Skip to main content

Agile Oxymorons

In my previous entry, I argued that the business case needs to be central to the BA’s view of the world, with requirements management being the most demanding in terms of level of effort.

In June I attended and presented at all three BA World Symposium events (Seattle, Denver, and Minneapolis), and I took away a couple of anecdotes that I’d like to share:

  1. Polling my presentation audiences revealed that maybe 10-15% attendees had downloaded the BABOK v2 Draft.
  2. I listened to a discussion about “Agile Analysis based on Web 2.0” – suggesting to me that BAs sometimes work too directly in the solution space rather than the problem/need space….

What does it mean?  Shouldn’t the BABOK have a more prominent role in the lives of those who are calling themselves BAs?  Don’t we, as a community, need to be more diligent about the importance of distinguishing problem space language from solution space language?  Have you downloaded and read BABOK v2?  Are you practicing “agile business analysis”, and if so, to what extent do your agile BA practices depend on specific technologies?

Inquiring minds want to know!  Please take a minute to share your thoughts/comments.  Thank you!

What are Gen X and Y BAs Looking for in Their Careers?

When it comes to choosing a company to work for, Gen X and Y are looking for advancement opportunities.

That was the number one incentive for 96% of respondents in the Gen Y demographic and 90% for Gen X according to a massive survey of almost 3000 Canadian workers conducted by David Aplin Recruiting. And while the survey didn’t specifically address business analysts, there’s no reason to believe that BAs in these age groups are different from the groups at large. Gen Y was defined as those born in 1980 and after; Gen X as those born from 1962 to 1979.

The top ten most influential employment incentives for Gen X and Y are:

  1. Advancement opportunities
  2. Performance-based bonuses, salary increases
  3. Excellent benefits package
  4. New challenges, variety of interesting projects
  5. Pension or retirement savings plan
  6. High salary
  7. Meaningful work, opportunities to make a difference
  8. Recognition, feedback
  9. Flexible work hours, telecommuting
  10. Mentoring, coaching

Are companies offering the things Gen X and Y workers want? Not typically, according to a second David Aplin Recruiting survey of over 1000 Canadian hiring managers. The top two things most organizations commonly offer are support of local charities and a casual dress code, neither one making the employee top-ten list. Less than two-thirds of companies offer the incentives most sought after by Gen X and Y workers.

In addition to offering the incentives that Gen X and Y want most, employers can stand apart from the crowd by offering perks that are in relatively high demand, but very few companies are currently offering them. These include:

  • Signing bonuses
  • Subsidized transportation
  • Free fitness memberships
  • Company stock options

The surveys were conducted over April and May 2008 and included employees and employers from across Canada.


Barrie Carlyle is a Vice-President of David Aplin Recruiting, a Canadian-owned national full-service search firm with offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Mississauga, Ottawa and Halifax, plus affiliates in Montréal and the U.S.

Getting Back to Basics: Fourth Fundamental – Choosing Elicitation Techniques

Since April, I’ve been writing a series of articles for this website about the basic competencies of business analysis. I’ve been doing this for a couple of reasons. First, I enjoy staring at my computer for hours on end and thinking about grammar. Secondly, and more importantly, the enormous influx of available information over the last several years has caused many business analysts to lose track of the core, basic principles of this vital discipline.

So far, I’ve written three articles, which have covered understanding your organization’s overall goals, creating a common vocabulary among your team and identifying the sources from which you’ll extract requirements. For my fourth article, I’ll be covering elicitation techniques.

A Pre-Elicitation Meeting
In articles like this, writers often make things seem easier than they actually are. Therefore, let me caution that there are a number of complications inherent to elicitation. For starters, your customers and stakeholders, with all due respect, likely won’t understand the process that you’re taking them through. Furthermore, because each stakeholder is most interested in his or her individual needs, that individual will be less conscious of the many interdependencies that exist between requirements. To combat this, it’s a good idea to look back at the stakeholder categories you’ve developed (see the third article in this series), sit down with the groups-either virtually or in real life-and walk them through your goals and expectations regarding elicitation. This is an excellent time to establish individual roles and to let them know that you’ll be coming back to them soon, when it’s time to talk validation.

Four Elicitation Opportunities
I recently saw an infomercial for a machine that sorts change.  Simply dump your bucket of mixed-up coins in and it organizes them all into neat, coherent little piles.  I immediately thought of business analysis-particularly requirements elicitation.

