size and Guides decision making.
3. Assess constraints,
importance of its potential value.
assumptions, and risks.
Business cases do not provide
4. Recommend solutions.
intricate details.


Business Comprises 9 building blocks Easy to understand and simple Does not account measures for The 9 building blocks:
model canvas describing how an organization to use. social and environmental
Key partnerships
intends to deliver value. Widely used and effective impacts.
As a diagnostic tool, use elements framework to understand and Does not provide a holistic Key activities
of the canvas as a lens into optimize business models. insight for strategy. Key resources
current state of business, Maps of programs, projects, and Does not include strategic
especially wrt relative amounts of other initiatives to the strategy purpose of enterprise. Value proposition
energy, time, and resources of the enterprise. Customer relationships
currently invested in various
Channels
areas.
Customer segments
Cost structure
Revenue streams
Decision Supports decision-making in Determines expected value of Requires knowledge of Values, goals and objectives
analysis complex, difficult, or uncertain alternative scenarios. probability. relevant to decision problem.
situations. Examines and models Assesses importance placed on Information may not be available Nature of decision to be
possible consequences of different alternatives. on time. Decisions may have to made.
different decisions. Assesses options based on be taken immediately at times. Areas of uncertainty that
objective criteria rather than Tendency to treat results of affect decision.
emotions. decision analysis as more certain Consequences of each
Constructs suitable metrics to than they actually are. possible decision.
compare financial and non-
financial outcomes.


Decision Show how repeatable business Easy to share and understand. Unnecessary for simple decisions
modeling decisions are made using data Facilitate shared understanding. coupled to process.
and knowledge. Support impact analysis. Practices may differ from model.
Multiple perspectives can be Difficult to obtain agreement on
shared and combined, especially cross-functional rules.
when a diagram is used. Needs clearly defined business
Decision tables help in terminology to avoid data quality
managing large numbers of issues for process automation
parameters.
Helps with reuse.
Helps in rules-based
automation, data mining,
predictive analytics and BI
projects.
Financial Explore financial aspects (benefits Objective (quantitative) Costs and benefits are difficult to Cost of change
analysis and costs) of an investment. comparison of investments. quantify. Total cost of ownership
Assumptions and estimates are Numbers give false sense of (TCO)
clearly stated. security. Opportunity cost
Reduces uncertainty by Sunk cost
identifying and analyzing Net benefit
influencing factors. Return on investment
Payback period
Discount rate
Free cash flow


Risk analysis Identify, analyze and evaluate Can be applied at multiple levels # of possible risks can become Risk management
and uncertainties that could - strategic, tactical or unmanageably large. techniques are:
management negatively affect value, develop operational. Possible to manage only a
Avoid
and manage way of dealing with Successful risk responses on one subset of potential risks.
Transfer
risks. initiative can be useful for Often significant risks are not be
Mitigate
others. identified.
Accept
Ongoing risk management helps
Increase
to re-evaluate risks and
suitability of planned responses.
SWOT SWOT is an acronym for Helps quickly analyse various High-level view, needs further Strengths and weaknesses
analysis Strengths, Weaknesses, aspects of current state, and analysis. are internal, while
Opportunities, and Threats. A environment prior to identifying Clear context needed to stay Opportunities and Threats
framework for strategic planning, potential solution options. within focus. are external.
opportunity analysis, competitive Focusing on factors which add
analysis, business, and product value to business.
development.
Concept Organizes business vocabulary, Makes precise communication. Requires abstract thinking skill. Organizing, managing and
modelling usually starting with glossary. Independent of data design Need tool support for strict communicating core
biases. implementation. knowledge,
Helps in reducing ambiguity. Need to capture large
numbers of business rules,
Stakeholders find it hard to
understand data models,
Regulatory or compliance
challenges.


