Chapter 1

In This Chapter
Tracking a business analysts role and skills

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Grasping what business analysis is and why its valuable

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Business Analysis in a Nutshell

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Introducing industry guidelines and certification options

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n todays competitive world, companies must always be at their best,

maintain an edge, and capitalize on opportunities for growth. Business
analysis is a deliberate attempt to review operations to ensure that business
is moving along as well as it can and that the company is taking advantage of
opportunities.

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Basically, business analysis is a set of tasks and activities that help companies
determine their objectives for meeting certain opportunities or addressing
challenges and then help them define solutions to meet those objectives.
Sometimes, companies hire outside, independent business analysts (BAs)
to come in and perform the analysis. Other times, they may call upon an
employee to perform BA tasks internally regardless of whether he has a business analyst title. No matter which category you fit into, this book lays it all
out for you.

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In this chapter, we give you a very broad overview of what business analysis
is, introduce you to the business analysis lifecycle, and explain what the
job entails.

Defining Business Analysis

According to the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK) version 2,
business analysis is the set of tasks and techniques used to work as a liaison among stakeholders in order to understand the structure, policies, and
operations of an organization, and to recommend solutions that enable the
organization to achieve its goals.

Part I: Getting Started with Business Analysis

Translation: Your goal as a BA is to understand how companies work and
to enable companies to reach their potential by helping them articulate and
meet goals, recognize and take advantage of opportunities, or identify and
overcome challenges. All of which is a pretty tall order. But the task becomes
more manageable and understandable if you think of it as having two
distinct parts: the goal and the process.
The goal: The goal addresses why youre doing the analysis in the
first place perhaps to improve a companys revenue and services
or to reduce its costs. Think of the goal as the purpose of the project.
In order to determine what the real goal is, you often have to employ
the most frequently asked question in the world of business analysis:
Why? Although we go into much deeper detail later in the book about
discovering the goal of a project, the process really can be as simple as
asking why until youve gotten to the root of the issue. (This fact is
one reason we feel a 4-year-old is the best business analysis professional
around.)
The process: The process involves understanding the how that is,
understanding what the solution needs to do, what it should look like,
and the people or systems that interact with it. The process requires
you to grasp where the company is today and where it needs to be in
order to achieve the goal. During this part, you determine what the
solution should look and feel like and how to make sure its used after
developed. To develop the process, you basically break the goal down
into manageable pieces that you and the company can execute. Those
manageable pieces make up the solution.
In business analysis, you do not actually perform the activities to build the
solution, nor do you actually manage the process to build the solution or test
the solution. Instead, you identify the activities that enable the company (with
your expert help, of course) to define the business problem or opportunity,
define what the solution looks like, and define how it should behave in the
end. As the BA, you lay out the plans for the process ahead.

Knowing Your Role in the Basic

Business Analysis Lifecycle
Business analysis work is done at many levels within a company. From the
chief executive officer (CEO) and vice presidents to the line managers, individuals throughout the company use business analysis activities throughout
their day.
Because folks at all levels view things in terms of a project (a set of steps to
accomplish something), explaining business analysis activities as part of a

Chapter 1: Business Analysis in a Nutshell

project lifecycle (as shown in Figure 1-1) is easy. Although these tasks fall in
a general order, theyre somewhat fluid, as we discuss in later chapters. For
now, get to know this cycle; its at the crux of all things business analysis:
1. Plan the project.
Planning includes creating a work plan or at least thinking through an
approach for the analysis effort on a project, encompassing all the activities you do and the techniques you use. As the BA, your primary role
during planning is determining the scope of the effort; if youre a more
senior BA, you may be involved in project estimation and resource planning. These additional tasks are detailed in Chapter 11.
2. Scope the project.
Defining and documenting the project scope requires you to understand
why the project has been initiated (the project statement of purpose) and
the goals of the project (the project objectives). As the BA, you hold folks
to the project boundaries and analyze the business problem without
jumping to a solution. This step includes clearly identifying the opportunity or problem the company needs to address. Chapter 9 includes
information on how to develop a business case, which also discusses
the problem definition. For more on scoping, flip to Chapter 10.
3. Elicit, analyze, and communicate requirements.
This step is the bulk of what business analysis professionals do at the
project level. As the BA, you actively partake in understanding the real
business needs and finding the root cause of business problems, as well
as communicating requirements to the intended audience. This task
involves categorizing the requirements and knowing how detailed they
have to be to ensure your project is solving the right problem. We discuss requirements in Chapters 5 through 8.
4. Design the solution.
BAs arent typically responsible for this activity; rather, they collaborate with the solution team to develop a solution. Because solution
design isnt a core business analysis activity, we dont cover it in this
book. However, the fact that design doesnt fall to you doesnt mean you
should walk away when the designing starts. Having the BAs available to
support the design and development team is important.
5. Build or buy the solution.
Based on the activities in Steps 1 through 4, the business and project
team make a decision to build the solution internally, have a group outside the company build it, or buy a prepackaged solution. During this
time, your role is to ensure the solution still meets the business need
stated in the project objectives and the business requirements. In addition, you may also start writing test cases and test scenarios for the next
(test) phase.