Say a client comes to you and says, “Let’s build a rocket!” Immediately after determining that this client is sane, you’d find yourself with a big bucket of mixed-up questions and ideas. What color will the rocket be? Where is a good place to buy rocket fuel? How far into space should the rocket go? Do rocket scientists get paid by the hour? As a business analyst, it’s your job to use the practices we’ve already discussed and requirements elicitation to sort all of those random questions and ideas into neat little piles of requirements that can be used to meet your ultimate goal. Here are four opportunities for elicitation and a look at some of the techniques to consider for each:

1. Enterprise Analysis
Enterprise analysis can help you develop a vision for your potential product or solution. Staying with our rocket-building theme, it’s where you’ll begin to get a sense of what your rocket is going to need to be able to do. Two useful techniques at this stage are brainstorming and surveys. When dealing with a group of experts, brainstorming sessions are effective because the group will have an inherent understanding of logistics and the reality of the situation. Conversely, if you’re dealing with a group of, say, non-rocket scientists, consider conducting surveys. This will help to limit tangents and hone ideas based on the questions you choose to include.

2. Requirements Definition
When defining your requirements, consider joint application design (JAD) sessions. Like brainstorming sessions, JADs work best when dealing with a group of stakeholders who have a high level of subject matter expertise. However, unlike brainstorming sessions, they may run for days at a time and follow very specific agendas. A detailed agenda lets you ensure that all uncertainties are unearthed and that no miscommunications occur.

3. Requirements Analysis and Documentation
Here, as you begin to go deeper into determining the needs and conditions required to build your rocket, analysis becomes vital-as in gap analysis, root-cause analysis and force-field analysis. Gap analysis enables you to identify the “gap” between where you are and where you want to be. Root-cause analysis, which is perfect for the neurotic among us, considers all of our problems and identifies the “root causes” of those problems. And, force-field analysis, which derives from the social sciences, identifies the “forces” that influence progress toward a goal-both positive and negative.

4. Solution Assessment and Validation
With your solution and its requirements in sight, it’s essential to circle back to your stakeholders for validation. As obvious as this may sound, startlingly often, business analysts fail to ensure the validity of the requirements that they’ve elicited. Multi-voting and prototyping will help you build consensus and demonstrate how your solution will materialize, going forward. Criteria-based grids and impact/effort grids are effective, too, as they weigh requirements against formal criteria and rank them in terms of importance and feasibility. 

Next Time – Choosing the Best Modeling Technique
Tune in next month for article number five of five. In this, the exciting series finale, we’ll bring all of the back-to-basics practices together and close out with a discussion of modeling techniques.


Glenn R. Brûlé, Director of Client Solutions at ESI, has more than 18 years experience in many facets of business, including project management, business analysis, software design and facilitation. At ESI, he is responsible for supporting a global team of business consultants working with Fortune 1000 organizations. These engagements focus on understanding, diagnosing and providing workable business solutions to complex problems across various industries. Glenn was formerly a Director at Large for the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA) where he was responsible for forming local chapters of the IIBA around the world.

A First Look under the Hood of the BA/PM Position Family

In the previous article I defined the BA/PM Landscape. That set forth the high-level model of the six positions in the BA/PM Position Family. In this article I’ll set forth the high-level definition of each of those six positions. This will lay a foundation for a more detailed definition of the six positions, a discussion of the skills profile of all six positions and then the details of a BA/PM Professional Development Program. As was the case with the previous article this is my opinion and has not been discussed with any of my business analyst or project manager colleagues.

The responses to the first four articles have been overwhelming. They have been both positive and negative. Being a change management advocate I am pleased with your reactions. My hope is that we can continue the exchange. As always, I welcome opposing positions and the opportunity to engage in public discussions. Your substantive comments are valuable. Criticism is fine and is expected but in the spirit of agile project management so are suggestions for improvement.

I realize that I have taken a controversial position and I do so intentionally. At least I have your attention whether you agree with my position or not.

Professional Development of the BA/PM

In the previous article I offered a first pass at defining the BA/PM position family. Figure1, below, displays the career path for the BA/PM generic position titles. At the Staff Level there are two positions: Team Member followed by Task Manager. Once the staff person has acquired the experience and skills that qualifies them as a professional, they move into the Professional Level as an Associate Manager followed by Senior Manager. At this point there are two separate paths to the Executive Level. The Program Manager position is much like a consultant to the Professional Level positions. The Director position is a people management position. This is a look from a different perspective at the information that was presented in Figure1 of the previous article. With the career path defined, it makes sense to now define the positions themselves.

