Tag: Business Analysis

Since the 1970s, the role of Business Analysis in software development cycles has gained significant importance. However, the presence of the business analyst has also grown in the web development sphere (especially in larger agencies), but the exact role still overlaps in many departments within larger agencies. This article focuses on the Business Analyst’s role in web and digital development.

The diagram below depicts a typical agency workflow, with the inclusion of the Business Analyst’s role:

Essentially, the onus of a Business Analyst in an agency is to create a functional specification to:

1. Define the scope and get sign off from the client
   This is to eliminate the catastrophe of the lack of agreement between the client and the agency, especially in terms of system functionality and general scope. This can cause immense strain and stress between an agency and its client. Typical strains include resources that have to be rebooked, budgets that dry up, demotivation from production teams and late delivery within the client’s space.
2. Define guidelines to developers and designers
   Functional System Specifications have to be fleshed out in the most detail possible for other team stakeholders such as designers and developers to be fully aware of all the system specifications. 

1. From a design perspective: Ultimately, a wireframe should never limit the designers’ creativity, but rather encourage further innovative thinking by providing a framework for creativity. As reality speaks, budget and time are always on the scale, which does not mean creativity must be undermined, but rather controlled. Designers are thus still allowed to use the wireframes as a guideline, rather than a system set in stone.
2. From a development perspective: Functionality is defined and finalised upon sign-off of the Functional System Specification. It is therefore the duty of the technical lead to ask all questions before the document is delivered to the client. Having said this, if functionality changes due to improvements during design (or other discoveries), then change requests have to be written as addendums to the signed off functional specification.

It is very beneficial for Business Analysts to have a development and technical background so that best practices (for example technology preferences and database design) can be proposed.  It also saves time for developers due to development groundwork that is done before development commences.

In conclusion, it is clear that the Functional System Specifications can be used in the master document for Production and if followed correctly, it will save the agency and the client a great deal of money, time and energy.  

In my next article I will discuss best Functional System Specification guidelines for the modern digital agency.

Don’t forget to leave your comments below.

A center of excellence is a team of people that is established to promote collaboration and the application of best practices. Centers of excellence are emerging as a vital strategic asset to serve as the primary vehicle for managing complex change initiatives.

Centers of excellence exist to bring about an enterprise focus to many business issues, e.g., data integration, project management, enterprise architecture, business and IT optimization, and enterprise-wide access to information. The concept of centers of excellence (COE) is quickly maturing in twenty-first century organizations because of the need to collaboratively determine solutions to complex business issues. Project management offices (PMO), a type of COE, proliferated in the 1990s as a centralized approach to managing projects in response to the challenges associated with complex projects in an environment with low levels of project management maturity and governance.

Business Analysis Centers of Excellence

The business analysis center of excellence (BACOE) then, is an emerging best practice, a new type of center which serves as the single point of contact for business analysis practices. In that role, the BACOE defines the business rules, processes, knowledge, skills and competencies, and tools used by the organization to perform business analysis activities throughout the project life cycle, from strategic planning to project initiation to solution delivery and benefits realization.

As the discipline of business analysis becomes professionalized, it is no surprise BACOEs are quickly emerging. Staffed with knowledgeable business and IT team members, these centers are fulfilling a vital need in organizations today – providing a business-focused home for current business analysis practices, technologies, and emerging trends. The BACOE serves as an internal consultant and information broker to both the project teams and to the executive management team. In addition, the BACOE is responsible for continuous improvement of business analysis practices. To that end, the BACOE continually evaluates the maturity of business analysis and implements improvements to overall business analysis capability.

Implementing the BACOE

Referring again to the BA Practice Framework, we assume you have completed the Readiness Phase, and are now ready to begin to implement the BACOE.

There are several models of BACOEs that are in existence today. Each structure has unique composition, goals and outcomes. The type of center that is most appropriate for your organization depends heavily on the culture, power and politics that exist within your organization. Common BACOE structures include those described in the table below.

BACOE Scope

A truly comprehensive BACOE is broadly scoped to include the services, functions, tools and metrics needed to ensure the organization invests in the most valuable projects, and then delivers the expected business benefits from project outcomes in terms of value to the customer and/or wealth to the organization. A full-service BACOE typically performs the functions described below.

A fully functioning BACOE is capable of providing services across the gamut of business analysis practices. The BACOE mission and objectives are met through training, consulting and mentoring business analysts and project team members, by providing BA resources to the project teams, by facilitating the portfolio management process, and by serving as the custodian of BA best practices. The BACOE generally performs all or a subset of the following services.

