past, present, & future of business analysis by kevin brennan

The Past, Present, and Future of Business Analysis Kevin Brennan, CBAP EVP, Product Management & Development

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Once upon a time...

How I Became A BA Image ©2009 Doug Kerr, Licensed Under CC-BY-SA

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Nobody Understood What We Did

Testing?

PM?

Requirements? UX?

Process?

Rules?

Training?

Coffee? Data?

Coding?

© 2012 CollegeDegrees360. Licensed under CC-BY-SA.

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Projects Paid A High Price

71% “of software projects [that] fail do so because of poor requirements management, making it the single biggest reason for project failure…” Source: CIO Magazine, 11/15/2005

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Were we: ORDER-TAKERS?

GOFERS?

ASSISTANT PROJECT MANAGERS?

DOCUMENTERS?

Or would we rise to the challenge?

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Business Analysis Had To Change

•  Methodologies began to address requirements development in earnest

•  Specialized techniques emerged taking us past “the system shall”

•  IIBA formed in 2003 to help move profession forward

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It Became A Profession

Elicitation

Solution Assessment & Validation

Requirements Management & Communication

RequirementsAnalysis

EnterpriseAnalysis

Business AnalysisPlanning & Monitoring

✓?

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Business and IT Bridging the gap between…

© 2011 Jonas Ginter. Licensed under CC-BY-NC-ND.

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But That Didn’t Fix The Problem

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2009

Standish Group CHAOS Report

Succeeded

Challenged

Failed

Source: The Standish Group Project Resolution History

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Business Value Isn’t Inside Projects

Traditional BA Space

Pre-Project Project Post-Project

Enterprise Analysis

Requirements Analysis

Solution Assessment & Validation

Rationale Delivery Benefits

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Are we: LIAISONS?

FACILITATORS? TRANSLATORS? REQUIREMENTS

MANAGERS? Or will we rise to the challenge?

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Business Analysis Has To Change

•  Requirements management focuses us on predictable delivery of scope

•  We have to focus on delivery of business value

•  We consistently neglect understanding of the reasons for change and evaluating the benefits

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From Software To Business Outcomes

Business Outcomes

Software

People

Process

Rules & Data

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Projects and Operations Bridging the gap between…

© 2010 Doug88888. Licensed under CC-BY-NC-SA.

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We Need More Than Analysis

Architecture and Design

Analytical Thinking Goal: To Produce Reliable, Predictable, Repeatable Outcomes Reliability

Intuitive Thinking

Goal: To produce outcomes that meet the

desired objectives Validity

Source: Roger L. Martin, The Design of Business

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Embrace Architecture And Design

Strategic Business

Design

Concept Visual-ization

Empathy

Source:  Heather  M.A.  Fraser,  Design  Works  

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Can we become: VISIONARIES? INNOVATORS? STRATEGISTS?

LEADERS? Are we up to the challenge?

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Business Analysts Must Change Again

IT EntArch

Systems Analyst

Decision Systems

BI

IT BA

EntArch

Agile Product Owner

Business Relationship

Manager

Business Architect

Process Analyst

Enterprise

Project Technology Business

Enterprise

Project Technology Business

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Align Change Across The Business

ImprovementInnovation OperationsStrateg y

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Strategy and Execution Bridging the gap between…

© 2011 Neil Howard. Licensed under CC-BY-NC.

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Businesses Need Us To Take This Leap

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Business analysis gives us the tools to reinvent our profession.

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“To unite a community of professionals to create better business outcomes.”

IIBA Core Purpose

THANK YOU!

Kevin Brennan, CBAP Email: kevin.brennan@iiba.org Twitter: @bakevin