Tag: Agile

Why Business Agility Starts with Strong Data Governance

Written by Chethan Laxman on June 9, 2022. Posted in Articles.

Data is now one of the most valuable assets corporations own, yet, it is still often treated as a waste product.

As data increasingly guides decision-making and digital advances automate business processes, so the integrity of data assets becomes more important. All organizations, regardless of size or sector, need to shift from viewing data as an inconvenient cost center to an asset that is reliable, accessible, secure and usable. To ensure organizations can proactively manage their data in all its disparate guises and locations, they need a structured approach with defined rules and policies governing how it is handled and stored.

The Case for Data Governance

Bad governance is costly. Poor data management impairs an organization’s ability to conduct business, whether that involves managing customers, delivering timely products, spotting market opportunities or operating as efficiently as possible.

Gartner predicts that through 2025, 80 percent of organizations looking to advance their digital business will fail because of their outdated approach to data and analytics governance. If that estimate is correct, businesses are actively missing opportunities and putting themselves at risk.

What Barriers Do Businesses Face?

Faced with increased internal demand for answer to complex questions combined with external pressures to demonstrate value and ROI, organizations are turning to data for the answers. However, harnessing data to deliver actionable insights starts with improved data stewardship. Furthermore, amid a rapidly changing regulatory climate, data management and governance are also critical to ensure businesses don’t fall foul of their regulatory obligations.

Establishing Good Data Governance

Good data governance is about creating a system of data management that addresses all these challenges. Few data and analytics leaders would disagree with the push factors for data governance, but market unpredictability and the sheer pace of innovation has made it harder to benchmark data governance efforts and establish best practice. Having invested in data and analytics, business and IT leaders now urgently need to ensure good governance in order to meet their goals of operational efficiency, increased growth or improved CX.

Establishing a data governance framework is a multidisciplinary exercise. It requires strategic input, data engineering, cloud management, data privacy and compliance expertise. Whether a business is setting up data governance systems from scratch or amending existing processes, there are four guiding principles that can help them wherever they are on their digital maturity journey.

Align Data Governance to Business Goals

The most common pitfall for data governance projects is the failure to match the mission statement to business goals. It may sound obvious but quantifying the business value of the any information transformation required is essential to success. Too often data governance has been perceived as something carried out by the data people, far removed from the rest of the business. However, when business and IT leaders fail to align their thinking at the strategy and goal-setting stage, they risk ending up with tactics and metrics that do not reflect business goals.

Example: metrics that measure data transformation (“X data points de-duped, Y data points corrected”) rather than linking data quality or data management to customer experience.

Establish a Data Governance Blueprint

Does the business have a holistic view of the information requirements by each business process and stakeholder? Amid shifting regulatory requirements and growing data volumes, it is easy for a data governance framework to get outdated. Focus on establishing clear stewardship of data, information, business and security risk. Once data requirements are understood, identify a data management roadmap to organize, maintain and sustain the underlying data so it can deliver the capabilities identified in your blueprint.

Leverage Technology and Automation

Improving data integrity at speed is achievable through smart tool selection. In the burgeoning RegTech sector, for example, there are many examples of solutions that address the need to comply with regulations such as GDPR, KYC and anti-money laundering (AML); bolster security using biometrics, 2FA, blockchain and AI; and automate unnecessary, expensive manual interventions in the data management lifecycle.

Embrace a Cross-functional Approach

Formalizing cross-functional teams for data governance is an important first step to strong data stewardship. Balanced decision-making, which involves weighing up (IT, security, compliance) risks against business opportunities, is the hallmark of true multidisciplinary collaboration, but it only happens if everyone’s committed to the same goals. Training and education are good for raising awareness of issues around data integrity, but don’t go far enough. The next step should be to involve teams in data accountability, transparency and ethics discussions and foster a more data-centric, collaborative culture as a result.

Compliance and Competitiveness Drive Governance

In industries such as healthcare and BFSI, strong data governance has become an imperative in order for these organizations to adapt to changing regulatory environment. Regulatory volatility has made it much harder for these organizations to improve data integrity in a timely manner across business functions. Pioneering organizations in these sectors have led the way with strategies that prioritize an active data governance approach, leveraging cross-functional decision-making and the latest automation technologies to adapt to changing environments fast.

Compliance has been a key driver for data governance until recently but now companies are beginning to understand the importance of data stewardship for value generation as much as risk mitigation. Any business that is committed to its digital transformation goals around improving data-driven decision-making – indeed any business that has invested or is planning to invest in data and analytics – should make data governance a major focus for 2022.