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Part I: Getting Started with Business Analysis

6. Test the solution.
As the solution is being designed and built, you need to validate that the
business needs elicited during the project are being met. You collaborate with the test team, either as an active tester or by working with the
testing team to ensure the solution meets the stated requirements and
other project documentation. You can find out more about how to test
solutions in Chapter 14.
7. Implement the solution.
After a solution is built, you need to help make sure the business uses
the solution. You actively work with project stakeholders as the solution
rolls out, perhaps as a change agent (advocating the need for change)
and/or to train new users on the system. Part of the implementation
may be eliciting metrics surrounding usability, noting how quickly they
are adapting to the new system, and gauging customer satisfaction. We
cover implementation in detail in Chapter 15.
8. Conduct a post-implementation review.
After the solution has been implemented, you need to make sure the
goals outlined in the project are being met. If they arent, another project may be necessary to address the gap. We detail post-implementation
review in Chapter 14.

Figure 1-1:
A generic
project
lifecycle.
Illustration by Wiley, Composition Services Graphics

Chapter 1: Business Analysis in a Nutshell

Dont confuse the post-implementation review with a lessons learned
process. The latter generally discusses how you can do the project process better, not how well the solution works for the business.

Looking at the Value of

Business Analysis
A popular perception of business analysis is that it makes businesses do
business better. Its simple but true, and BAs are the people who function as
the liaisons between the problems and solutions to make businesses everywhere do business better. Here are just a few of the ways that your performance as a BA can help an organization:
Setting expectations: BAs help stakeholders define a solution for their
problem. After a solution has been defined whether that solution is to
build a four-bedroom, wheelchair-accessible, three-car-garage house or
to improve a business process to reduce costs expectations are set.
The stakeholders (the future homeowners, the business owner/executives, or whoever) expect that whatever actions follow will result in the
solution that was identified.
Improving estimation: Most people dont like surprises when it comes
to time and cost estimates. Performing business analysis helps define
what needs to be accomplished. Having this clearer picture lets organizations do a better job of estimating what their solutions will cost and
how long theyll take to implement.
Better aligning projects with goals/objectives: Because business analysis professionals work on both the why and the how pieces, they can
see when a solution is no longer aligned with the goals and objectives.
Kupe was working on a project where the goal was to reduce employee
time on a specific process for a utility company and therefore reduce
salary costs associated with that process. He identified many parts of
the process that could be automated, thereby reducing employee hours
spent on the process. At one point, Kupe asked how many people performed a particular part of the process and how often, only to find that
one person did it three times per year. Automating that part of the process would cost $10,000 . . . and save approximately 30 minutes of work
time and $12 in salary cost per year. Automating this part of the process
didnt align to the goal of reducing costs, so Kupe convinced everyone
not to automate.
If you discover that the project work is no longer adding value to reaching the goals and objectives of the company, one of the best things you
as the BA can do is cancel the project.

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Part I: Getting Started with Business Analysis

Managing scope creep: Scope creep refers to the phenomenon of bringing in new requirements after everyone agrees on what should be
included in a project. In companies where projects are going on all the
time, scope creep is going to happen. Gain buy-in on the project scope
from all impacted people as early as possible. Then, when scope creep
happens, you can show the impact the new requirements would have so
the business can make an informed decision.
For example, say youre on a project where youre solving a productivity
issue for one department of a company; halfway through, the company
wants to include another department. In this case, you have to review
the original scope with the company and outline how the added department will change the project so the decision-makers can determine
whether to proceed with the change.
Reducing project defects: Business analysis activities detail the rules,
process, and user interactions of the solution. This level of detail helps
provide clear direction for the people developing the solution and those
testing the solution to help ensure that defects are reduced and caught
before the solution is implemented. In a solution that enables customers
to buy products from a website, for example, one of the required conditions would be that the customer must enter a complete address; the
BA would then elicit requirements surrounding the expected experience
from the customers viewpoint: Does the company cancel the order?
Do the customers receive an error message? If so, what does the
message say?
Smoothing the transition to production: Transition as it relates to projects is all about moving from the development and test environment,
where youre building the solution, to the production environment,
where the users are actually using the solution. Good business analysis
includes ensuring the solution will be used in production, which you do
by getting the organization ready for the change and developing a rollout strategy.
Reusing requirements and reducing duplicate solutions: For every
initiative, BAs should be careful not to duplicate requirements underway in different areas of the company. Because you often develop many
solutions at the same time for the same goals and objectives, companies
may well be working on multiple projects trying to accomplish the
same thing.
Kupe was working at an energy company that was trying to improve
the operations of its four real estate divisions. Each division was independently trying to address the same need: updating the real estate
database. By looking outside each individual group, Kupe and a team
suggested combining efforts that could save time and money by focusing on one solution rather than four.