Data Standard definitions of primitive Ensures stakeholders agreement Can become obsolete unless Data elements can be
dictionary data elements, their meanings, on format and content of maintained. primitive or composite
allowable values, how those relevant information. Needs maintenance to ensure
elements combine into composite Ensures consistent usage of data quick and easy retrieval.
data elements. Used to manage elements. Metadata required by multiple
data within a solution’s context, scenarios must be taken into
often used along with ER account.
diagrams.
Data Data model describe entities, Helps in consistent vocabulary. Requires background in
modelling classes or data objects relevant to Ensures logical design of software.
a domain, their attributes and persistent data correctly Typically beyond knowledge of
relationships among them. represents business needs. an individual stakeholder.
Consistent approach to analyze
and document data and its
relationships.
Can be at different levels of
detail.
Can expose missing
requirements.


Data flow Show transformation of data from Depict transaction-based Can become complex for large-
diagrams (data source such as external systems and boundaries of a scale systems.
sources, activities and system. Different DFD notations exist.
destination). Data used in DFDs To discover processes and data. Can’t show sequence of
should be described in a data Verify functional decompositions activities, logic or stakeholders.
dictionary. Highest level diagram or data models.
(Level 0) is context diagram Excellent way to define scope
represents the entire system. and interfaces.
Helps in effort estimation.
Easy to understand.
Helps to identify duplicate or
missing data elements.


Process Graphical model to describe MOST stakeholders understand Formal process models perceived 1.Describes context of
modelling sequential flow of activities. A process models. as document-heavy approach. solution or part of solution,
system process model defines Can be at multiple levels. Can become extremely complex 2.Describes current (as is),
sequential flow of control among Can show large number of and unwieldy. or is desired (to be) process,
programs or units within a scenarios and parallel branches. Single individual will not be able 3.Provides a visual to
computer system. A program Identifies overlooked stakeholder to understand and ‘sign off’ a accompany a text
process flow shows sequential groups. complex process. description and
execution of program statements Identify potential improvements Can’t show process problems 4.Provides a basis for
within a software program. Documentation for compliance. just from model. process analysis.
Used for training and In a highly dynamic
coordination of activities. environment, process models
Used as a baseline for can become obsolete quickly.
continuous improvement. Stakeholders often alter
Provides transparency and clarity processes to meet their needs
to process owners without updating the model.
Sequence Sequence diagrams (also known Shows interactions between Creating sequence diagram for
diagrams as event diagrams) model logic of objects in visual and every use case can be a waste of
usage scenarios, by showing chronological (time) order. time and effort.
information (also known as Refines use cases with more Fairly technical.
stimuli, or message) passed details.
between objects during execution
of a scenario.


State State models (also sometimes Identifies business rules and Consumes time and effort. 1. Set of possible states
modelling called a state transition model) information for entity being Obtaining consensus is time- (Statuses) for an entity,
describe and analyze different modelled. consuming. 2. sequence of states that
possible states (formal Identifies activities that apply to entity can be in,
representation of a status) of an entity at different states. 3. how an entity changes
entity within a system, how that from one state to another,
entity changes from one state to 4. events and conditions that
another and what can happen to cause entity to change
entity when it is in each state. states and
5. Actions that can or must
be performed by entity in
each state as it moves by its
life cycle.
User stories User stories are a brief textual Easily understood. Can prove to be a challenge due Parts of user story:
description, typically 1 or 2 Prioritizing, estimating and to lack of detailed specifications.
Title
sentences, of functionality that planning solutions. Requires context and visibility.
Statement of value.
users need from a solution to Focuses on value to Should be supplemented with
Conversation
meet a business objective. User stakeholders. higher level analysis and
Acceptance criteria
story describes actor (who uses Results in shared understanding artifacts.
story), goal they are trying to of domain by collaboration while Regulatory restrictions, or when
accomplish, and any additional developing user stories. organization mandates
information to be critical to Facilitates rapid delivery and documentation.
understanding scope of story. feedback by small,
implementable, and testable
slices of functionalities.


