Introduction to Business Analysis www.smart-BA.com Introduction to Business Analysis Copyright smart-BA 2008

Group Exercise – Objectives www.smart-BA.com Group Exercise – Objectives List your objectives for this session. Review the list of objectives against course content Copyright smart-BA 2008 2

My Objectives (for you) www.smart-BA.com My Objectives (for you) Increase your analytical ‘way of thinking’ Increase your understanding of the underlying structure of all Business Analysis and Business Analysis methods. ultimately what we want to do is send you back to your company/projects/workplace so that you make a difference to the way that things are done. Deliver real benefits to business….. Copyright smart-BA 2008 3

Agenda The what, who and why of Business Analysis Practical exercise: doing analysis The structure of Business Analysis Practical exercise – doing analysis Close

Putting the Business Analyst in context Programme/Project Manager “The sponsor will get it all, now and for free” Owner/sponsor “I want it all I want it now I want it for free” BUSINESS ANALYST 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” Subject Matter Experts/Users “We must have this - and soon! - or our business will fail”

Sponsor: We’re going to the moon! Project Manager: ok, we have to plan…first off, SME’s, what do you need? SME: We’ll 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: in that case we need to develop solutions for the following requirements…

www.smart-BA.com Made the case that BA is not a difficult thing to do in principle It is difficult in practice because it demands provable ANALYSIS which means TIME AND THINKING – on projects these are often both in short supply So long as the analysis is provable in your method/approach it doesn’t matter what method/approach you use Beware the jargon – my current fav is Jidoka – add the human element to processes (from Lean) When I am working as a BA my mantra is trust no-one, believe nothing, prove everything – and that should apply to how you do Business Analysis as well Copyright smart-BA 2008 7

An example of rocket science...? www.smart-BA.com 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 Copyright smart-BA 2008 8

Discussion What do you think are the other main causes of project failure? PLEASE DO NOT TURN THE PAGE YET

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

How can BAs mitigate the main risks for project failure? Discussion How can BAs mitigate the main risks for project failure?

Cost of analysis errors www.smart-BA.com Cost of analysis errors The cost of correcting analysis errors rises almost exponentially the longer they remain undetected. Relative cost of correcting error Barry Boehm Copyright smart-BA 2008 12

How much poor analysis £costs www.smart-BA.com 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 Even in large companies, only 9% of projects meet original time/budget schedules 30% of projects are cancelled before completion. Copyright smart-BA 2008

www.smart-BA.com Break? 1 hr? Copyright smart-BA 2008

Discussion What do you think a business analyst does? Should PMs do what BAs do and vice-versa?

Scope of the Business Analyst role www.smart-BA.com Scope of the Business Analyst role 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 £Money! 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) Design Analysts design solution that satisfies the requirements …Business Analysts write functional specifications, protect requirements & document compromises Solution Builders build solution …Business Analysts protect requirements & document compromises Solution Builders & Business test solution …Business Analysts ensure tested against requirements Project managers Implement solution …Business Analysts help with Process and data migration Cutover planning Rollout 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 Copyright smart-BA 2008 16

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? That’s elementary, Watson. Definitions from Encyclopaedia Britannica 2008

Team Exercise: Analysis isn’t just done by Business Analysts… www.smart-BA.com Team Exercise: Analysis isn’t just done by Business Analysts… The names, not necessarily respectively, of the brakeman, fireman, and engineer of a certain train were Smith, Jones, and Robinson. Three passengers on the train happened to have the same names and, in order to distinguish them from the railway employees, will be referred to hereafter as Mr. Smith, Mr. Jones, and Mr. Robinson. Mr. Robinson lived in Manchester; the brakeman lived halfway between Lancaster and Manchester; Mr. Jones earned exactly £20,000 per year; Smith beat the fireman at darts; the brakeman's next-door neighbour, one of the passengers, earned exactly three times as much as the brakeman; and the passenger who lived in Lancaster had the same name as the brakeman. How can you prove that the engineer must have been called Smith? Deliverables: flipchart presentation that proves the solution is correct. Time: 1 hour 1hr 40mins Copyright smart-BA 2008

Break?