Chapter 1: Business Analysis in a Nutshell

Improving communication within the team: Business analysis activities
boil down to communication. One of the BAs main roles is to elicit and
communicate the true needs of the business so the right solution can be
delivered. Making sure everyone has a clear and consistent understanding of what needs to be accomplished helps ensure all sides are working
together to accomplish the goal.
Increasing customer satisfaction: BAs help address the inevitable
changes a company goes through and can help mitigate any problems
customers may feel as a result of those changes. One of the biggest ways
you as a BA can help is by facilitating communication of the changes to
customers. For example, if the company wants to make a change to its
services or product, you can help it determine what the impact on the
customers will be and how to effectively communicate the upcoming
changes to those affected.

Considering the Skills of a Successful BA

When performing business analysis, you need to be equally proficient in
several skills so you can apply them at different times based on the project
youre working on. But you cant stop there; you also have to know when to
use which skill. The following sections spell out a few skills you need to succeed at business analysis.

Outstanding communication
Communication is integral to everything in business analysis, so you need to
be great at it. BAs operate at the intersection of business problems and business solutions, which means you have to be able to communicate with two
groups of folks that sometimes seem to be speaking different languages. We
cover more on communication in Chapter 3.

Detailed research, analysis, and recording

BAs need to have the curiosity for understanding processes, procedures, and
systems. They shouldnt be afraid to ask questions. If youre consistently the
person in the room with your hand up when a presenter asks for question,
you just may be cut out for work as a BA. Even if you know the subject matter
well, you can still ask questions to understand it in more depth and detail.

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Part I: Getting Started with Business Analysis

That curiosity helps you understand what each person needs from the
project. The key isnt just asking questions of other people; its wanting to
understand all aspects about how something works or what the underlying
problem is. Such curiosity could lead to conducting research on your own to
figure out where the problem exists and then analyzing the issues and barriers that would create an effective solution.

Time management and information

organization
If you ask a true BA when analysis is done, his answer will be Never!
However, the reality is that you have a limited time to complete your project,
so to be successful, you have to be able to effectively manage your work and
be good at setting priorities. Because youll be dealing with a lot of people
and a lot of information, you need to be good at organizing all the information
in a way that lets you recall it when needed to support your communication.
You need to understand which pieces of your elicited information are relevant to which stakeholders and how you are going to use what you found to
communicate your results.

The ability to see the big picture

If you get close enough to an impressionist painting, all you see are brush
strokes. Only as you move away from the painting can you start to see the
image of a cathedral or a picnic. Being able to step away from the project at
hand and see the big picture is crucial for any business analysis practitioner.
You must be able to work on a project while understanding how that project
fits in with other projects in the organization and continues to meet the businesss overall objectives. This macro view is a particularly important skill
because the BA is typically the only person with this vital perspective. Youre
the one who can keep efforts relevant, synergistic, and efficient.
Once, a project Paul was a part of was being worked on by several smaller
areas (or silos, in BA lingo) within one organization. He studied the entire endto-end process including the different silos and discovered that multiple
silos were creating the same data stores when having just one for everyone
to access made more sense. Focusing on the big picture allowed Paul to catch
the issue in time to get things back on track.

Chapter 1: Business Analysis in a Nutshell

Customer-focused and value-driven

perspective
To be a good BA, you must always keep in mind what your customer needs
from you. That probably seems like a no-brainer, but keep in mind that were
not just talking about external customers who purchase your organizations
products and services; were also referring to internal customers from other
departments and even to those on your project team. With any of these customers, you have to make sure that whatever you produce provides value to
the customer and to the project youre working on.

A large BA toolkit
Abraham Maslow, the famous psychologist, once said, I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a
nail. This concept led to the law of the instrument, or overreliance on one
familiar tool.
As a business analysis professional, you need to avoid falling victim to this
law. By having a large toolkit, you can apply the right tool to the situation at
hand. You have to know which tools work best based on the context and the
situation. For instance, if youre trying to model data, the best tool is to use
an entity relationship diagram, not a workflow (more on data modeling in
Chapter 13). If you need to show your stakeholders what your solution would
look like in real life, you use a prototype (Chapter 4). On the other hand, if
stakeholders just need the nuts and bolts and bottom line of the project, you
want to make sure you can write a strong business case (Chapter 9). If youre
trying to make sure your project stays on track and doesnt go out of bounds,
you use your scoping diagram (Chapter 10).
In addition to the business analysis techniques covered in the book, you need
to have a good grasp on the types of solutions specific to your business or
field. For example, if you work in an area that develops web applications, you
want to be familiar with and stay current on the features and functions that
technology can deliver.