Use cases Scenarios, and use cases describe Good at clarifying scope, and Written at higher-level of
and scenarios how actors (a person or a providing a high-level abstraction (low level of detail).
system) interacts with a solution understanding of requirements. Flexible format of use cases may
to accomplish one or more of that Narrative flow of use case result in capturing inappropriate
person or systems goals. description makes it easy to or unnecessary details.
understand. Additional analysis and design
Use case description articulates required to identify include use
functional behavior of a system. cases.
Non- Examines requirements for a Provides measurable expressions Difficult to articulate and define NFR categories are:
functional solution that define how well of how well functional than functional requirements.
Availability, Compatibility
requirements functional requirements must requirements must perform. Usefulness depends on how well
Functionality, Maintainability,
analysis perform. Also known as quality States constraints applicable to stakeholders can express their
Performance efficiency,
attributes or quality of service functional requirements. needs.
Portability, Reliability,
requirements. Expressed in Getting agreement on NFRs can
Scalability, Security,
textual formats as declarative be difficult.
Usability, Certification
statements or in matrices. Overly stringent NFRs
Compliance, Localization,
significantly increase cost and
Extensibility
effort for development.
Difficult to measure and test.
Roles and Ensures coverage of activities by Provides procedural checks and Need to recognize required level Initiative level roles and
permissions denoting responsibility, to balances, and data security, by of detail for a specific initiative responsibilities with RACI
matrix identified roles, and to discover restricting individuals from or activity. matrix
missing roles. performing certain or all actions. Too much detail can be time
IT system roles and
Promotes improved review of consuming, too little detail can
responsibilities with CRUD
transaction history, in that audit exclude necessary roles.
(Create, Read, Update and
logs can capture details about
Delete) matrix.
any assigned authorities at time.


Provides documented roles and
responsibilities for activities.
Acceptance Acceptance criteria describe Agile methodologies require Difficult to change for legal or
and minimal set of requirements to be requirements to be expressed as political reasons.
evaluation met for a solution to be worth testable acceptance criteria. Achieving consensus is
criteria implementing, also known as Express contractual obligations. challenging.
Must Have requirements. Evaluation criteria help in
Typically used when evaluation assessing diverse needs and
only one possible solution and is defining priorities.
expressed as pass or fail. Must be
testable.
Metrics and Measure performance of Allows stakeholders to Can be expensive, bureaucratic, Properties of indicators:
key solutions, solution components understand extent to which a and useless.
1. Clear: Precise and
performance and other matters of interest to solution meets an objective. Can distract from key
unambiguous.
indicators stakeholders. A metric is a Facilitates organizational responsibilities, especially on
2. Relevant: Appropriate to
(KPIs) quantifiable level of an indicator alignment, linking goals to agile projects.
the concern.
to measure progress. A target objectives, supporting solutions, Mostly no feedback is provided
3. Economical: Available at
metric is objective to be reached underlying tasks and resources. to stakeholders collecting metric
reasonable cost.
within a specified period. data as to understand how their
4. Adequate: Provides a
actions are affecting quality of
sufficient basis on which to
project results.
assess performance.
Can lead to sub-optimal
5. Quantifiable: Can be
performance when metrics are
independently validated.
used to assess performance.
6. Trustworthy and Credible:
Based on evidence and
research.


Process Analyzes processes for their Ensures solution addresses right Time-consuming.
analysis effectiveness, efficiency, and issues. Challenging to decide which
identifies improvement Minimizes waste. approach to use and how
opportunities. Flexibilities wrt techniques and rigorously to follow them.
methodologies. Not very effective in knowledge
or decision-intensive processes.
Root cause Identify and evaluate underlying Structured method to identify Need formal training or Steps for RCA are:
analysis causes of a problem, looking into root causes. extensive experience to facilitate
1. Problem Statement
causes occurring due to people, Helps to come up with effective a team of experts.
Definition
physical or organizational effects. solutions. Prove to be difficult with
2. Data Collection
Reactive analysis: For corrective complex problems.
3. Cause Identification
action.
4. Action Identification
Proactive analysis: For preventive
action.
Vendor Assess ability of a potential Ensures vendor is reliable and Time-consuming to gather Aspects to be careful:
assessment vendor to meet commitments wrt organization expectations are sufficient information on multiple
Choose licensing and pricing
delivery and consistent provision met. vendors.
models
of a product or service. Reduces risk of choosing an Risk of failure as partnership
Determine product
unsuitable vendor. evolves cannot be prevented.
reputation and market
Improved long-term satisfaction Subjectivity may bias evaluation
position
with decision. outcome.
Determine terms and
conditions
Determine vendor reputation
Determine vendor stability


