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Tag: Methodologies

BATimes_OCT20_2022

Introduction to the Jack Method: Trees and Stories

Written by Igor Chebanenko on . Posted in Articles.

This is the farmer sowing his corn,
That …
…
That …
That lay in the house that Jack built.
An English nursery rhyme

A jack is a connector that installs on the surface of a bulkhead or enclosure.

 

The Jack method comprises techniques and concepts for comprehensive root cause analysis, scope modelling and requirements management. It is underpinned by the following principles:

  • ‘Simplicity – the art of maximizing the amount of work not done – is essential’ (Agile)
  • ‘Assume variability; preserve options’ (SAFe)
  • ‘Divergent and convergent thinking’ (Design Thinking).

The core techniques –Jack Trees and Jack Stories – are presented in this article.

The analysis is based on the Case study ‘The Good Kitchen’ where Danish government was concerned that Denmark’s seniors in assisted living facilities or residential care units had poor nutrition (https://thisisdesignthinking.net/2016/05/the-good-kitchen/).

Jack Trees

Intro:

Jack Trees are the key element of the Jack method. It allows to perform analysis in ambiguous environments with limited access to subject matter experts. Promoting identification of unexpressed assertions, it creates a traceable structure of requirements ranging from solution-agnostic business needs through to detailed specifications. Jack Trees are a perfect tool to make conversations with stakeholders productive, and to enable confirmation what’s in scope and what’s out.

Theory:

A Jack Tree is a hierarchical list of statements that follow a specific format:

  • Each statement delivers an unambiguous (and therefore short) message
  • A statement contains an action and an object
  • Statements in the hierarchy relate to each other as ‘one to many’
  • The statement of the higher level is called an ‘objective’, of the lower – an ‘option’
  • Statements are formulated in a way that options address the objective
  • The highest statement in the hierarchy usually corresponds to a Business Need, the lowest statements are usually acceptance criteria or specification items
  • Each statement can serve as an objective or an option depending on the depth of analysis.

To shorten the definition, a Jack Tree is a hierarchical list of action statements where each objective has at least two solutions.

To create statements, the Semantic Analysis and Minimum Meaningful Message techniques can be used (it will be described in a separate article).

Mathematically, a Jack Tree is a Directed rooted N-ary tree. Hence, specific properties such as terminology, relationship cardinality, isomorphism, calculus, etc. are inherited and can be applied to the Jack Tree.

Example of a Jack Tree branch may look like:

  • Improve quality of food
    • Increase meal nutrition
      • Add supplements
      • Increase meal size.

Algorithm:

The Jack Tree is all about alternatives. Each statement is to be challenged for an existence of a concurrent option. Alternatives are being identified and grouped under objectives, and objectives are reviewed to be matched, renamed or split, until the desired outcomes are achieved.

The ideal Jack Tree represents a logical flow of statements explaining how different levels of objectives can be addressed by a number of options. Every option is unique even if it looks the same – where there are identical or similar option statements, they still relate to different objectives providing a different context. It is also important to mention that it is never the only variant possible for the Jack Tree, as the analysis view can be changed based on new findings or analysis focus.

The short algorithm of a Jack Tree creation is as follows:

  • Create a semantically refined statement (action + object)
  • (↓ ‘look down’) Treating it as an objective, devise at least two solution options to address it
    • Where nothing comes to mind, try using the ‘Do nothing’ option
  • (↑ ‘look up’) Treating it as an option, devise an objective the option can be addressed by it
  • Refine wording where needed – it promotes solution-agnostic formulation
  • Continue moving up or down the Jack Tree, adding branches, objectives and options till the desired analysis granularity is reached
  • Consider the Jack Tree completed when requirements are detailed enough.

Once the Jack Tree is created, all options need to be reconfirmed with appropriate stakeholders. Talking through the options will evoke highly valuable insights on what the current and future states are, along with confirming the scope.

It is imperative to note that knowing what’s in scope is as important as knowing what’s out of scope. The Jack Tree technique gives a perfect indication of that.