The structure of Business Analysis

Setting the scene: scope of the Business Analyst role POST-IMPLEMENTATION Business Analysts feed back to the Owner how well their measure of success has been achieved Owners defines measures of success and £targets …Business Analysts confirm & document Strategists determine the strategy to hit the targets …Business Analysts help do market 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) Design Analysts design solution that satisfies the requirements …Business Analysts write functional specifications, protect requirements & document compromises Project managers Implement solution …Business Analysts help with Process and data migration Cutover planning Rollout Solution Builders & Business test solution …Business Analysts ensure tested against requirements Solution Builders build solution …Business Analysts protect requirements & document compromises Users Accept solution £MEASURING £BENEFITS £REALISATION Setting the scene: scope of the Business Analyst role £Money! …involving up to 10 groups of people… www.smart-BA.com There is a chain of reasoning that leads from the statement of a problem to the implementation of solutions… Copyright smart-BA 2008 22

www.smart-BA.com Chain Of Reasoning: There is a chain of reasoning that leads from the sufficient definition of the problem to the sufficient definition of the requirements for the solution. Break any one link in the chain and the rest of the chain is unsupported: un-provable. There are (almost!) infinitely more ways to get a solution wrong than right. BLACK HOLE – projects that get it wrong REQUIREMENTS – wrong until PROVED right…so HOW do you PROVE that? Change Requirements must be assumed to be wrong until they are proved to be right Copyright smart-BA 2008 23

Scope of analysis of change requirements www.smart-BA.com Change requirements can be for (amongst others) Processes Organisation units Locations Channel Data Applications Technologies Non-functionals …oh – and the valid intersections!!! IF: All change projects must consist of changes to business capabilities THEN: all analysis methods must analyse changes to business capabilities Copyright smart-BA 2008 24

Requirements Scope - Example We need to change how we take orders (process)… …by the tele-orders team (organisation unit)… …at our Leeds contact centre (location)… …by phone or email (channel) …to capture alternate delivery addresses (data)… …on the Chordiant system (application)… …running on the intranet (technology)… …and make it available 24/7/365 (non-functional).

All the Links in the Chain Of Reasoning www.smart-BA.com Driver The problems / opportunities that the business face Key Many One Addressed as measured by The measures and targets that will enable us to declare the change project has been successful Project Objective Delivered by Definitions of what changes are required that will affect the measures of success (objectives) sufficiently for the project to be declared successful Change Requirement Driver: Problems that the business must solve Opportunities the business can exploit Rules that the business must conform to …etc Vision: The ideal state of the business after the drivers have been addressed Objective: The measures of success that will DEFINE if a project has been successful: Increase [measure] to the value of … Decrease [measure] to the value of … Maintain [measure] at the value of … Deliverable: The output of a project that affects the Objectives in the desired way. Function Business Procedure Technology Skill Proof of compliance Benefit: Which (and how much?) Deliverable contributes to which Objective Requirement: Functional Non-functional Scope (Org, App and Tech) Data Requirement Benefit: Which (and how much?) each Requirement contributes to which Benefit Business Rule: Process model Data model Rule definition Business logic Requirement Business Rule: Which rules are utilised within which Requirements EXAMPLE: Driver: Don’t know how to get to Olympia on the tube Taxi arriving in 20 minutes My computer is packed up Vision: I have no problems knowing which tubes to get when I arrive at Euston, and where to change, to get to Olympia Objective: I have the knowledge to get me from Euston to Olympia the time the taxi arrives Deliverable: A map of the tube stations from Euston to Olympia Requirement To know which tube line and direction I need from Euston To know at which tube station to change tube trains and lines To know what direction of travel I need To know when I have arrived at Olympia Business Rule The tube line is highlighted for all tube stations The tube lines I need to take is highlighted The tube stations I need to use are highlighted The direction of travel is indicated from any tube station I need to depart from for the relevant tube line Kensington is the tube stop for Olympia Enforces What rules must be implemented by the changes specified in the requirements Business Rule Copyright smart-BA 2008 26