Data mining Finds useful patterns and insights Reveals hidden patterns and Requires specialist knowledge. Steps:
from large amounts of data, insights. Takes considerable effort.
Elicit requirements
usually resulting in mathematical Increased accuracy of data and Can result in erroneous
Data preparation: Analytical
models. Utilized in either decision. correlations.
dataset
supervised (user poses a Reduce human bias. May lead to accidental misuse.
Analyze data
question) or unsupervised (pure Resistance to use of advanced
Modelling techniques
pattern discovery) investigations. math and lack of transparency.
Deployment

3.1 Business Analysis Planning and Monitoring

Functional Decomposition
Functional decomposition breaks down any large aspect (processes, functional areas,
deliverables, scope, or problems) into smaller aspects, as independent as possible,
so that work can be assigned to different groups. This reduces complexity of
analysis.
Define what to decompose, how to decompose, and how deeply to decompose.
Decomposition can be applied to diverse subjects like:
Level of functional decomposition defines where, why and when to stop

decomposing. Decomposition can be represented by a combination of plain texts,
hierarchical diagram, programming languages (CRUD operations), visual diagrams
etc. Work breakdown structure (WBS) decomposes project scope in phases, work
packages and deliverables.
Strengths
 Helps to manage complex problems by breaking them into parts.
 Provides shared understanding of complex matters.
 Helps in estimation.
Limitations
 No way to be certain that all components have been captured.
 Missing or incorrect elements can lead to re-work.
 Not understanding of relationships between pieces can create an inappropriate
structure.

 Need deep subject knowledge and extensive collaboration with stakeholders.
Interface Analysis
An interface is a connection between 2 components or solutions. Identify interfaces

and interactions between solutions and/or solution components. Interface types are:
1. User interfaces - Users interacting with system plus reports.
2. Data interfaces between systems.
3. Application programming interfaces (APIs).
4. Hardware devices.
5. Business processes.
6. External partners.
Interface analysis defines:

 Why the interface is needed?
 Who will use interface?
 What information will be exchanged?
 When information will be exchanged?
 How frequently?
 Where information exchange will occur?
 How interface should be implemented?
Prepare
Utilize techniques like document analysis, observation, scope modeling (Use case
model), interviews etc. to understand which interfaces need to be identified.
Identify interfaces
Identify interfaces which are needed in future for each stakeholder or system that
interacts with the system. Describe function of interface, assess usage, evaluate
suitable type and elicit details about interface.
Define interfaces
Include name, exchange method between entities, message format, exchange
frequency etc.
Strengths
 Helps in identifying stakeholders for elicitation.
 Early identification leads to increased functional coverage.
 Interfaces specifications provide a structured means of allocating requirements,
business rules and constraints to the solution.
 Avoids over analysis of fine details owing to its broad application.
Limitations
 Does not provide insight into internal components / other aspects of solution.
Organizational Model
Org. model describes roles, responsibilities, and reporting structures in an

organization. It is a visual representation of organizational units defining:
 Members in group,
 Who reports to whom,
 Functional role for each person, and
 Interfaces between unit and other units or stakeholders.
3 types of Org. models are:
Functions: Groups staff together based on shared skills or areas of expertise. Helps
in standardization of work or processes.
Markets: To serve particular customer segments, geographical areas, projects or
processes rather than group employees based on common skills or expertise.
Enables organization to be better oriented with needs of its customers, but may
develop inconsistencies in work performance, and duplicate work in multiple
divisions
Matrix: Separate managers for each functional area, and for each product, service,
or customer. Staff report to:
 A line manager, who is responsible for performance of a type of work, and for
identifying opportunities for efficiency in work, and
 A market (product/service/project/etc.) Manager, who is responsible for

managing product, service, etc. Across multiple functional areas.
Org. unit comprises of a number of defined roles and has interfaces with other org.
units. Org. chart is main diagram for org. modeling.
Strengths
 Common in most organizations.