UnderHood1.png

Figure 1: The BA/PM Position Family

Position Descriptions

First let me clarify my use of the word project. I use it in a very general sense. It refers to business analysis efforts as well as projects not encompassing business analysis activities. At this level the position descriptions need to simultaneously embrace both the project manager and the business analyst. That has put some strain on the choice of language and I beg your patience with that. In time and with the help of BA Times and Project Times readers and others we will converge on the solution.  

Team Member

This is an entry level position into either a project management or business analysis effort.

Key Indicators

  • Relevant two or four year specialized education at entry.
  • May have relevant but limited part time, cooperative education or internship experience. 
  • May have previous experience in a trainee level position outside the BA/PM position family. 
  • Limited experience (12-18 months) in a related position.

Essential Characteristics 

  • Operates within a structured and routinely supervised environment. 
  • After initial training, uses methods, procedures and standards applicable to assigned tasks with less frequent need for direct supervision. 
  • Demonstrates rational and organized approach to tasks. 
  • Has developed sufficient oral and written communication skills for effective dialogue with colleagues and superiors. 
  • Is able to absorb and apply new technical information rapidly when it is systematically presented. 
  • Within a short time horizon, is able to plan, schedule and monitor own work.

Task Manager

This is the upper level staff position for those who are familiar with the scope of their tasks. Task managers do not have responsibility for projects. Their responsibility extends to tasks within a project. They may have team members assigned to these tasks and may receive guidance and supervision from the task manager. It is distinguished from the team member position by the depth and complexity of the technical knowledge base covered, and the extent to which supervision is required. This position implies a high degree of accountability for self-controlled work. It may include a guidance role for the less experienced team members assigned to their task.

Key Indicators 

  • Fully trained Team Member. 
  • Relevant experience in a related position (2-4 years).

Essential Characteristics 

  • Depending on the scope and complexity of the work, operates within a largely unsupervised environment but within a clear accountability framework. 
  • Is familiar with, uses effectively, and can select appropriately from applicable methods, procedures and standards. 
  • Is able to function effectively and productively, and meet time and quality targets across tasks within scope, using available tools, methodologies and/or equipment with reference to others only by exception. 
  • Can assume team leader responsibilities for the work of less skilled professionals. 
  • Demonstrates both formal and informal communications ability; orally and in writing, when dealing with all colleagues and clients. 
  • Is able to rapidly absorb new technical information as required. 
  • Demonstrates a systematic, disciplined and analytical approach to problem solving. 
  • Has a good appreciation of the wider field outside his/her own specialization and has developed a good broad understanding of computer systems and techniques. 
  • Understands how the specific role relates to the relevant are of employment, to its clients and to the employing business as a whole.

Associate Manager

This is the lower of two levels in the professional category. It will normally be achieved after clear evidence is available of full competence in a specialized role. At this level, full technical accountability for work done and decisions made is expected. The ability to give technical or team leadership will have been demonstrated as well as a high degree of technical versatility and broad industry knowledge. Will often manage major parts of projects and be responsible to the project manager or have project management responsibility for simple projects.

Key Indicators 

  • 12-18 months experience as a task manager. 
  • Recognized as a professional by their peers. 
  • Is capable of successfully managing simple projects.
  • Does not have direct management responsibility for staff.

Essential Characteristics 

  • Takes responsibility either for substantial technical decision-making or for teams of staff. If the latter, demonstrates the basic qualities associated with team leadership and project management. 
  • Is thoroughly familiar with the available tools, methods, procedures and/or equipment associated with specialization. Possesses adequate technical depth to make correct choices from alternatives in all areas. 
  • Is able to apply selected tools and techniques in such a way as to meet set targets of cost, time, quality and performance. 
  • Is able to communicate effectively, both formally and informally, with all those with whom working interfaces arise, whether they are colleagues, clients or customers. 
  • Shows initiative and makes time available to ensure general competencies are up to date and in line with the development of the individual. 
  • Possesses a clear understanding of the relationship of any specialized role to the context in which the work is carried out. More generally, this understanding applies to the employer’s business and the needs of those who will use the end product.

Senior Manager

This is the upper of two levels in the professional category. It will normally be achieved after 2-4 years experience as an associate manager and clear evidence is available of full competence in a specialized role. At this level, full technical accountability for work done and decisions made is expected. The ability to give technical or team leadership will have been demonstrated, as well as a high degree of technical versatility and broad industry knowledge. Will manage complex projects and often be responsible for managing the activities of associate managers who function as sub-project managers.