Business Analysis | Role or Capability?

Written by Tiffany Wiley on March 31, 2022. Posted in Articles.

I love this question! It opens the door for so many different perspectives (which is key in our line of work). Before we answer this, let’s start with a story.

A recent employer pulled me aside after about 2 weeks on the job (as a contractor) and said “We’ve been told that we don’t need business analysts on this project. I’m curious what your thoughts are on this?” Despite my obvious hesitations with wanting to keep my job and income, I said “That’s probably right. However,…” and I went on to explain that while a person sitting in that role/title isn’t necessary, the function is. It is critical to have someone performing the business analysis activities to ensure a successful solution delivery – digging into and understanding the business and user needs, the problems they are facing, understanding the value that they are seeking, etc. Generally speaking, developers are busy developing, QA engineers are typically busy testing, etc., so someone needs to do it.

I do believe this open and honest discussion is a big reason why I was converted from contractor to permanent employee. They trusted me enough to ask the question and I trusted them enough with a thoughtful answer.

What is a Business Analyst and what do they do?

This is sort of a loaded question in my opinion. There are so many variations out there in the job world. Some people have the title of Business Analyst but don’t really perform typical “BA” activities (as outlined in IIBA knowledge areas). While some have different titles but are neck-deep in the strategy analysis, solution assessments, etc.

The IIBA Defines it as:

The Business Analyst is an agent of change. Business Analysis is a disciplined approach to introducing and managing change in organizations, whether they are for-profit businesses, governments, or non-profits.

The global community on Wikipedia defines it as:

A business analyst (BA) is a person who analyzes and documents the market environment, processes, or systems of businesses.

When talking to family and friends, I usually describe it as “I work with people and teams to understand what they need, want, and why. What problems they have and how they currently go about solving those problems. So that I can help define possible solutions. The solution could be new technology, a new process, new data reporting, organizational structure, etc.” While most of us know that there is a LOT more to it than this, that’s a decent elevator pitch to those who truly have a minimal-to-no understanding of the function.

Why is there so much confusion about BA’s? Let’s take a closer look:

Can you have the BA title but do something else?

Yes, you can. While there are market standards, companies are free to title jobs in any way that fits their organization. At times, these titles may not match with the wider job market. Because of this, there are situations where people do get the title of Business Analyst but aren’t performing the typical “business analysis” activities. This can create a lot of confusion and headache at time of job searching for both candidate and employer.

Can you perform BA duties and not have the BA title?

Also, yes. In many cases, people are performing Business Analysis activities while having other job titles – and some have no idea that what they’re doing is considered business analysis. For example:

Have you ever investigated potential tools to use for a project or need?
Have you ever helped your team/a team define problems they have with a current process?
Have you yourself identified problems with a current process and defined a new one that would address issues/gaps?
Have you help identify individuals that may be impacted by an upcoming change?
Have you helped to facilitate a brainstorming session?
Have you done a current-to-future state analysis?
Have you made a process flow to articulate how something is done?

Guess what…each of these are business analysis activities. And frankly speaking, most of us in a professional setting has performed these activities before. And in most cases, regularly!

So even if you don’t have a title of Business Analyst, you probably still have the experience!

Circling back to the original question: Role or Capability?

The answer is both – it can be a role and a capability.

While I believe having the business analysis capability is far more critical than a title, sometimes if feels good to be able to call yourself a business analyst as well.

Set your project up for success and make sure you have someone performing business analysis activities (even if you must call them something different)!

Goldilocks And The Three BAs

Written by Christina Lovelock on March 9, 2022. Posted in Articles.

Once upon a time, there were three BAs, they all wanted their analysis to be “just right”, but what does that actually mean?

Balancing Act

‘Just-enough’ and’ just-in-time’ sound like straightforward concepts, but how much is enough? This very much depends on the context and the needs and preferences of your Goldilocks. We always want our business analysis outputs to be accurate, but we also need them to be proportionate and appropriate to the situation.

So ‘enough’ business analysis means: establishing clear expectations and exclusions, sufficient breadth and depth of investigation, engagement with representative stakeholders, utilization of suitable analysis techniques, and a focus on creating analysis outputs and assets that meet a specific purpose.

We can look at the characteristics of ‘over-analysis’ and ‘under-analysis’ to help test the balance, and ensure our analysis efforts and outputs are just right.

The First BA: Over-Analysis

This BA finds it difficult to know when their analysis is ‘finished’.