 Enables future projects to know participants involved and their roles.
 Helps to identify influencers in organization.
Limitations
 Can be out of date.

 Does not tell about real influencers in organization.

Stakeholder List, Map, or Personas
Identify and analyze stakeholders affected by a proposed initiative or share a

common business need, level of decision making authority, authority within domain
and organization, attitude/ interest towards change, and business analysis work.
Stakeholder lists
Brainstorm and interview to generate a stakeholder list. An exhaustive stakeholder

list ensures that important stakeholders and groups have not been overlooked.
Minimizes risks of missing out requirements.
Stakeholder maps: Represent relationships of stakeholders to solution and to one
another.
Stakeholder matrix: Maps level of stakeholder influence against level of
stakeholder interest/impact. 4 quadrants are:
Onion diagram: Levels of stakeholder involvement with solution / project /

process.

Responsibility (RACI) matrix

Responsible One who performs the task.
Accountable Decision maker and held accountable.

Consulted Stakeholder or stakeholder group asked for opinions, typically SMEs.
Informed Stakeholder or stakeholder group who are informed of tasks.
Personas
Persona is a fictional character that depicts way a typical user interacts with a
product.

Strengths
 Identifies stakeholders for elicitation.

 Helps to engage all stakeholder groups.
 Assist in analyzing stakeholders and their characteristics.
Limitations
 Influence and interest assessment can be complex and risky.

 Some may not feel the need for it in ongoing projects.

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1.PREFACE AND INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................... 11

1.1 WHAT IS BUSINESS ANALYSIS? ............................................ 11

2.BUSINESS ANALYSIS KEY CONCEPTS ............................................................................. 18

2.1 KEY TERMS .................................................................... 18

3. BABOK® V3 TECHNIQUES ............................................................................................... 21

BABOK® V3 TECHNIQUES MIND MAP ........................................ 21

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REVIEWS ............................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

BABOK® V3 TASKS MIND MAP ............................................ ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

4. BUSINESS ANALYSIS PLANNING AND MONITORING..... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

ACTIVITIES............................. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

5.ELICITATION AND COLLABORATION ............................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

ACTIVITIES............................. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

6.REQUIREMENTS LIFE CYCLE MANAGEMENT ................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

ACTIVITIES............................. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

7.STRATEGY ANALYSIS ....................................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

ACTIVITIES............................. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

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7.2 DEFINE FUTURE STATE ........ ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

ACTIVITIES............................. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

9.SOLUTION EVALUATION .................................................. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

ACTIVITIES............................. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

10.UNDERLYING COMPETENCIES ....................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

ANALYTICAL THINKING AND PROBLEM SOLVINGERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

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Business analysis Certified Business analyst Professional (CBAP® ) (Endorsed by

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1.Preface and Introduction

1.1 What is business analysis?

Who is a Business analyst?

A person who performs BA tasks mentioned in BABoK® is considered a Business analyst

Key activities BAs perform are:

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1.2 What is IIBA®?

BABoK® contains a description of generally accepted practices in the field of business

1.3 What and Why of ECBATM

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Following are some of the benefits of becoming a ECBATM :

 Be recognized for your competency in business analysis.

Target Audience for ECBATM

ECBATM examination targets the following audience:

 Individuals entering the BA profession,

Eligibility for ECBATM

 Prior business analysis-related work is not required.

ECBATM Question pattern

 This will be a knowledge based examination.