Additionally, it is practical to use a ‘Do nothing’ option as an alternative where applicable. However, ‘Do nothing’ is an option that also requires an action, and should be equipped with associated acceptance criteria or specification, e.g. ‘Continue spending $1,234 monthly on support’. This allows for more careful scope considerations.

Application:

Building a Jack Tree can be started from a requirement of any level, looking up (confirming or generating possible objectives) and down (decomposing solution options to the desired level of granularity). It doesn’t matter how the requirement is obtained – through elicitation or formulation. In our case the possible initial requirement can be:

  • Increase meal nutrition.

It is quite easy to identify immediate solutions for the requirement – this is how our brain usually works. So let’s go with:

  • Increase meal nutrition
    • Add supplements
    • Increase meal size
    • Increase calories.

All second-level options satisfy the requirement by answering the question ‘What do I need to do in order to <objective>?’, e.g. ‘In order to ‘Increase meal nutrition’, I need to ‘Add supplements’.

Now let’s look up and check the correctness of the objective for every specified option: ‘If I <option>, would it <objective>?’, e.g. ‘If I ‘Increase meal size’, would it ‘Increase meal nutrition’? We can see that the objective and the options correlate perfectly.

Note that any of the options at this level can be broken down further (e.g. ‘Add supplements’ can at least be broken down into ‘Add vitamins’ and ‘Add minerals’).

Now, let’s test the ‘Increase meal nutrition’ statement as an option that has an objective. What purpose can this solution serve? What alternative would this solution have? Do all devised solutions correspond to the objective?

Please note that the most obvious answer ‘Improve health’ brings too broad spectre of solution alternatives:

  • Improve health
    • Increase meal nutrition
    • Visit a health resort
    • …
    • Do physical training.

It’s a signal that additional iterations are required to clarify and narrow down the Jack Tree branch.

After multiple iterations of the algorithm, a Jack Tree similar to the one below can be created:

  • Improve quality of life for seniors
    • Improve dining experience
      • Satisfy dining habits
        • Have dinner alone
        • Have dinner in a company
      • Improve quality of food
        • Increase meal nutrition
          • Add supplements
          • Increase meal size
          • Increase calories
        • Change food type
        • Change quality of ingredients
      • Make meal appealing
        • Improve meal taste
          • Change cooking method
            • Sear food
            • Steam food
          • Use spices
        • Improve meal appearance
          • Use separate boxes
          • Use pre-arranged meals
        • Improve range of dishes
          • Construct custom meals
          • Collect pre-orders
          • Introduce menu
          • Have multiple options cooked
        • Change food type
          • Change food consistency
          • Satisfy diet restrictions
            • Vegetarian
            • Gluten-free
            • Fasting
          • Improve food preparation process

Note that the analysis organically revealed true business needs confirmed by the actual Use Case, e.g. attention to cultural, reputational and behavioral aspects, and changing the cooking practices.

Unlike the costly and lengthy group effort during ‘The Good Kitchen’ initiative, the above analysis could be done by just one analyst within a day or two. This is where the real power of the Jack method resides.

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Pros & cons:

A Jack Tree has commonalities with different techniques and concepts, but it has a number of advantages that are unique:

  • Identifies true business needs
  • Promotes solution-agnostic view
  • Establishes full traceability
  • Allows to operate with insufficient data
  • Provides a holistic Product view
  • Visualizes the scope not done
  • Clearly communicates the solution context
  • Promotes clarification of stated requirements
  • Allows for staged prioritization
  • Allows for effort estimation on different paths
  • Gives awareness of the entire backlog
  • Identifies gaps in analysis
  • Allows for algorithmic processing.

Once understood and adopted, the Jack Tree technique doesn’t provide any immediate downsides. Every challenge that occurs during the analysis, essentially improves the holistic understanding of the product, which is always beneficial.

Jack Stories

Intro:

A Jack Tree provides perfect input for traditional User Stories, and also promotes a specific story format – Jack Story, the technique that is part of the Jack method.