We can always speak to one more stakeholder or hold one more workshop! It is easier to frame analysis outputs as ‘sufficient to meet the purpose’ (which may be to inform further activities, share knowledge, facilitate agreement, enable decisions, etc.) rather than ‘finished’. We must also remind ourselves that new information will always emerge, this does not mean our analysis was wrong but reflected what was understood at that point in time. The purpose of the analysis is to increase knowledge and test assumptions. Some assumptions will be proven wrong, and new perspectives will emerge.

The characteristics of over-analysis:

Feeling overwhelmed and experiencing Analysis Paralysis
Too much detail, no summary or high-level routes into the detailed analysis
Endless meetings/discussions/workshops with no progress
Number of requirements out of control
Too much focus on edge cases
No prioritization of analysis effort
Repository of unread documents
Total reliance on BA to navigate the analysis, opaque to others
Regularly finding duplication of requirements or analysis assets
Audience for analysis outputs unclear
Being ‘90% done’ for weeks or months.

The Second BA: Under-Analysis

This BA does not challenge assumptions or apply analytical thinking.

Stakeholders may have low expectations of this BA, treating them like an order-taker or scribe. When we accept a very narrow role or are told we cannot deploy the full range of analytical techniques required for the situation, the quality and veracity of the resulting analysis will be compromised.

The characteristics of under-analysis:

Always engaging the same small group of stakeholders
No stakeholder analysis
Solution pre-defined
No clear problem definition
Applying a very limited range of analysis techniques
Only creating user stories
No consideration of edge cases
No templates or reuse, always starting from scratch
No peer-review by other BAs
Process-view only, no consideration of data
Technology view only, no consideration of business
Opinion over evidence, deference to HiPPOs (Highest Paid Person’s Opinions)
No challenge of ideas/assumptions/processes
Undocumented assumptions
Writing things down with no critical thinking or analysis.

The Third BA: Just Right

This BA understands the audience and purpose of the analysis and is confident in the business analysis skills and techniques which will achieve the required outcome.

A key aspect of creating analysis outputs that are accurate, appropriate, and proportionate is agreeing on who will use the analysis and for what purpose. It then entails considering possible routes to achieving that purpose, how the analysis will be carried out, and getting further agreement on that approach.

A ‘definition of done’ for the analysis deliverables is very valuable, and creates a shared understanding and agreed set of expectations from all stakeholders.

Questions for getting analysis just-right:

WHY am I doing this? What is the purpose of the analysis?
WHO am I engaging with? Who is missing? Are the stakeholders representative and proportionate? Are they appropriate for this stage? Who will use what I produce?
WHAT am I creating? What format, what length, what systems will I use?
HOW will I approach the analysis? What business analysis techniques will I apply? How will I select techniques that are appropriate to the audience, timescale, and other constraints? How will I ensure I am producing analysis and not simply documentation? How will I achieve validation and approval of the analysis deliverables?
WHEN is the analysis needed? What can be achieved in that timeframe, what cannot be achieved? What constraints does that place on the engagement and investigation? What dependencies exist?
WHERE will the analysis be shared and stored? How can I ensure transparency and increase engagement?

Conclusion

The first BA is drowning in the detail and doesn’t know where to stop. The second BA is doing what they are told, and not bringing analytical tools and thinking to the situation. The third BA is asking a lot of questions, and quite possibly annoying people who think they should ‘just get on with it’, but certainly has the most chance of producing analysis outputs that are useful and valued.

The recipe for getting business analysis just right is to be aware of the characteristics of over and under analysis, to apply a suitable range of analysis techniques which explore multiple perspectives and to understand the expectations of Goldilocks.

How can I make my work more visible as an Agile BA to my team and organization?

Written by Jamie Toyne on February 23, 2022. Posted in Articles.

Photo by Lala Azizli on Unsplash

Something I often hear from other BAs working in multi-disciplinary Agile teams is that their work sometimes seems invisible. Or at least, less visible when compared to other professions. To put that in context, designers will likely be mocking up various designs that they develop and share iteratively. Devs regularly build and release new features. Content designers produce content to be published.

However, as BAs, especially in an Agile environment it can be difficult to see similar types of tangible output. Of course, you’ll have probably been involved in defining various backlog items and likely some modeling of the business or its processes, as well as facilitating numerous workshops to find out information. But these individually maybe aren’t as ‘visible’ or as tangible to many in the same way as when compared to some of the outputs from other professions.

This is where it can be useful to take a step back to think about our role. The primary responsibilities of Business Analysts aren’t to create designs, content, or code. Very briefly, we’re there to understand how things work, work out the gaps, break down complexity, align initiatives to wider org goals and help articulate a clear specification of what needs to be done. Ultimately this enables decisions to be made, challenges thinking, and helps solve problems. These collectively, enable value to be created, as well as being the basis for many other professions to create their stuff.