How to forge links in the Chain Of Reasoning www.smart-BA.com How to forge links in the Chain Of Reasoning Key Many One Driver Problem / opportunity analysis Addressed as measured by Specific – there is a precise definition of the objective Measurable – there are units that the objective will be measured in Achievable – the measures can be achieved ‘in the real world’ Relevant –this project will actually affect this objective To-die-for – the project has failed if it does not achieve the objective Project Objective SMART objectives Delivered by Business… Functional… Non-functional… …high level …mid level Change Requirement Driver: Problems that the business must solve Opportunities the business can exploit Rules that the business must conform to …etc Vision: The ideal state of the business after the drivers have been addressed Objective: The measures of success that will DEFINE if a project has been successful: Increase [measure] to the value of … Decrease [measure] to the value of … Maintain [measure] at the value of … Deliverable: The output of a project that affects the Objectives in the desired way. Function Business Procedure Technology Skill Proof of compliance Benefit: Which (and how much?) Deliverable contributes to which Objective Requirement: Functional Non-functional Scope (Org, App and Tech) Data Requirement Benefit: Which (and how much?) each Requirement contributes to which Benefit Business Rule: Process model Data model Rule definition Business logic Requirement Business Rule: Which rules are utilised within which Requirements EXAMPLE: Driver: Don’t know how to get to Olympia on the tube Taxi arriving in 20 minutes My computer is packed up Vision: I have no problems knowing which tubes to get when I arrive at Euston, and where to change, to get to Olympia Objective: I have the knowledge to get me from Euston to Olympia the time the taxi arrives Deliverable: A map of the tube stations from Euston to Olympia Requirement To know which tube line and direction I need from Euston To know at which tube station to change tube trains and lines To know what direction of travel I need To know when I have arrived at Olympia Business Rule The tube line is highlighted for all tube stations The tube lines I need to take is highlighted The tube stations I need to use are highlighted The direction of travel is indicated from any tube station I need to depart from for the relevant tube line Kensington is the tube stop for Olympia Enforces Process model Process specification Non-functional specifications Data model Attribute specification …low level Business Rule Copyright smart-BA 2008 27

EXAMPLE way of documenting… www.smart-BA.com Driver Problem / opportunity analysis Driver: Problems that the business must solve Opportunities the business can exploit Rules that the business must conform to …etc Vision: The ideal state of the business after the drivers have been addressed Objective: The measures of success that will DEFINE if a project has been successful: Increase [measure] to the value of … Decrease [measure] to the value of … Maintain [measure] at the value of … Deliverable: The output of a project that affects the Objectives in the desired way. Function Business Procedure Technology Skill Proof of compliance Benefit: Which (and how much?) Deliverable contributes to which Objective Requirement: Functional Non-functional Scope (Org, App and Tech) Data Requirement Benefit: Which (and how much?) each Requirement contributes to which Benefit Business Rule: Process model Data model Rule definition Business logic Requirement Business Rule: Which rules are utilised within which Requirements EXAMPLE: Driver: Don’t know how to get to Olympia on the tube Taxi arriving in 20 minutes My computer is packed up Vision: I have no problems knowing which tubes to get when I arrive at Euston, and where to change, to get to Olympia Objective: I have the knowledge to get me from Euston to Olympia the time the taxi arrives Deliverable: A map of the tube stations from Euston to Olympia Requirement To know which tube line and direction I need from Euston To know at which tube station to change tube trains and lines To know what direction of travel I need To know when I have arrived at Olympia Business Rule The tube line is highlighted for all tube stations The tube lines I need to take is highlighted The tube stations I need to use are highlighted The direction of travel is indicated from any tube station I need to depart from for the relevant tube line Kensington is the tube stop for Olympia Copyright smart-BA 2008 28

