Bite sized training sessions:

Scope of the
Business Analyst Role
 Objectives

Review the scope of the BA role

Make a case for the importance of the BA
role
Discuss whether a BA really is a BA
Think about the analyst part the BA title
 Putting the Business Analyst in context

Programme/Project Manager
Owner/sponsor The sponsor will get it all,
I want it all now and for free
I want it now
I want it for free

BUSINESS
ANALYST

Subject Matter Experts/Users
We must have this
- and soon! -
or our business will fail
Solutions developers
Given all the other projects we are
already doing for you, the best we can do
is a bit, in 6 months and it will of course
cost a bit
Sponsor:
Were going to the moon!

Project Manager:
ok, we have to planfirst off, SMEs, what do you need?

SME:
Well need a spaceship and spacesuits! Business Analysts: Do we need anything else?

Business Analysts:
to answer your question I need to know
Why are we going to the moon?
(Problem analysis)
How will we know it was a worthwhile trip?
(Objectives analysis)
Therefore - what will we need to ensure it is worthwhile?
(Requirements analysis)

Developer:
So we need to develop solutions for the following requirements
An example of rocket science...?
Mars Climate Orbiter went in to orbit at
57km above Mars instead of 150km.
It was completely destroyed.

Cause: some navigation calculations

performed in Imperial units (pound-
seconds) and some in metric units (newton-
seconds).

Most project failures are due to

incomplete/inaccurate requirements
 Discussion

What do you think are the

other main causes of project
failure?
 Why Projects Fail
The Standish Group Chaos Report (1994)
The landmark study of project failure covering 365 executive managers and 8,380 applications in all major industry segments
including: banking, retail and wholesale.

Some of the contents of this slide were taken from www.it-cortex.com

 More chaos stats, stats and

Source:
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/dannawi/archive/2009/05/15/2009-
standish-chaos-report-we-are-successful-in-the-failure.aspx
 Discussion

How can BAs mitigate the main

risks for project failure?
 Cost of analysis errors
The cost of correcting analysis errors rises almost exponentially
the longer they remain undetected.

Barry Boehm

Relative cost of
correcting error
 How much poor analysis costs

40-56% of bugs can be traced to requirement errors

Finding and fixing requirement errors consumes 70-85% of project rework

costs

The average project exceeds its planned time schedule by 120%

52.7% of projects will cost 189% of their original estimate

Only 16.2% of projects will be completed on time & on budget

30% of projects are cancelled before completion.

 Discussion

What do you think a business analyst

does?

Should PMs do what BAs do and vice-

versa?
 Scope of the Business Analyst role (I)
There is a chain of reasoning that leads from the statement of a
problem to the implementation of solutions
UAT
it is documented in products specs
Code &
Databases
Tech
Business & Processes & Specs
Drivers Objectives Scope Functional &NF Data Loaded
Requirements Models Data
Extracted
data

TOR Business Business

Procedures Training

BA products BA product
application
 Scope of the Business Analyst role (II)
There is a chain of reasoning that leads from the statement of a problem to the implementation of solutions

involving up to 10 groups of people

Owners
defines measures of success and $targets
Business Analysts confirm & document $Mone
y!

Strategists
determine the strategy to hit the targets
Business Analysts help research, create strategy, challenge & document
Sponsors
establish a Programme that delivers the strategy
Business Analysts document Programme TOR
and help build the Business Case
Programme Managers
Institute Projects that implement the programme
Business Analysts document the Project TOR

Project Stakeholders
Business Analysts specify requirements for
Projects (in the Business Model)
Solution Builders
build solution
Business Analysts protect requirements & document compromises
Project managers
Implement solution
Business Analysts help with
-Process and data migration
-Cutover planning
-Rollout
Design Analysts
design solution that satisfies the requirements
Business Analysts write functional specifications, protect
requirements & document compromises
Solution Builders & Business
test solution
Business Analysts ensure tested against requirements
Users
Accept solution
Business Analysts help with
-$MEASURING $BENEFITS $REALISATION

POST-IMPLEMENTATION
Business Analysts feed back to the Owner how well their
measure of success has been achieved
 Definition of terms for
Business Analysis

Business: why Business?

should it be Change Requirements???
Analysis:
the process of breaking a concept down into more simple
parts, so that its logical structure is displayed (OED)

a : examination of a complex, its elements, and their relations

b : a statement of such an analysis (Merriam Webster)
Inductive VS Deductive Analysis
Induction:
a method of reasoning from a part to a whole, from
particulars to generals, or from the individual to the
universal.
Example: whenever I let go of a hammer, it falls to the
ground. Therefore, every time I let go of a hammer it will
fall to the ground.
Deduction:
a rigorous proof, or derivation, of one statement (the
conclusion) from one or more statements (the premises)
i.e., a chain of statements, each of which is either a
premise or a consequence of a statement occurring
earlier in the proof.
Example: All fairies are pink. Tinkerbelle is a fairy. Therefore,
Tinkerbelle is pink.

Which is better? Thats elementary, Watson.

 and theres more the BA needs to be
thinking about
Argumentation theory how to discover the truth.

Philosophy what is truth in a business context and how to do we

prove it?

Rhetoric persuasion and/or enquiry?

Opinions they matter but are only one tool not the only tool!

Communication theories how to best communicate what to who?

BAs are the analytical engine of a

projectno-one else is accountable for
doing itwe better do it well!
 You are not alone
www.smart-BA.com
Articles
Sample analysis documentation
www.ModernAnalyst.com
Excellent BA community
Articles
Forums
Sample analysis documentation
www.RequirementsNetwork.com
Another excellent BA community
Articles
Forums
www.TheIIBA.org
BA professional organisation
BA professional qualifications (CBAP)
www.BCS.org
BA professional qualifications (ISEB Diploma)
Questions?