1118510585-15

8162019 1118510585-15

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull1118510585-15 112

Contents at a Glance

Introduction 1

Part I Getting Started with Business Analysis 5 Chapter 1 Business Analysis in a Nutshell 7

Chapter 2 Breaking Down the Different Levels of Business Analysis 19

Chapter 3 Identifying and Working with Stakeholders 31

Part II The BA Toolkit Tools Terms and Techniques 51Chapter 4 Talking about Tools of the Trade 53

Chapter 5 Understanding What Requirements Truly Entail 73

Chapter 6 Hunting for the Right Information Part 1 The Process 97

Chapter 7 Hunting for the Right Information Part 2 The Techniques 113

Chapter 8 Uncovering and Analyzing Needs 139

Part III Selling the Plan and Keeping It on Track 161Chapter 9 Making the (Business) Case 163

Chapter 10 Creating and Maintaining Scope 185

Chapter 11 Creating Your Work Plan 209

Part IV Achieving Goals with Business Analysis 235 Chapter 12 De1047297ning Solutions Part 1 Taking a Closer Look

at Your Requirements 237

Chapter 13 De1047297ning Solutions Part 2 Choosing the Right Analysis Technique 251

Chapter 14 Verifying and Validating Solutions 283

Chapter 15 Transition Moving from Planning to Implementing 307

Part V The Part of Tens 319Chapter 16 Ten Ways to Keep Your Business Analysis Skills Sharp 321

Chapter 17 Ten Ways to Prepare Yourself for a New Project 329

Chapter 18 Ten Experts Chime In 337

Index 347

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Table of Contents

Introduction 1About This Book 1Foolish Assumptions 2Icons Used in This Book 3Beyond the Book 3Where to Go from Here 4

Part I Getting Started with Business Analysis 5

Chapter 1 Business Analysis in a Nutshell 7

De1047297ning Business Analysis 7Knowing Your Role in the Basic Business Analysis Lifecycle 8Looking at the Value of Business Analysis 11Considering the Skills of a Successful BA 13

Outstanding communication 13Detailed research analysis and recording 13Time management and information organization 14The ability to see the big picture 14Customer-focused and value-driven perspective 15A large BA toolkit 15

Flexibility15Getting to Know the IIBA BABOK 16Pursuing Business Analysis Certi1047297cation 17

Chapter 2 Breaking Down the Different Levelsof Business Analysis 19

Checking out an Overview of the Levels 20Going to the Top The Enterprise Level21

Doing business analysis activities at the enterprise level 22Overcoming challenges at the enterprise level 23

Moving to the Organizational Level 23

Ful1047297lling duties at the organizational level 24Dealing with organizational-level obstacles 25Drilling Down to the Operational Level 26

Knowing your tasks at the operational level 26Taking on operational-level challenges27

Getting a Handle on the Project Level 28Tackling activities at the project level 28Rising above project-level hurdles 29

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Business Analysis For Dummiesvi


Reviewing a Whorsquos Who of Potential Project Participants 32Starting at the top with management 32

Seeking subject matter experts 34Adding project support personnel 36Turning to technical personnel 37

Identifying the Stakeholders in Your Project 39Find your stakeholders 39Using the RACI matrix 41

Playing (and Communicating) Well with Others 42Targeting your communication to the various stakeholders 42Using active listening to your advantage 45Overcoming common barriers to effective communications 45Understanding and responding to verbal

and nonverbal messages 46

Fostering Strong Relationships 48Building trust and respect 48Generating consensusgaining buy-in 49

Part II The BA Toolkit Tools Terms and Techniques 51

Chapter 4 Talking about Tools of the Trade 53

Examining Communication Tools for Every Situation 54Talking about your options 54Choosing the right communication tool 56

Trying Collaboration Tools 57Physical places 58Electronic places 58

Investigating Innovation and Idea Capture Tools 59Looking at the technology spectrum 60Considering speci1047297c features 61

Discovering De1047297nition Tools 62Textual de1047297nition tools 62Modeling and diagramming tools 62Prototyping and simulation tools 64

Reviewing Requirements Management Tools 64Low- and mid-tech options 65

High-tech options 66Picking the Right Tools for the Situation 66Inventorying the situation you have now 67Determining what situation you need later 67Avoiding unnecessary tools and features69Money money money Facing budget challenges 69

Preparing Team Members for Change 70

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De1047297ning Needs 73Business needs 74