EXAMPLE way of documenting… www.smart-BA.com EXAMPLE way of documenting… Driver Problem / opportunity analysis Addressed as measured by Project Objective SMART objectives Driver: Problems that the business must solve Opportunities the business can exploit Rules that the business must conform to …etc Vision: The ideal state of the business after the drivers have been addressed Objective: The measures of success that will DEFINE if a project has been successful: Increase [measure] to the value of … Decrease [measure] to the value of … Maintain [measure] at the value of … Deliverable: The output of a project that affects the Objectives in the desired way. Function Business Procedure Technology Skill Proof of compliance Benefit: Which (and how much?) Deliverable contributes to which Objective Requirement: Functional Non-functional Scope (Org, App and Tech) Data Requirement Benefit: Which (and how much?) each Requirement contributes to which Benefit Business Rule: Process model Data model Rule definition Business logic Requirement Business Rule: Which rules are utilised within which Requirements EXAMPLE: Driver: Don’t know how to get to Olympia on the tube Taxi arriving in 20 minutes My computer is packed up Vision: I have no problems knowing which tubes to get when I arrive at Euston, and where to change, to get to Olympia Objective: I have the knowledge to get me from Euston to Olympia the time the taxi arrives Deliverable: A map of the tube stations from Euston to Olympia Requirement To know which tube line and direction I need from Euston To know at which tube station to change tube trains and lines To know what direction of travel I need To know when I have arrived at Olympia Business Rule The tube line is highlighted for all tube stations The tube lines I need to take is highlighted The tube stations I need to use are highlighted The direction of travel is indicated from any tube station I need to depart from for the relevant tube line Kensington is the tube stop for Olympia Copyright smart-BA 2008 29

EXAMPLE way of documenting… www.smart-BA.com Driver Problem / opportunity analysis Addressed as measured by Project Objective SMART objectives Delivered by Business… Functional… Non-functional… …high level …mid level Change Requirement Driver: Problems that the business must solve Opportunities the business can exploit Rules that the business must conform to …etc Vision: The ideal state of the business after the drivers have been addressed Objective: The measures of success that will DEFINE if a project has been successful: Increase [measure] to the value of … Decrease [measure] to the value of … Maintain [measure] at the value of … Deliverable: The output of a project that affects the Objectives in the desired way. Function Business Procedure Technology Skill Proof of compliance Benefit: Which (and how much?) Deliverable contributes to which Objective Requirement: Functional Non-functional Scope (Org, App and Tech) Data Requirement Benefit: Which (and how much?) each Requirement contributes to which Benefit Business Rule: Process model Data model Rule definition Business logic Requirement Business Rule: Which rules are utilised within which Requirements EXAMPLE: Driver: Don’t know how to get to Olympia on the tube Taxi arriving in 20 minutes My computer is packed up Vision: I have no problems knowing which tubes to get when I arrive at Euston, and where to change, to get to Olympia Objective: I have the knowledge to get me from Euston to Olympia the time the taxi arrives Deliverable: A map of the tube stations from Euston to Olympia Requirement To know which tube line and direction I need from Euston To know at which tube station to change tube trains and lines To know what direction of travel I need To know when I have arrived at Olympia Business Rule The tube line is highlighted for all tube stations The tube lines I need to take is highlighted The tube stations I need to use are highlighted The direction of travel is indicated from any tube station I need to depart from for the relevant tube line Kensington is the tube stop for Olympia Copyright smart-BA 2008 30

EXAMPLE way of documenting… www.smart-BA.com Driver Problem / opportunity analysis Addressed as measured by Project Objective SMART objectives Delivered by Business… Functional… Non-functional… …high level …mid level Change Requirement Driver: Problems that the business must solve Opportunities the business can exploit Rules that the business must conform to …etc Vision: The ideal state of the business after the drivers have been addressed Objective: The measures of success that will DEFINE if a project has been successful: Increase [measure] to the value of … Decrease [measure] to the value of … Maintain [measure] at the value of … Deliverable: The output of a project that affects the Objectives in the desired way. Function Business Procedure Technology Skill Proof of compliance Benefit: Which (and how much?) Deliverable contributes to which Objective Requirement: Functional Non-functional Scope (Org, App and Tech) Data Requirement Benefit: Which (and how much?) each Requirement contributes to which Benefit Business Rule: Process model Data model Rule definition Business logic Requirement Business Rule: Which rules are utilised within which Requirements EXAMPLE: Driver: Don’t know how to get to Olympia on the tube Taxi arriving in 20 minutes My computer is packed up Vision: I have no problems knowing which tubes to get when I arrive at Euston, and where to change, to get to Olympia Objective: I have the knowledge to get me from Euston to Olympia the time the taxi arrives Deliverable: A map of the tube stations from Euston to Olympia Requirement To know which tube line and direction I need from Euston To know at which tube station to change tube trains and lines To know what direction of travel I need To know when I have arrived at Olympia Business Rule The tube line is highlighted for all tube stations The tube lines I need to take is highlighted The tube stations I need to use are highlighted The direction of travel is indicated from any tube station I need to depart from for the relevant tube line Kensington is the tube stop for Olympia Enforces Process model Process specification Non-functional specifications Data model Attribute specification …low level Business Rule Copyright smart-BA 2008 31