So, what can you do to make our work less invisible and more visible? Luckily quite a lot, here are some suggestions on how we can shine the spotlight more on what we do;

Shout about your successes in retros — for example, talk about how your work enabled a particularly important decision to be made or how modeling a specific part of the business has identified something no one in the team was aware of before. Maybe add the impact of not finding this out.
Show and tells, town halls, basically anywhere you’re showing the work you’ve done as a team in an open forum — if you’re currently in a Discovery or Alpha phase it could be sharing what you have discovered and what that has enabled, or if you’re in Beta, it could be mentioned that through undertaking something like root cause analysis has helped to find a solution to a specific problem.
Introduce a BA Service Framework —that helps to articulate the value of business analysis as a set of services in the context of your organization. If you’re not familiar with the BA Service Framework, I’d strongly recommend checking out the BCS publication ‘Delivering Business Analysis: The BA Service Handbook’ by Debra Paul and Christina Lovelock. (I’ll be sharing more on this topic through my LinkedInprofile over the coming weeks).
Work in the open (where possible)— if you’re in the office, this could be just placing analysis outputs on walls in your huddle spaces, or if you’re using collaboration tools such as Miro or Lucid — then make sure they’re open for all those in your team to see. Encourage comments and conversation about them, and don’t worry about them being perfect.
Talk about tasks with a clear mention of why you’re doing it— whether you’re using post-its on a Kanban board, putting tickets on Trello, or just talking it through in a stand-up. Be clear on the task you’re doing and the purpose behind it. For example, ‘understanding X piece of legislation so that we design and deliver a compliant service’, is significantly clearer than just saying ‘doing research’.
Write blogs and articles — if you can and time allows, get in the habit of sharing successes of how business analysis has helped to reach a consensus or challenged thinking on a particularly complex topic. Maybe it’s solved an important problem for your users. Whatever it is, look to use the appropriate medium to tell your story. This may mean publishing an article on an internal space such as an Intranet, or if the subject allows, publishing an external blog.

Thanks for reading, let me know your thoughts by getting in touch on LinkedIn. It would be great to hear if you use any of the approaches above and how you find them, whether you’ve been using them for a while or if it’s something new you’ve tried after reading this article. Similarly, please share if you have found another effective way to make your work ‘more visible’, that isn’t listed above.

Who is in, and Who is Out

Written by Divya Kishore on January 20, 2022. Posted in Articles.

Imagine attending a meeting, and all the participants but you, are contributing ideas to a discussion. You are clueless. Maybe you missed a conversation, or you did not read an email? There could be numerous reasons why you could not contribute during the meeting. One instance could be that you were not included in an email chain or not invited to a meeting.

Leaving recipients off unintentionally (or intentionally) from any form of communication can lead to confusion and misunderstanding between the team members. A little bit of proactive questioning can help avoid hits and misses. Ask these questions first:

Who should and should not be on a meeting invitation?
Who should and should not be on an email chain?

The obvious answer is: It depends

Next, ask these additional questions to finalize the list of recipients. Evaluate the responses before hitting the send button:

What is the email or meeting topic?
Would skipping a team member in an email or meeting lead to miscommunication?
Will including all the team members make a few of them feel that the meeting was irrelevant to them?

You can answer the above questions by leveraging these options:

RACI (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed) matrix: RACI matrix can be a great source of stakeholder information for global projects.

For example: List the Responsible parties under the To list or Required Attendees. List the Informed parties under the Cc list or Optional Attendees.

Working Agreement: No RACI matrix? An Agile team working agreement can come to the rescue. Define who are the core team members. Refer to this list when sending out any email communications or meeting invites.

Tip: Core team can be cross-functional with stakeholders across the organization.

Email distribution list: Say the team size is small (4 to 6 members) and there is no RACI matrix or working agreement, then create a distribution list that includes the email IDs of all the team members. It is less effort and error-proof when selecting a list instead of individual email IDs for sending any form of communication.
Instant messaging group chats: Most instant messaging tools allow the setup of groups. Create one for your team and post a message in the team chat. Plus, there are options for the recipients to acknowledge the chat message (emojis such as like, happy, celebrate, and such).

In conclusion, despite the ideas mentioned above, there are chances that someone is still left off an email chain or a meeting. Be a team player, reach out, and get them caught up. The crucial element is that the entire team is on the same page.