Stakeholder needs 76De1047297ning Requirements 77

Business requirements80Stakeholder requirements 80Solution requirements 82Transition requirements 84Technology requirements 85

Making Your Requirements Excellent 86Complete 87Correct 87Unambiguous 87Veri1047297able 88

Necessary 88Feasible 88Prioritized 89

Focusing on the Four Core Components 89Data 90Process (use cases) 92External agents and actors 93Business rules 94


Elicit Donrsquot Gather Developing the Right Questions 98Identifying the type of question you want to ask 98

Identifying appropriate sources of information103Choosing an Approach 105Using Clear Consistent Language 107

Choosing terms consistently 108Using language thatrsquos consistent with the companyrsquos language 108Framing questions that clearly reveal core needs 109

Planning Your Elicitation Sessions 110

Chapter 7 Hunting for the Right InformationPart 2 The Techniques 113

Starting with Document Analysis 113

Understanding the bene1047297ts of document analysis 114Perusing examples of documents you can review 115Looking Out for Observation 118

Knowing when to use observation 118Choosing your observation method

and completing the process 119

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Business Analysis For Dummiesviii Conducting Interviews 121

Preparing for the interview 121Interviewing the stakeholder122Documenting the interview 122

Distributing Surveys 123Dressing for the occasion Types of surveys 123Maximizing the chances of getting a response 124Compiling and using the data 125

Getting to Know Requirements Workshops 125Identifying participants 126Scheduling a workshop 126Managing the session 127

Brainstorming 129Considering Focus Groups 130Doing Interface Analysis 131Prototyping132

Throwaway prototypes 133Evolutionary prototype 135Simulation prototype135

Reverse Engineering 135Choosing Competitive Analysis 136


Investigating the Needs 139Discovering a companyrsquos speci1047297c business needs 140Searching out stakeholder needs 143

Uncovering the Root Cause 145

Evaluating the Problem146Choosing a good problem to solve 147Figuring out whether the problem matters 148Determining the impact of the problem 149Establishing the costs and bene1047297ts 150

Creating the Problem Statement 151Creating the Solution Position Statement 153Knowing When You Have the Right Solution 154

Validating the value of the solution155Taking your audience into consideration 156

Setting Your Solution Up For Success Getting Clear Objectives 157Eliciting and articulating clear objectives 157

Getting clear with SMART objectives 159

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Part III Selling the Plan and Keeping It on Track 161

Chapter 9 Making the (Business) Case 163

Before You Dive In Breaking Down Business Case Basics 163Looking at the bene1047297ts of writing a business case 164Playing to the crowd Knowing your audience 165Following basic business case structure 166

De1047297ning and Presenting the Opportunity 167Executive summary 168Mission statement169Description of the approach used 171

Justifying the Recommendation 172Identifying and prioritizing alternative solutions 172Including a costbene1047297t analysis 174

The Devil Is in the Details Providing Supporting Materials 180Addressing supporting documentation 181Noting your assumptions 182Documenting risk 183

Presenting the Business Case 183


Making Sure Yoursquore Scoping the Right Solution 186Recognizing Relevant Stakeholders 186

Uncovering stakeholders by asking project-speci1047297c questions187Discovering key stakeholders in different parts

of the organization 188

Ensuring That the Scope Aligns with Key Business Drivers 188Identifying Interfaces That Are Part of the Project 191

User interfaces 192System interfaces 192Hardware interfaces 193

De1047297ning Scope with a Data Flow Diagram 193Identifying parties and systems that will be

impacted by the project 195Identifying information (data) 1047298ows

among the parties or systems 195Gaining consensus on the scope for the project 196Giving the project a descriptive name 197

Finalizing the scope diagram 197Using Project Initiation Documentation to Clarify Scope 198Stating the purpose of the project 198Describing the project approach or methodology 199

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Business Analysis For Dummies x Listing project objectives 200Articulating problems and opportunities 200Outlining risks 200Specifying project assumptions and constraints 202Documenting high-level processes 203Identifying whorsquos responsible for each deliverable 203

Indicating What Isnrsquot Covered Items Not in Scope 204Getting Agreement on the Scope 205Avoiding Scope Creep 205

Spotting scope creep 206Formulating a change control process 207


Hashing Out Work Plan Basics209Considering the key components of a

business analysis work plan 210Using a framework to create your plan 211Perusing the Project Characteristics 213