Theory:

The traditional format of the User Story is:

As a <Role>
I want to <Option>
So that I can <Objective>

As a Business Owner,
I want to Add supplements
So that I can Increase meal nutrition

When the role is insignificant or vague (which is often true for system-related requirements), an Enabler story format can be used:

IN order to <Objective>
WE need <Option>.

IN order to Increase meal nutrition
WE need to Add supplements.

A Jack Tree can immediately generate numerous conventional User Stories/Enablers, joining together Options and Objectives. Several stories may have the same ‘So that I can’ part, emphasizing different options for implementation that satisfy the same objective. This often happens ‘in the middle’ of the branches where options are being actively explored but haven’t got to the specification level yet.

However, the brevity of Jack Tree formulation may adversely affect the level of context provided. To alleviate this, a Jack Story can be used.

A Jack Story is a format of the requirement that traces an option to all its objectives up to a desired level. To build a Jack Story, a minimal Jack Tree branch needs to be created. Once the Jack Tree is available, the traditional formats of stories can be converted:

As a Business Owner,
I want to Add Supplements
So that I can Increase meal nutrition
So that I can Improve quality of food
So that I can Improve dining experience
So that I can Improve quality of life for seniors.

The same exercise can be done for the Enabler format.

A Jack Story gives a lot of additional context and indicates the way the logical considerations have been put into analysis.

Generally, the notion that a User Story is a Jack Story indicates that:

  • There exists a hierarchical list of options (Jack Tree)
  • Each statement in the story has been considered for an alternative
  • The story purpose is understood and is traceable back to the highest known element in the hierarchy (up to a Business Need).

It is not hard to notice that the Jack story format application for traditional stories is clunky and doesn’t sound natural, especially for longer constructions, or when the user focus is changed.

A new format of the story-like requirements format is therefore proposed. Analyzing the semantic structure of a solution option in the Jack Tree, we can see that it is represented by an Object and an Action. Breaking down the first option, and leaving objectives as is, the format of the Jack Story is:

This is the <Object> I want to <action on> (Option)
To <Objective 1>
To <Objective 2>
….
To <Business need>

This is the supplements I want to Add
To Increase meal nutrition
To Improve quality of food
To Improve dining experience
To Improve quality of life for seniors.

The Jack Story is the most natural and accurate representation of the Jack Tree requirements.

Empirically, when working on user stories organized in Epics, on average just 2-4 levels of requirements hierarchy are sufficient to provide enough context in the Jack Story. This makes Jack Stories more readable, concise and referable.

Pros & cons:

Jack Stories are a representation of the Jack Tree, and inherently obtain many advantages:

  • Fully compliant with INVEST criteria:
    • (I)ndependent – each option in the Jack Tree is an alternative that can be developed independently
    • (N)egotiatable – Jack Tree provides a variety of alternatives that can be selected on their own or broken down further until satisfiable
    • (V)aluable – each option in the Jack Tree has a reason to exist, therefore the value is well defined
    • (E)stimateable – looking up and down the Jack Tree gives a perfect idea of what an option comprises, thus making it easy to estimate
    • (S)mall – Jack Story formulation is dependent on the scale of view, and can be as small as needed for the development iteration
    • (T)estable – because Jack Stories are intrinsically short, Acceptance Criteria are an integral part of it.
  • Solution-agnostic at the high level, very descriptive at the detailed level
  • Short and concise, it fits easily on a story card and is easy to communicate
  • Naturally traceable
  • Unique and helps to keep the scope from creeping
  • Translates requirements easily from Waterfall to Agile
  • Promotes categorisation and critical thinking.

Along with the pros, there are some cons:

  • Requires creation of the Jack Tree
  • May need additional description and/or Acceptance Criteria
  • Not widely accepted hence requires explanation.