• BA Standard Practices and Tools – provides standard business analysis practices

• • Methods – defines the methodology, metrics and tools for use on all strategic projects within the organization.
  • Knowledge management – maintains the central historical data base of business analysis standard tools, processes and business architecture components
  • Continuous improvement – periodically evaluates the maturity of the business analysis practices within the organization, and implements improvements to policies, processes, tools and procedures

• BA Professional Development – provides professional development for business analysts

• • BA career path – along with the Human Resources Department, designs and maintains the BA competency model including titles, position descriptions, functions
  • Coaching and mentoring – provides mentoring services to BAs and project teams to help them meet the challenges of their current project
  • Training and professional development – provides formal skills and knowledge assessments, and education and training for the professional development of BAs
  • Team building – provides team building experiences to project managers, business analysts, and team members

• BA Professional Services – serves as a group of facilitators and on-the-job trainers who are skilled and accomplished business analysts to provide business analysis consulting support including:

• • Conducting market research, benchmark and feasibility studies
  • Developing and maintaining the business architecture
  • Preparing and validating the business case
  • Eliciting, analyzing, specifying, documenting, validating, and managing requirements
  • Managing requirements verification and validation activities, e.g., the user acceptance test
  • Preparing the organization for deployment of a new business solution
  • Providing resources to augment project teams to perform business analysis activities that are under-resourced or urgent

• Full Cycle Governance – promotes a full life-cycle governance process, managing investments in business solutions from research and development to operations. Provides a home (funding and resources) for pre-project business analysis and business case development.

• • Business program management – works with management and the portfolio management team to implement a twenty-first century model that transitions organizations from stand-alone IT project management to business program management.
  • Strategic project resources – provides senior-level business analysts to lead the business analysis effort for strategic initiatives.
  • Enterprise analysis – provides process coordination and meeting facilitation to the portfolio management team. Conducts enterprise analysis activities and prepares the project investment decision package consisting of the business case, the results of studies and other supporting information that provides senior management with a clear understanding of what business results are to be achieved through a major investment.
  • Benefits management – Measures the business benefits achieved by new business solutions; facilitates the adoption of a shared vision of the benefits realization process, manages the investment throughout the project life cycle and after the solution has been delivered.

Putting it all Together

So what does this mean for the Business Analyst?

Today’s BAs are performing their duties in a myriad of organizational environments. Determine where your organization is on the continuum and get involved in moving your BA practice to the next level.

So what does this mean for the BA Practice Lead?

This article presents the case for a BA Practice Lead to examine the organization to determine the best fit for the BACOE. Perhaps a less formal COE is appropriate at this point in time to build the foundation and credibility needed to implement a formal BACOE. Leverage the existing structures and power bases to launch your BACOE, constantly demonstrating the value of a mature BA practice.

Parts of this article are adapted with permission from The Business Analysis Center of Excellence, The Cornerstone of Business Transformation by Kathleen B. Hass, PMP, Richard Avery, Terry Longo, and Alice Zavala. © 2007 by Management Concepts, Inc. All rights reserved.

Don’t forget to leave your comments below.

This is the last of a four-part series exploring whether ‘business analysis’ is art or science. This week we’ll talk about why business analysis is the synthesis of both art and science.

Over the past three articles we’ve asked “Is Business Analysis art or science?”

Cathy Brunsting talked about how the science of business analysis has developed in the past few years, with the advent of the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA), a professional organization dedicated to the profession. The Business Analysis profession now has a body of knowledge and certification, which helps to insure that its practitioners are meeting the standards of the profession. There are new ways to measure the competency level of an organization’s BAs. Plus, there are tools and templates available to aid practitioners in following repeatable processes.

Jeanna Balistreri, Char Ceci and Alan Smith talked about the art of business analysis by demonstrating how the profession requires creativity, communication and other soft skills in order to insure a successful project. They find that Business Analysis is about people and interacting effectively with a myriad of personalities. There is an art to the way that the BA applies available skills and tools that varies from project to project.

In the end, as Greg Kulander had already discovered in his business analysis career, there are elements of both art and science in the successful practice of business analysis. Both aspects are critical to the success practice of business analysis.

Without the science (which brings process, techniques, templates and measurability), the business analysis field would never have become a recognized profession that commands the respect of fellow professionals. Too often in the past Business Analysts (BAs) were perceived as little more that note takers or junior Project Managers because we could not articulate the science and discipline of our profession. There was little effective training and no repeatability in the process. Without science, every new BA would fumble around while gaining the experience and skills necessary to effectively practice the profession – much like Cathy and Greg did early in their careers.

