Professional Documents
Culture Documents
The process is generally divided into multiple steps with each step involving
specific tasks to perform, principles to follow and documents to produce.
Each step within the business analysis phase may be longer or shorter
depending on the type of project.
Step 1: Gather Background Information
This first step is where much of the ground work for a project is covered.
Whether a project is brand new or existing, its crucial for the business analyst to
gather a significant amount of background information on the project.
He identifies the high-level business needs and translates them into use cases.
These needs are then prioritized in order to develop a "project scope" that meets
budget and time constraints.
The stakeholders on a project are the ones who make decisions and sign off on
requirements and priorities.
Owners shareholders, trustees or anyone who is sponsoring the project
Partners individuals responsible for working alongside the project that provide
complementary or supplementary products or services
Customers the end users of the product
Competitors a potential section of users of competitive products or inputs from the
competitors themselves
Step 3: Discover Business Objectives
Establishing the business strategy and objectives and putting them on paper will help
the business analyst and project managers stay focused on the vision.
Benchmarking understanding competitors and peers who work on the same level
SWOT Analysis determine the strengths and weakness
Focus groups and brain storming
This step requires the business analyst to clarify requirements to the business
owner and get the OK to deliver them to the development team.
Engage with quality analysts to ensure requirements are tested and requirements
are understood
Manage changes from the business owner that are requested once the initial
requirements are delivered and implemented
Are we on track?
Is the solution delivering the value initially anticipated?
Evaluate the actual progress across the timeline and business objectives, and provide
stakeholders updates and answer questions.
Based on the progress and feedback, suggest any modifications or initiatives required to
realign the implementation phase with business objectives.