Jack Method

 

Jack Stories/Trees are powerful techniques for solution options analysis, especially when access to stakeholders is limited. To excel the method additional original concepts and techniques can be useful:

  • Semantic analysis
  • Minimum Meaningful Message
  • Traffic Lights (Semaphore).

The method makes scope better defined, requirements more structured, and prioritisation easier, contributing to the value of Business Analysis.

BATimes_OCT06_2022

Best of BATimes: Business Analyst Jobseeking tips – Acing The Interview

Written by Adrian Reed on . Posted in Articles.

Published on: January 7, 2021

The business and economic environment is incredibly tough right now, and I know from conversations with some of my connections that it’s a tricky time to be a BA jobseeker.

 

Competition is rife and it can be a challenge to know how to really shine in a job interview.

I recently facilitated a webinar panel session with Michelle Shakesheff and Saffron House (two senior BA managers) on this very topic.  This article summarizes some key takeaways from that session, with a few of my own thoughts added in for good measure.  It’s important to keep in mind that I’m based in the UK, so I’ll be reflecting on the expectations for job interviews here—I am sure expectations differ across the world so be sure to check out other articles and resources too.

Preparation Is Everything

When it comes to a job interview, preparation is everything.  There are many aspects that need to be considered, including the three ‘Rs’: Research, Role & Rehearsal.

Firstly, if you’re serious about working for a particular organization, then it’s crucial to research it.  This doesn’t have to be time-consuming, can be entirely ‘desk-based’ and is an opportunity to use a range of strategic business analysis tools.  You’ll want to check out the organization’s website, if it’s a large organization it’ll probably have an annual report.  What is its stated mission and strategic objectives? What are its stated values? Techniques such as VMOST can be useful for helping us to understand where a company is heading.  Approaches such as STEEPLE are excellent for brainstorming external factors that might affect the organization.  You might want to assess what you consider to be the biggest external opportunities and threats to the organization.  Utilizing these (and other) techniques alongside general research will provide a picture of the types of project that a company is likely to be undertaking.  You’ll pick up the language of the industry and organization, you’ll be well-placed to give specific answers to any strategic questions that the interviewer asks even if these don’t crop up, you’ll be well-placed to ask a relevant question about the organization’s strategy.  You’ll also get a sense of whether this is a company that you’d fit into and actually want to work for!

Secondly, there’s the role. Read every detail of the job description, person specification and whatever artefacts you can get your hands on.  Think back to your experience and be prepared to give an example for every skill or competency that is listed.   One senior manager I used to work with always advocated creating a table to systematically work through a job description, breaking it down into its component parts and adding an example against each.  If you do this, you’ll have the right example on the tip-of-your-tongue and won’t hesitate if a question crops up.  Here’s an example:

Requirement on job spec

My example

My contribution

The outcome

Process modeling & analysis

XYZ Project: analyzed 25 processes, proposed improvements. Used BPMN.

Led process discovery, as-is and to-be modeling. Resolved conflict through workshopping.

All processes were implemented. Stakeholders loved the new processes as they’d been involved throughout.

Resolving conflict

ABC Project: Removal of permanent desks.

Ran a prototyping session so ‘hot desking’ workers could see the benefits.

Stakeholders who were reluctant became advocates.

Analyzing business rules

Etc.

Etc.

Etc…

Finally, there’s the rehearsal.  I remember hearing polar explorer Allan Chambers speak over a decade ago.  He gave the sage advice ‘never take your body somewhere your mind hasn’t been’.  This applies for interviews too: take your mind to the interview room (or virtual interview room).  Imagine the types of questions you might encounter, formulate your response, and say them out loud.  What is the first thing you’ll say to the interviewer?  You’ll get different questions on the day, of course, but you’ll feel more confident and prepared and your answers will likely be slicker and well-informed.   This brings us neatly to our next topic, questions.