Identifying project type 213Project size 219Other things 221

Taking It to the People The Stakeholder Communication Plan 222Identifying the people 222Getting to know the stakeholders 223Getting stakeholders involved 225Putting together the stakeholder communication plan 226

The Process Figuring Out How Things Are Done 227

Waterfall 228Agile development methodologies 229Spiral modelRational Uni1047297ed Process (RUP) 230RADprototyping 231

Compiling Your Work Plan 231

Part IV Achieving Goals with Business Analysis 235

Chapter 12 De1047297ning Solutions Part 1 Taking aCloser Look at Your Requirements 237

Categorizing Your Requirements 238Getting the process started 238Choosing the right category 239

Documenting Your Requirements 240Documenting business and stakeholder requirements 241Documenting solution requirements both

functional and nonfunctional 242

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Documenting transition requirements 247Documenting technical requirements 247

Ensuring Your Requirements Have Traceability 248

Chapter 13 De1047297ning Solutions Part 2 Choosing theRight Analysis Technique 251

Dealing with Data Flow Diagrams and ExternalInteraction Textual Templates 252

Getting a handle on data 1047298ow diagrams 252Examining the external interaction textual template 254

ERD Is the Word Using Entity Relationship Diagrams 255Getting familiar with the ERD 255Presenting the data with entity relationship text templates257Rounding out the data Entity text templates 257

Drilling Down a Process Decomposition Diagram 258

Step 1 Creating the process decomposition diagram 260Step 2 Documenting the processes 261

Deciding on Decision Tables 262Working with Work1047298ow Diagrams 264

Decoding diagram symbols 265Creating a work1047298ow diagram266Seeing a diagram in action An example 267

Making a Use Case Model 268The graphic Use case diagram 269The text Use case description 271

Prototyping274Familiarizing yourself with mockup basics 276

Creating mockups 278Keeping It Brief with User Stories280

Creating user stories 281Con1047297rming user stories 281


Getting a Handle on Testing Basics 283Differentiating between veri1047297cation and validation 284Making testing an ongoing activity 284

Veri1047297cation Testing Con1047297rming You Built the System Right 286Smoke test286Unit test 286

Integration test 287System test 288

Validation Testing Making Sure You Built the Right System 290Utilizing a usability test 291Getting users involved with a user acceptance test 293Receiving feedback with a post-implementation

user assessment 294

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Business Analysis For Dummiesxii Preparing for the Test 295

Creating test cases 296Putting together the veri1047297cation and validation plan 297

Conducting a Requirements Review 302Conducting a step-by-step review of the artifact 303Recruiting participants 304


Preparing for the Transition 307Transition requirements The basics 308Reviewing the requirement components 308Assessing organization readiness 309Fostering stakeholdersrsquo motivation and competence 310

Rolling Out Your Strategy with the Right Approach 312Trying parallel processing 313

Picking piloting 313Selecting single cutover 314Examining the Components of Your Rollout Plan 315Turning Your Solution Over to Operations 317

Part V The Part of Tens 319

Chapter 16 Ten Ways to Keep YourBusiness Analysis Skills Sharp 321

Participate in Social Media 321

Network with Peers 322GetBe a Mentor 323Leverage Peer Reviews 323Attend Formal Training 324Present on Business Analysis Topics 324Read Books (Like This One) 325Have Lunch with Business Partners 325Rotate to Multiple Business Domains or Applications 326Use Business Analysis Techniques at Home 327


Hit the Ground Running and Get Up to Speed 329

Clear Your Calendar and Your To-Do List 330Take a Vacation 330Get Organized 331Identify Whatrsquos Been Done So Far 332Color in the Solution 332De1047297ne Everyonersquos Roles Responsibilities and Deadlines 333

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Get to Know the Core Team 334Extend a Hand to the Extended Team 334Collaborate 335

Chapter 18 Ten Experts Chime In 337The Three Pains Approach to Better Elicitation (Hans Eckman) 337Context Diagram (Ali Ibarguen) 338Af1047297nity Diagram (Jonathan Babcock) 338Process One Pager (Robin Grace) 340Data Modeling (David Morris) 341Facilitated Session (Shelley Ruth) 342Root Cause Analysis (Kathy Claycomb) 342Requirements Traceability (Russ Pena) 343Functional Decomposition Diagram (Greg Busby) 344Itrsquos All About the Communication (Kupe Kupersmith) 345

Index 347

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1118510585-15

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