CAEC 11A – Strategic Business Analysis

Module 4 – Analysis of the Current State

and Vision on the Future State of a Business

LEARNING OVERVIEW
OBJECTIVES
After studying this module, you should be able to: The module includes a discussion on how the
current state of an organization is evaluated and
a. Understand the importance of knowing the how the result of the evaluation helps the business
current state of a business or organization organization to thrive in their respective industry.
and its future.
Understanding the structure of a business can also
b. Familiarize the concept of current state be a key in formulating solutions that can be used in
analysis the innovation or in tackling the challenges that are
currently being experienced.
c. Discover how the vision for the future of an
organization affect its goals and objectives The vision for the future of a business can serve as a
foundation in attaining greater heights that indicates
how a company aims to be a leading entity in their
chosen field.

TOPIC
OUTLINE
ACTIVATING
1. The Current State of a Business
a. Examining the current state of a PRIOR KNOW LEDGE
business
b. Understanding the structure of a To understand the importance of knowing the
business current state of a business, one must also
c. Methods in analyzing the current understand the basics of it. Analyzing a business’s
state current state is similar to self-evaluation wherein a
person examines how are they coping-up with their
2. The Future State of a Business
current environment.
a. Describing the future state of a
business
Self-awareness can be applied in a business
b. Determining solutions
c. Scope of identified solutions scenario. Familiarizing the strengths and
d. Managing the expectation of weaknesses and identifying the opportunities and
stakeholders, stating the current threats are some o the contents of SWOT analysis.
capabilities and how to acquire
capabilities With this being stated, come-up with a list of your
own which focuses on the strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities, and threats about the learning
scenario that everyone is experiencing right now.

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Module 4 – Analysis of the Current State and Vision on the Future State of a Business | Page 1 of 7
 COMMON THEMES AGAINST THE CURRENT STATE
CURRENT STATE OF A
ANALYSIS
BUSINESS
The common themes of justifying avoidance of the
The process of analyzing the current state of an Current State Analysis as stated by Sergey Korban
organization is used to comprehend the reasons for (2015) are:
the changing industry needs and how it will affect
• a waste of time on studying what will be
them
discarded anyway
To properly understand it, organizations need to • the deficit of project time to spend on the
understand why change is necessary. Changes current state analysis
cannot materialize without changing the current • old thinking should be discarded to give way
state of the firm. to a fresh, Agile, approach.

As business analysts, their main task to enable this VALUABLE OUTPUTS FROM THE CURRENT STATE
change by emphasizing the desire and need for a ANALYSIS (Korban, 2015)
change in the organization.
The valuable findings and outputs from the Current
In addition, the business analyst needs to evaluate State Analysis that ensure project success are:
the current state of the organization in order to
understand how the change can influence the • clear definition of a business problem,
current processes, stakeholders, technology, and needs, and pain points
policies. The current state also needs to be analyzed • good understanding of the business domain
to properly implement the changes to be made to • visibility of how things are done now and
achieve the desired future state. where the bottlenecks are

Module 4 – Analysis of the Current State and Vision on the Future State of a Business | Page 2 of 7
 • identified causes of the poor performance of map can further be divided into six overlapping
either business processes or technology areas:
solutions (or both).
• known process intensity patterns - critical • Intervention System
and normal business hours • Surrounding System
• integration points and principles of an • Environment
organization with its environment - from • Area of investigation
both process and technology viewpoints. • Area of effect
• Area of Solution
Having a clear understanding of the current scenario
and loopholes, the business analyst can create a In order to create a better understanding of the
well-supported recommendation about a project and important aspects of the system, tools such as
feasible options to solve identified problems. interviews, observations, and desk studies are
normally used.
BENEFITS OF CURRENT STATE ANALYSIS
The current state analysis was derived from the
You know where you start a journey to the information in the task analysis. This analysis is
destination point divided into two:

Still taken from the context of Sergey Korban (2015), • Demarcation System
the benefits of current state analysis includes the • Analysis of the System and its Relevant
following: Parts

• You know where you start a journey to the The practices involved in these two parts are
destination point overlapping because it is part of a repeated process.
• Discovered facts facilitate the introduction Furthermore, other variations of the methods can be
of a change used in the analysis.
• Articulated pain points are an opportunity to
engage employees in finding solutions DEMARCATION OF THE SYSTEM
• Visibility of interfaces of the organization
This part of situational analysis is essential in the
with its environment
situation analysis. The initial step in doing it is to
• Well defined scope of the change and
create a map system. The map system relies on the
project deliverables
type of project that will be implemented. Examples
The current state analysis is part of the situation of it will be the connection between different
analysis, which is included the first step in the suppliers in procuring raw materials needed for
Problem Solving Cycle (PSC). The PSC is production. In the creation of demarcation of the
constructed with steps overlapping each other until system, it is a high priority that a correct process
the project requires and objectives are met or when map is used at the beginning of the process.
the project ended. The situation analysis is divided
When the system is mapped, it can be categorized
into the following steps:
into six overlapping areas to mark the most
1. Task analysis essential parts of the system.
2. Analysis of the current state
1. The intervention system is the area where
3. Analysis of the future state
interventions and modifications that are
4. Identification of the problems and actions
related to the problem can be made.
that need to be taken
2. The surrounding system is all the areas that
When it comes to the current state analysis, the are external to the intervention system.
primary step is the demarcation of the system. This