 

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There Are No “Top Ten” Interview Question Lists

Although this might sound disappointing, there really aren’t any “standard” BA interview questions.  There might be patterns that crop up, but the questions are going to vary depending on the specific requirements for the role.  It’s also highly likely that there won’t be a “right answer” to any particular question—put yourself in the shoes of the interviewer and think what are they trying to understand from this question?  And don’t be afraid to ask for clarification.  It is genuinely hard to create unambiguous interview questions, and speaking personally, whenever I’ve been involved with interviewing candidates I take requests for clarification as an extremely positive thing. After all, BAs ought to be clarity-seekers!

It’s also important to answer the question that’s asked, not the one that you might have hoped the interviewer has asked.  I’ve fallen into this trap myself in the past, and I can tell you it doesn’t end well… However, if you’ve considered the different areas of the job specification and have examples for each area you’ll be well prepared to pivot and adapt on-the-fly.

A word of warning here. One trait that seems to be common amongst most BAs I’ve ever met (myself included) is the tendency to say “we”.  As BAs we work with others, and a success is a team success.  This is fine in most circumstances, but job interviews are a place to say I as well as we.   By all means discuss what the team achieved, but remember the job interviewer is going to want to know what you contributing.  Hearing “We created and prioritized a backlog” is interesting.  Hearing “I worked with the PO and coached them on the user story format. We experimented with different formats, but settled on user stories with some attached scenarios and acceptance criteria, which I wrote on behalf of the PO…” is more useful.  Precision is great.

Talking of precision, frameworks can act as a common language.  Being familiar with industry frameworks such as IIBA’s Business Analysis Body of Knowledge guide (or whichever is relevant for your context) can help.  Using industry standard terminology such as requirements elicitation, strategy analysis, requirements lifecycle management and many, many more besides will help ensure that you and the interviewer are on the same page.  Of course, it’s likely that the organization will have its own internal framework.  If you’ve been able to learn about that in advance through your research, then use those terms too.

Remember: An Interview Is Two-Way

It might seem like an interview is purely for the employer, but this is far from the truth.  It’s also you’re opportunity to assess whether the organization is a good fit for you.  Do the interviewers treat you respectfully?  Do they keep failing to turn up for the interview at the last minute without explaining why and then re-arranging?  Keep in mind that an employer that treats candidates without due respect may well treat employees similarly.

On the flip side, you may well find you get on fantastically with the interviewers, and all of your instincts are that this is the job for you.  Be sure to take the opportunity to ask the interviewer questions too.  You might ask them about the size of the team, the challenges they are facing—this might be a chance to showcase the research that you’ve done and ask them a specific question about the strategic direction of the organization and how it impacts the BA team.  Choose the right questions for the context, and use it to learn about the organization and the role.

Conclusion

Job interviews are nerve-wracking, but those nerves push us to prepare and perform well.  Remembering the three Rs: Research, Role & Rehearsal, thinking about the questions that might be asked and remembering an interview is a two-way process can help.

BATimes_Sep28_2022

Improve Prioritization Using a Combination of Techniques

Written by Steve Jones on . Posted in Articles.

Software development projects have a long history of unsuccessful delivery for myriad reasons. A lack of success is often determined by what didn’t make it into the final product release; like a core functionality, while some enhancement items did make it in. This begs the question, “Why weren’t all of the core capabilities the focus until they were complete?”

Rarely does everything in the requirements get implemented, so knowing the core capabilities is necessary to keep from getting derailed by enhancement requests. When a project includes multiple stakeholders, it isn’t uncommon they end up fighting for the wrong thing as it relates to the project, “their stories.” What gets lost in all the fighting over each stakeholder’s “priorities” is the real goal – achieving the right outcomes for and by the project.

 

What’s the problem?

TLDR:  There are challenges when using just one prioritization technique to provide guidance of what to work on next.

User stories and requirements can be prioritized using several different techniques (Ranked Order, MoSCoW, Scaled, $1/$100, High/Med/Low, Story Mapping, Weighted Shortest Job First [or WSJF], to name a few), with different benefits and drawbacks to each of them.