Process execution rules EXAMPLE PROCESS RULES A BA can request one of 4 types of support: Phone or email based query about a specific point Informal review of a project deliverable Formal review of full set of project deliverables Facilitated workshop of how to apply analysis to a specific project 1. In the case of phone or email query about a specific point the BA poses the question and the training provider will provide guidance for how the technicalities of Business Analysis apply to the problem Informal reviews of project deliverables will be done by email and will only discuss the technicalities of Business Analysis in relation to the document Formal reviews will involve the BA sending the full set of Analysis deliverables to the training provider who will critique them from a technical perspective and then deliver the feedback in a one-to-one structured feedback session on the client site Facilitated workshops will be initiated by the BA - the training provider will supply workshop agenda and prerequisites which the BA will use to organise the workshop. The training provider will then facilitate the workshop for the project. Process execution rules Who is interacts with process Where they are Availability of process Volumetrics Performance of process Security & Authorisation levels Non-functional Rules Time to start Training course BA requests support Conduct Training Provide BA support Analysis Phase Of Project concludes Monitor Analysis quality Process dependency rules

Data relationship rules EXAMPLE DATA RULES Attributes Name Start Date Course duration Contact details Content Review feedback Description Course.Start Date Definition: the date/time the course is scheduled to start Data type: Numeric Size: 12 Domain: Datetime Data rules: Format is DD/MM/YYYY HH:MM When created must be in the future Cannot be a Saturday or Sunday or Bank Holiday Data content rules Who is allowed access to the data? How long must this data be kept? How many instances of it must be supported? Non-Functional Rules Course Attends Delegate Support Type receives Supplies Data relationship rules Analysis Deliverable

Requirements – the good, the bad and the ugly… Review and critique: All I want is a flag to identify premium customers We need to complete the project in 3 months for no more than £50,000 We need to be able to store symbols for customer names – remember the Artist Formally Known as Prince? We need access from remote locations We need a diary system.

Break?

Team Exercise: Doing Analysis that Business Analysts do! You are teams of competing providers of Business Analysis. You are bidding for work with a client. They have given you an information pack outlining their understanding of the project. You are to present back to the client sponsor your proposed Project Objectives Project Functional Requirements Project Non-Functional Requirements Be sure that you can justify every one of your proposed objectives and requirements. If you need to make an assumption in order to proceed, document it

Team Exercise: Doing Analysis that Business Analysts do! You can ask about how to complete the exercise, but not about the case study itself. You will only have a maximum of 10 minutes to present the objectives and requirements to the client sponsor. The client sponsor will award the contract based on the quality of analysis (not necessarily correctness) of your proposal. Time allowed: 1 hour Deliverables: Flipchart presentation to client sponsor. Tip: use the formats in the previous slides for documenting your analysis!

REVIEW Key messages Business Analysis – Change Requirements Analysis How much can a poor piece of analysis cost a project – lots! What skills are required by a good BA – analytical skills Most bad BA’s can be turned into good BA’s – training & mentoring and peer group review

Questions?

You are not alone! www.smart-BA.com www.BusinessAnalystSolutions.com Articles Distance learning mentored programme (10 modules) Sample analysis documentation www.BusinessAnalystSolutions.com Classroom based training www.ModernAnalyst.com Excellent BA community Forums www.RequirementsNetwork.com Another excellent BA community www.TheIIBA.org BA professional organisation BA professional qualifications (CBAP) www.BCS.org BA professional qualifications (ISEB Diploma)

mail: Guy@smart-BA.com phone: 07793 231428 www.smart-BA.com If you would like to discuss anything further: mail: Guy@smart-BA.com phone: 07793 231428 web: www.smart-BA.com 2.5 hours Copyright smart-BA 2008