Key Indicators

  • 2-4 years experience in an associate manager position. 
  • Recognized as a professional by their peers. 
  • Is capable of successfully managing complex projects. 
  • Will often have direct management responsibility for project staff.

Essential Characteristics 

  • Has demonstrated a basic understanding of the consulting role and has acted in such capacity as requested. 
  • Demonstrates mastery of the qualities associated with team leadership and project management. 
  • Is thoroughly familiar with the available tools, methods, procedures and/or equipment associated with specialization. Possesses adequate technical depth to make correct choices from alternatives in all these areas. 
  • Is able to apply selected tools and techniques in such a way as to meet set targets of cost, time, quality and performance. 
  • Is able to communicate effectively both formally and informally with all those with whom working interfaces arise whether they are colleagues, clients or customers. 
  • Shows initiative and makes time available to ensure general competencies are up to date and in line with the development of the individual. 
  • Possesses a clear understanding of the relationship of any specialized role to the context in which the work is carried out. More generally, this understanding applies to the employer’s business and the needs of those who will use the end product.

Program Manager

This position represents the level associated with the mature, relevantly experienced and fully capable professional. Such a person is fully accountable for work quality as a technical specialist. He/she possesses the background knowledge and experience to make informed and responsible decisions, which are both technically sound and take the needs of the organization fully into account. They will be expected to advise and coach professional level staff and are respected for their ability to do that.

Key Indicators 

  • No or very limited consulting experience at entry. 
  • Has previous experience offering informal advice and support to less qualified professionals. 
  • Has some peer recognition in a defined area of expertise. 
  • Usually works under the direction of a more senior consultant.

Essential Characteristics 

  • Has defined responsibility for all technical decision-making within the scope of specialization. In so doing is expected to recognize and take appropriate action with respect to any safety-related applications within scope. 
  • Shows mature qualities of leadership in meeting targets of time, cost, quality and performance within projects of substantial value to his/her employer. 
  • Communicates effectively, both orally and in writing, with subordinates, colleagues, clients and customers at all levels of seniority. 
  • Shows mature understanding of the relationship of his/her specialization and/or project responsibilities to the undertaking as a whole. Is able to propose solutions within the scope of his/her expertise. 
  • Shows initiative and makes time available to ensure general competencies are kept up to date in line with industry developments.

Director

This is the most senior management level position in the BA/PM Position Family It is the level occupied by the most senior manager of a business function or unit in organizations where operating effectiveness (and possibly survival) is heavily dependent on the function or unit and where large numbers of practitioners are deployed. A wide and deep practical knowledge base is called for, accompanied by mature management qualities.

Key Indicators 

  • Director of a critical business unit or function in a large organization. 
  • Frequently will have visibility and direct contact at the board level. 
  • Advises and leads the organization in strategic initiatives within their area of responsibility.

Essential Characteristics 

  • Has defined responsibility and authority for decision-making or an advisory function having a direct bearing on the work of a business unit or major function. In carrying out these responsibilities, recognizes and ensures that all appropriate actions are taken with respect to any safety-related applications within scope. 
  • Has a technical background of sufficient depth and breadth to be able to recognize and successfully exploit opportunities for effective development or usage of their area of expertise, and lead and manage fully experienced reporting managers. 
  • Demonstrates a high level of presentation skills applicable to all levels of audience. 
  • Plays a senior role in formulating strategy and policy. 
  • Has specific management responsibility for a specialized activity, which normally includes full budgetary and policy implementation authority for a significant overall function, or a significant segment of a larger unit.

Putting It All Together

Obviously this is a work in progress. I have participated in the development of similar structures for the IT professional but not for the BA/PM professional (or PM/BA if you prefer). Much remains to be done. I welcome a partner from the BA side to work with me in this challenging and valuable pursuit. It is my hope that I have launched this effort in a direction that ultimately will make sense across the entire BA and PM professional landscape. I would certainly like to hear your thoughts on the BA/PM professional or PM/BA professional, if you prefer. I’m sure we could have a lively discussion. I promise to respond personally to every email and to incorporate your thoughts in succeeding articles. You may reach me directly at [email protected].


Robert K. Wysocki, Ph.D., has over 40 years experience as a project management consultant and trainer, information systems manager, systems and management consultant, author, training developer and provider. He has written fourteen books on project management and information systems management. One of his books, Effective Project Management: Traditional, Adaptive, Extreme,3rd Edition, has been a best seller and is recommended by the Project Management Institute for the library of every project manager. He has over 30 publications in professional and trade journals and has made more than 100 presentations at professional and trade conferences and meetings. He has developed more than 20 project management courses and trained over 10,000 project managers.