 

  • Ranked order, i.e., setting out to identify the explicit order to be worked, is a very time-consuming challenge. Changes, whether from business decisions or technical limitations, can happen at any time during the project and cause a reshuffle every time they occur.
  • Using fixed amount methods to prioritize, such as the $1 or $100 methods, are good at giving clear indications of importance by virtue of the highest number. Fixed values limit the number of stories that can be created without resorting to restructuring the whole valuation system. On reviews and revisits, any change forces a recalculation of many stories.
  • Categories produce multiple stories with the same value (many ‘High’ or ‘Must have’) that do not always provide enough information to know priority. When there are so many with the same value, it forces a break in the effort to know what should be worked on next, unless a tie-breaking method is already defined.
  • Story Mapping helps manage the big picture of the project since it displays all themes / activities of users. The themes and activities are ordered along a top row, then broken down into smaller stories and ranked in priority. Early in the project, the number of stories and ranking effort is focused, more easily identifying high value functions / stories.
  • Weighted Shortest-Job First, WSJF (pronounced wiz-jif), rates each story on business value, time criticality, and risk reduction / opportunity enablement (the business valuation, known as ‘Cost of Delay’), as well as factoring in the IT effort to deliver the story. With several criteria getting a valuation for each story, it becomes easier to see the highest business priorities to work on next. This can still mask the core needs that must be delivered.

 

Another challenge to prioritizing arises with many of these techniques when new stories are added. Sometimes a key requirement is missed during early analysis or through story decomposition and story splitting. Other times, demonstrations of work inspire new requests or research identifies a new need. How are the new stories valued, ranked, categorized? Do the newly added stories all get the same value as the original when split or does the ranking need to be done again? What becomes of highly valued stories which are just enhancements? Enhancements may have higher business value than some core technical stories. Some of these techniques handle additional stories more easily than others.

 

Maintaining prioritization is a challenge in itself

Capturing all this prioritization detail can be a frustrating challenge but maintaining it over time is just as frustrating. If you have a software tool that can automatically adjust rankings, some of these techniques may not be as much of a problem. But what if you are using physical cards or sticky notes to keep it all organized? It becomes a tedious task to manage the series, which will drive some to stop updating after a while, especially after repeated changes. Choose your method of prioritizing wisely, you will likely use it often.

 

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How do we solve it?

Story Mapping is an effective approach to keeping an eye on the big picture goals without getting lost in the details. This is beneficial as it provides a more complete end-to-end view of the project, in addition to providing a view of the lower-level details in accompanying stories. Each of these stories can then be identified as a core ‘must have’ vs a ‘nice to have’ enhancement.

Combining multiple techniques simplifies project priority determination. For example, utilizing the business valuation portion from the WSJF does a good job identifying the value for any given story. The valuation can be used for easier ranking without the need to constantly revalue everything below (see Figure 1). In addition to identifying the value of each story, it is very helpful to identify what is needed for core delivery and what is enhancement. When splitting a story, make sure core functionality is clearly differentiated from what may be an enhancement.

Figure 1.

 

Taken in combination, stories are identified as a core delivery need or enhancement AND with each story’s individual business value (the number inside the ovals in Figure 1). While there may be enhancement stories with high value (sometimes viewed as the next shiny new thing), they may not be core functionality. Keeping the high-level view of core delivery items distinct from enhancements enables the focus to stay on outcomes. This perspective can be crucial to maintaining reasonable prioritization efforts in limiting unnecessary re-work of rankings, and identifying enhancement stories to address after all the core functionality is complete.

In the end, using more than one technique to manage project and product priorities ensures that the team is focused on getting the right overall outcomes, instead of persistent debate over individual stories. Practice quality communication and utilize your tool kit to experiment in finding what works best with your stakeholders and team.

 

BATimes_Aug17_2022

Prepping Project Tech: A BA’s Guide to Finding the Right Technology

Written by Noah Rue on . Posted in Articles.

Technology helps business analysts — and the companies with which they work — thrive. However, that depends on how well a business analyst implements tech trends to incite growth.