Flexibility
Dont worry; nothing about business analysis requires you to take yoga
classes. The flexibility were talking about here is the way you respond to
changes on a project. Flexibility is important because the question isnt
whether changes will occur on a project; its when changes will occur. You
need to be able to roll with the punches calmly and change gears swiftly.

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Part I: Getting Started with Business Analysis

Scope can be expanded, new features discussed, and possibilities tossed
around, all of which may lead to change. Refusing to change along with the
project doesnt bode very well for you as the BA or for the project team as
a whole and may cause project defects. In fact, you probably have to be the
most flexible because youre at the center of the communication. You have
to be able to adapt to changes on a project and adjust accordingly. The more
quickly you accept the change, the more time you have to steer the project in
the new direction.
Flexibility isnt just about being adaptable to changes to project requirements.
You often have to be flexible when the human aspect of your project (such as
team members) changes.

Getting to Know the IIBA BABOK

In 2003, a group of professionals involved with business analysis got together
with a mission to help promote the profession, certify practitioners, and have
a space for the community to share experiences and learn from each other.
Thus, the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA) was born. Today,
IIBA is responsible for maintaining the Guide to the Business Analysis Body of
Knowledge (BABOK Guide). The BABOK Guide describes business analysis
areas of knowledge, associated activities, and the tasks and skills a BA must
do/have in order to be effective.
The BABOK Guide isnt a BA how-to manual (which may be what led you to
purchase this book). Instead, its a framework of six areas of knowledge:
Business analysis planning and monitoring: Figuring out which activities are needed in order to perform the effort contained inside the project scope
Elicitation: Getting information from stakeholders
Requirements management and communication: Engaging the project
team, sponsors, and stakeholders to keep them informed of project
progress, scope alignment, changes to the scope, and the explanation of
requirements
Enterprise analysis: Finding and clarifying the real need to meet the
strategic goals of the enterprise
Requirements analysis: Classifying and prioritizing requirements in
order to develop the solution
Solution assessment and validation: Assessing which of the potential
solutions best fits the business need and assessing the performance and
effectiveness of the solution

Chapter 1: Business Analysis in a Nutshell

In addition to these knowledge areas, the BABOK Guide covers another,
equally important area that isnt considered a knowledge area: underlying
competencies. Underlying competencies are skills an effective BA should have
in order to perform as an effective business analyst. They consist of analytical thinking and problem solving, behavioral characteristics (such as ethics,
trustworthiness, and personal organization), business knowledge, communication skills, interaction skills, and software application knowledge. (Many of
these are the same as/related to the essential skills we discuss in the earlier
section Considering the Skills of a Successful BA.)

Pursuing Business Analysis Certification

Why get certified? This is a question BAs are still discussing on business
analysis chat forums, and there are a lot of reasons why. Basically, though,
it comes down to showing you have the requisite skills and experience to be
effective in performing business analysis in the industry. In other words, a
certification verifies that that a third party the IIBA has recognized you
have the right stuff.
The IIBA began offering certifications in November 2006 and provides an
industry certification that measures a BAs knowledge of the BABOK. IIBA
currently offers two levels of certification: certification of competency
in business analysis (CCBA) and certified business analysis professional
(CBAP). You can find the specific requirements on the associations website
at www.iiba.org.
Many training vendors also offer certifications based on IIBAs business
analysis curriculum. For example, B2T Trainings curriculum aligns with the
BABOK and helps prepare individuals for both IIBA certifications and B2T
Training certifications.
You can find a lot of different certification programs, and the money and time
you spend on them varies widely. For example, some certificate programs
offered by training providers test your knowledge; the cost of earning the
certificate is typically included in the cost of taking the courses. Heres what
these programs often entail:
You need to take a certain number of courses designated by the training
provider.
You may have to pass an exam after each course.
You get your certificate after completing the courses and passing necessary exams.

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Some certification programs involve a little more effort from the student,
including prerequisites such as the following:
You have to have had a certain amount of work experience, complete
with references.
You have to have had some formal BA training.
Other training providers have programs that both test your knowledge and
incorporate a competency portion where you must show you can perform
the work. These programs have a combination of tests and demonstration.
Evaluate certification programs and select the appropriate option based on
your corporate and personal professional goals.