Group Dynamics and Requirements Elicitation

As an information technology professional, developing your business acumen is important. One of the skills you need is the ability to facilitate. In your case, it is all about “facilitation for elicitation of requirements” to solve business problems. In working with groups, there are a number of dynamics that the facilitator needs to be aware of. It is helpful if you consider the different group characters and how to deal with them.

The Isolator
This is that one person who remains outside the group or is thinking about previous topics. Consider spending time helping people get acquainted or have discussions using pairing and triads. Provide opportunities for debriefing or summarizing what was discussed. Get the participants involved.

The Monopolizer
We all know this person. They monopolize the time and focus of the group. Be clear on your expectations, use your body language to hurry the speaker or, when they take a breath, say “thank you” and ask for other comments. You can also use a parking lot to write their points down. It is best not to interrupt. However, it is OK to watch for the talkers to draw a breath, and then attempt to regain control by leaping into the instant of silence this creates. Move fast, but speak softly and gently.

The Facilitator as Expert
As the facilitator, you should never set yourself up as the expert. You are there to understand the requirements and help establish direction. Consider avoiding answering every question yourself by letting group members respond to each other. Do not feel obliged to comment on everything that everyone says. Reduce your own authority by sitting down with the group.

Group Sharply Divided
This is where the groups are together physically but not together in interests or point of view. Mix the group up and get people to move around the room. Put them in new requirement work teams and assign the groups a specific relevant task to complete.  Have team members present and then debrief. If a solution cannot be reached, get agreement to park it! Make sure you ask the group if they feel comfortable moving on even though the issue dividing them is not settled. Be prepared with several group exercises, tools and techniques. Most important; keep cool, detached, and unhurried. Use a light touch.

Antagonistic Duo
These are the two people exchanging negative vibes and making everyone uncomfortable. Confirm that the conflict is positive and ask them to continue their disagreement. Set the stage by moving them closer together, arrange other group members as observers, and establish a scribe. Most importantly make explicit ground rules for conflict. Ask group members for feedback. Get everyone involved by taking the issue away from the duo by saying, “You have highlighted an important issue for us.” Here is an exercise for the entire group to participate in that continues exploring these issues, but in a different way.

The Cozy Duo
Here two friends are choosing to give each other comfort. They are making side conversations. This is not alright. The best solution is change the teams and rearrange the seating locations at a break to split the cozy duo up. Position the change as an opportunity to get a different perspective.

Unresolved Members
People are not engaged. It happens. Sometimes people do not understand why they are participating; they never wanted to participate; they just do not care or maybe they are bored. Break time! Check the thermostat and drop the heat in the room. Maybe change things around. Consider a group exercise, a short controversial video on the topic, Have the group brainstorm on a new agenda and create consensus. Be brave and leave the room while they do it. The break may help you to refocus and help them to become more active.

Highly Defensive Group
In this case the group members have erected barriers to protect their personal or professional images. This is about self-preservation. You need to get people talking and sharing in a low threat way. Move slowly with no pressure. Focus on facts and intellectual work for a time, gradually introducing small amounts of selective attitude. Avoid role-playing. Be open to revealing more about yourself.  Sometimes this sets the stage for other people to reveal information.

The Big Group
If the group has many members and no sense of inter-relatedness, be prepared to use pairs, triads and work groups. Rearrange the group into round tables so they can see one-another. Get people discussing specific related topic. Make sure you walk around the room making contact with people. Establish “associate facilitators” to manage the different groups. The larger the group the more ground rules, definition of roles and leadership required. Avoid feeling and attitude work with large groups. Keep people on track.

The most important thing as a senior professional, business analyst, manager or leader in developing your facilitation skills is to have fun and enjoy the process. Find ways to enhance being a facilitator and applying requirements elicitation best practices. Develop your group dynamic skills along with the tools and techniques of requirements elicitation. Remember to leverage the group’s unique character and get the members engaged.


Richard Lannon is an international business and technology industry veteran turned corporate speaker, facilitator, trainer and advisor. He specializes in aligning the enterprise and technical skills to common business objectives. Richard helps organizations and professionals identify what’s important, establish direction and build skills that positively impact their bottom line. He provides the blueprint for your organization to be SET (Structured, Engaged and Trained). His clients call him the SETability Expert. He can be reached at [email protected] or 403-630-2808