Finding the right technology to optimize your duties as a business analyst and catapult a business to its next level is the hard part. Fortunately, this post can help. Let’s look at five modern tech trends that business analysts can use to help facilitate growth.

 

Internet of Things (IoT)

IoT refers to physical devices connected to the internet on a shared network and the technology that enables communication between these devices. IoT also collects data on the way these devices are used.

Many devices are connected to the internet these days. An ATM, for example, is one of the most common IoT devices used in the finance industry. Instead of needing a banking associate, you can conduct much of your financial business at an ATM. You can even save your preferences to streamline your interactions going forward. This wouldn’t be possible without IoT.

IoT is beneficial for business analysts because they typically use multiple tech devices at once. You want it to be easy to transmit and sync information across all your devices to ensure you’re making decisions with the most up-to-date information, no matter where you’re accessing it from. Essentially, business analysts can use IoT to take full advantage of a digitally connected world.

 

5G Networks

The internet is an integral part of navigating your personal and professional life as a business analyst. 5G networks are growing in popularity not only because they are helping more people get online, but also because they offer secure, reliable, high-speed internet connections. With access to high-quality internet, you can have constant, quick access to the digital tools you need to incite growth and improve business efficiency.

You can also better connect with internal teams and external audiences when you use 5G. For example, let’s say you’re working with an educational institution and you’re tasked with analyzing the budget to find where to cut costs. In that case, you will want a fast, secure network connection due to the confidentiality needed when working with educational and financial information.

You want to ensure that when you access sensitive data, the information isn’t vulnerable to cybersecurity threats because you’re using low-quality internet. 5G is also beneficial because you can communicate seamlessly with your team by tracking tech sign-offs, holding brainstorming sessions, and fielding questions.

Consider purchasing a 5G service if you want to use the internet with peace of mind and speed.

 

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Machine Learning

Machine learning is a type of artificial intelligence. It uses data and algorithms to learn — and, eventually, mimic — human behavior from experience. Computers or software essentially learn to do what humans do without direct programming.

For example, machine learning is incredibly impactful in agriculture. The data collected is used to predict the quality of crops, reduce food production costs, and find defects in the irrigation system.

Business analysts can leverage machine learning to collect, process, and analyze vast sets of business data. As a result, you can pull more meaningful business insights from the information that prompt better decisions throughout the organization.

 

Automation Tools

Automation tools require little human intervention to carry out various tasks. Almost any business in any industry can find a use for automation tools. The tasks well-suited for automation are typically repetitive and mundane in nature.

For example, the healthcare industry uses automation software to queue up automated calls to remind patients of scheduled appointments. Email sequences and data collection are often automated in medical facilities, as well.

Business analysts can use automation tools to help streamline their repetitive tasks. You can also implement them in the businesses you work with to improve operational efficiency and free up team members’ time for more crucial projects.

However, implementing automation tools in any team’s workflow may be met with pushback. Many employees will hesitate because they fear that automation tools, such as artificial intelligence, will replace their jobs. However, you can get staff on board for tech transformation by sharing the bigger picture. In this case, that would mean showing them how the tools are intended to enhance their work rather than replace it.

 

Smart Devices

There isn’t an industry that can’t benefit from the responsible use of smart devices. Smart devices are intelligent, electronic devices that can connect to the internet, Bluetooth, apps, wireless connections, and other digital devices. Smart devices also interact with the person using them.

For example, you can connect your smartwatch to your smartphone and share data between the two. Both can also monitor specific vitals of the person using them, like blood pressure and heart rate, to reveal important health information.

You can absolutely hop on smart devices to facilitate growth as a business analyst. When you can access your work on devices that understand how you work, your decision-making and efficiency improve.

 

Conclusion

Business analysts need technology to succeed. You don’t have to adopt every technology trend you come across. Instead, thoroughly research each trend and weigh it against your needs to ensure it will help you and your clients blossom if you decide to implement it.

BATimes_June13_2022

Establish Your BA Practice from Scratch

Written by Lawrence Dong on . Posted in Articles.