The recognition of the profession from the IIBA organization as well as the CBAP and CCBA certification programs means that employers now recognize that there is science behind the profession which helps the industry increase the value of the BA role. BAs can be trained in the science of their profession and can demonstrate that they have the repeatable skills that are necessary to drive process. We now have empirical evidence to support higher salaries and better career paths for BAs with formal training and professional experience.

However, without the art to recognize that every project is different and that it takes creative skill to successfully navigate all the people, personalities, and pitfalls that all projects face, the science of our techniques and processes would be almost useless. It’s the art that prevents the BA from being ‘just a note taker,’ rigorously filling out our templates, with no real understanding of the problem that the business needs to solve.

By practicing the art of business analysis, the BA adds value to the team and to the process that goes well beyond the science of the profession. The BA becomes a bridge – the ‘hub of the wheel’ – enabling the business users and the IT team to work together collaboratively. The BA helps to insure that the team is developing a business solution that truly meets the business stakeholders needs and is feasible to be developed in a timely way by the IT organization. Practicing the art of business analysis elevates the BA to a leadership role, opening up better opportunities and career paths for the BA.

Science means that as BAs we have process, tools, and templates that bring the ‘state of knowing’ to our profession. Art allows us to use our ‘skills acquired by experience, study, or observation’ to choose the correct scientific tools and then apply our soft skills to insure that our projects are successful. In the end we find that business analysis truly is the synthesis of science and art.

Don’t forget to leave your comments below.

About the Authors:

Jeanna Balistreri is a Sr. Business Analyst at Geneca, a custom software development company. Jeanna has over 10 years of experience in various IT roles such as Project Management, Process Re-engineering and Business Analysis. Jeanna’s core competency is focused on bridging the gap between business and technology in order to help solve business problems through technology solutions. Currently, her focus at Geneca is centered on successfully delivering software through the Getting Predictable principles.

Cathy Brunsting is a Senior Business Analyst at custom software development firm, Geneca (www.geneca.com). She has over twenty-five years experience in all aspects of business analysis, systems development and project management, from project inception to customer acceptance. She is skilled in the analysis of business problems, as well as the design, implementation, testing, and on-going support of technical solutions. Her areas of expertise include Insurance, Interactive Solutions, e-Business Solutions, Financial Systems, Gaming and Lottery Systems, Telecommunications (Operator Console, Voice Recognition, and Call Processing), Order Entry/Subscription Services, and Database Design. Ms. Brunsting was also the founding President of the Chicagoland chapter of the International Institute of Business Analysis™ (IIBA).

Ms. Ceci has over fifteen years experience in all aspects of business analysis and project management. Her proven ability to streamline processes, rapidly define requirements, control scope, mitigate risks, and delegate tasks results in the implementation of powerful systems. She builds high-performing teams with local, virtual and off-shore resources. Known for her excellent cross organizational communication and problem solving skills consistently leads to exceed expectations. Ms. Ceci is a Senior Lead Business Analyst at the Chicago-based custom software development firm Geneca, and plays an instrumental role in the adoption and success of Geneca’s business analysis best practices.

Greg Kulander is currently a Senior Business Systems Analyst at custom software development firm, Geneca L.L.C., and is the Vice-President of Communications for the Chicagoland Chapter of the International Institute of Business Analysis. He has been working primarily as a Business Analyst on software projects since 1999 for such companies as JP Morgan Chase, U.S. Bank and NAVTEQ (now Nokia Location Services). He has helped lead successful projects in government, healthcare and private sector e-commerce, and was a founding member of the U.S. Bank Business Analysis Center of Excellence. He has a Masters degree in Management Information Systems from Benedictine University, and Bachelor’s degree in Marketing. Greg thoroughly enjoys seeing a project go live and watching an organization reap the benefits of well-made software!

Alan is a Senior Business Analyst who works for custom software development firm, Geneca. Alan has 12 years of technology experience working with various Insurance systems, Financial Systems, Telecommunications and Digital Entertainment. Alan is experienced with project definition, business analysis, requirements facilitation and analysis, quality assurance and all phases of testing. Alan specializes in Agile methodology, including XP, Scrum and Lean. Alan holds a Masters Degree in Adult Therapy from Loyola University Chicago. Alan loves building strong client relationships, and showing his clients how their engaged input into the requirements process will make their projects successful.