I have had the opportunity to establish BA practice within an organization a few times. After first time doing BA practice establishment, I have summarized a toolkit for myself, which in turn helped me setting up BA practice more consistently and effectively. If you are looking to set up your own BA practice, regardless of the organization that you work at, I believe you can benefit from this industry-agnostic BA Practice framework.

 

Element 1: Streamlined Onboarding

Well began is half done. Onboarding starts when offer is accepted. Trigger IT equipment and system access provision process as early as practical. Consider including any additional productivity equipment, such an as additional monitor, in the IT equipment provision.

The week before new joiner commencement, give them a call to understand their need, questions or concerns regarding onboarding. A phone call, although old-school, will give the new employee a good human-to-human style start. On or prior to day 1, send out all business unit wide email to announce the new starter.

Schedule one-on-one “causal catch up” at the start time on day 1, and project introduction meetings right after, to make new starter feel welcome and cared into new environment.

Make sure you do everything above in a remote-friendly way. Remote working is here to stay.

 

Element 2: 90-Days Action Plan

If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Planning is always the best quality assurance. Set up a 90-day plan with the employee and you both stick to it. Focus on both performance and professional development. Regularly review progress with your new starter.

 

Element 3: Scheduled Communications

“A manager in need is a manager indeed.” (by Lawrence Dong). To avoid the situation that you are too busy to attend to your employees’ needs, schedule communications in advance so that you will have time for this important matter. Apart from the performance review conversations, the most obvious communications opportunities include:

  • Manager/Employee 1:1
  • Regular team meetings

Set them up in an appropriate and recurring way.

 

Element 4: BA Skill Matrix and Career Levelling

Business Analyst, like most other jobs, can and should be measured at work. For all the right reasons, it is critical to provide a fair and equal path to everyone. In order to give a chance to everyone’s career progression, it is fundamental for the manager to acknowledge the existence of different career levels and skill levels among their employees.

An example of career levelling could be:

  • Junior BA
  • Intermediate BA
  • Senior BA
  • Lead BA
  • Etc.

And an example of skill matrix could be:

  • Requirements gathering (1 out of 3)
  • Process mapping (2 out of 3)
  • Stakeholder management (3 out of 3)
  • Etc.

It is worthwhile to mention that the entry criteria of a particular career level may consist of more than skills and deliverables. Behaviors and collaboration are equally important, if not more.

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Element 5: Templates and Processes

Consistency is key to high quality customer experience. With BA templates and processes put in place, effectively there is less room for confusion in “what should be delivered and how”. Just make them easily accessible to the team.

 

Element 6: BA Services Catalogue

Business analysis work is sometimes dynamic and self-evolving. From a SDLC perspective, BA’s may benefit more than other from a well-defined BA Services Catalogue, whenever there are questions about the boundary of their roles and responsibilities.

 

Element 7: Knowledge Sharing

Sharing is caring. A regular knowledge sharing forum is a great addition to the regular team meetings, where team members can have the podium and be empowered. When a team member feels empowered, they will be more creative, and everyone involved will feel the positive chemistry.

 

Element 8: Coaching and Mentoring

“Coaching” and “mentoring” look similar, but a lot of people understand the obvious difference. Coaching is quite performance driven and short-term based, while mentoring is more development driven and long-term aimed. What’s subtle is that mentoring requires a none conflict of interest communication, which means people managers are least appropriate mentors to their direct reports. However, a great support people managers can to is to encourage and even help their employees find a good mentor.

 

Element 9: Training and Education

It is somehow a “moral contract” between permanent employees (and the likes) and the employer that training and education will be made available when and if required.

Therefore, it is the manager’s role to identify the required training and education opportunities that will strengthen the skills of individual employees.

 

I hope you have got some inspirations now to use the industry-agnostic BA Practice framework to guide your future team and capability management. If you demonstrate commitment to your employees by building a mutually beneficial BA Practice, consistency will be created, and employee engagement will be elevated. Win-win.