Module 4 – Analysis of the Current State and Vision on the Future State of a Business | Page 3 of 7
 3. The environment is that part of the • Where can effects from the solution be
surrounding system that is relevant to the expected? Can the affected areas affect
problem itself. other parts of the environment?
4. The area of investigation is the sum of the
intervention system and the environment. BUSINESS ANALYSIS DOCUMENTS FOR CURRENT
5. The area of effect is the area where effects STATE ANALYSIS
from the solution can be expected. This may
• Current state analysis document
include parts of the surrounding system.
• Project vision document
6. The area of a solution is the part of the
• Solution vision document
intervention system that is used for the
solution. • Business requirements document
• Business process design document
To understand the demarcating of a system in the • Use case model document
six areas, the following questions can be used as a • Use case specification document
guide: • System-wide requirements document
• Solution glossary
• Where are interventions and changes
possible? What degree of freedom exists? In LEARNING
which areas are changing conceivable? ACTIVITY 1
• Which functions does the system have to
control? Which structures are present?
• What authority does the client have? Does it To establish your understanding of the different
correspond to the system boundaries? documents used in the current situation analysis.
• Should an extended system demarcation be Define the following terms.
considered?
• Project Vision
• What influencing variables affect the
• Solution Vision
system? Which ones are relevant for the
• Business Requirements
task?
• Business Process Design
• In which area do changes in the system
• Case Model
design change the environmental effects?
What quality do they have? Which one is • Case Specification
relevant? • System-wide Requirements

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Module 4 – Analysis of the Current State and Vision on the Future State of a Business | Page 4 of 7
 • The increasing gap in wealth and technology
THE FUTURE STATE OF A
that permeates large sections of the
BUSINESS population.
• The world has an aging population of the
The future state is defined as a particular condition Silent Generation and Baby Boomers, Gen X
of what is going to happen or likely to happen in is caught in the middle of Millennials that
connection to the vision of an organization. will make up 75% of the global workforce by
2025*, and Gen Z as being the most
To successfully utilize a solution, the future state
connected, educated generation ever.
should be well-defined, doable with the available
• More jobs are becoming freelance and
resources, and accepted by the stakeholders.
contract. There is a move towards new
The future state has to be identified at a detailed careers, across many industries and
level: companies. Long-term, job-for-life is no
longer the status quo.
1. Achieves the future state to be assessed • It will affect jobs, industries, and businesses.
and identified. It already is driving different investment
2. Provides a clear definition of outcomes that decisions for individuals and funds seeking
satisfies the business needs. to invest in companies that have minimal
3. Is within the scope of the solution. effect on driving climate change.
4. Assesses the value created by the future • Augmented and virtual reality systems are
state. becoming increasingly sophisticated and are
5. Allows consensus among the key in the early stage of adoption.
stakeholders. • We are increasingly speaking to devices to
do tasks for us. On average, most people
The future state should also include the description
can speak 140 words a minute, yet can only
of new, modified, and removed components in the
type 40.
enterprise.
• Everything is connected to the internet -
The future state can also range from simple to phones, eyeglasses, refrigerators, light
complicated innovations such as using a new switches, cars, juice machines – it’s the
method in teaching or developing a new product line Internet of Things (IoT) age.
for a new generation. • Automation, algorithms, and technology can
perform tasks that were once jobs for
To determine the future state of an organization, the humans. Jobs with predictable requirements
industry they belong to should be the basis in such such as welding, food preparation, auditing,
action. The innovation in a particular industry can basic legal advice, data processing are likely
determine signs that are yet to come. To become to be automated.
future-proofed, the goal of an entity is to:

• assess what’s possible, LEARNING

• estimate what is probable, ACTIVITY 2
• while understanding that the improbable
may also occur.
Choose at least three trends that will affect the
Some of the trends that can affect the future state of industry that you are going to join in the future and
an organization are the following: justify how can it can affect you on a personal level.

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Module 4 – Analysis of the Current State and Vision on the Future State of a Business | Page 5 of 7
11 ELEMENTS IN DEFINING THE FUTURE STATE
TASK
SUMMARY
1. Business goals and objectives: the business
goals and objectives are the ends that the • Current state analysis is necessary to
business is trying to meet. address the current issue of an organization.
2. Scope of solution space: The scope of It can also be used to identify the need and
solutions space is used to set boundaries to formulate solutions
that would be used to limit the available
• Future state analysis can be utilized to
solutions which would be considered for
determine the vision of the organization and
implementation.
at the same time anticipating the changes in
3. Constraints: Constraints describe parts of
their respective industry.
the current and future state that would not
be changed by the solution.
4. Organizational structure and culture: the
relationships between people in the
enterprise might need to change to facilitate
the future state. REFERENCES
5. Capabilities and processes: the capabilities
and processes identify changes in the way BOOKS
activities would be performed to realize the
Clarke, A. (2015) Situational Analysis. Left Coast
future state.
Press Inc. Walnut Creek, United States
6. Technology and infrastructure: it might be
necessary to make changes to the Kolkman, MJ. & Kok, M. & Van der Veen, A. (2005),
technology and infrastructure to achieve the Mental model mapping as a new tool to
future state. analyze the use of information in decision-
7. Policies: it might be necessary to change the making in integrated water management,
current policies to achieve the future state. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth 30 (p. 317-
Business policies may limit which solutions 332)
can be implemented and the approval
process. Thuesen, C. & Oehmen, J. DTU Course 42433
8. Business architecture: business architecture Advanced Engineering Project, Program and
must be able to support the future state. Portfolio Management Lecture 3 slides
They should be integrated into the future
Züst, R. & Troxler, P., No More Muddling Through
state and support that state.
Mastering Complex Projects in Engineering
9. Internal assets: the current resources need
and Management, Springer (2006)
to be assessed to identify which ones can
be used in the future state. ONLINE
10. Identify assumptions: assumptions must be
identified and possibly verified to prove Aotea Studios (ND). Business analysis documents:
authenticity. Current State Analysis. Retrieved from
11. Potential value: the potential value of the https://aoteastudios.com/2010/12/business-
solution must be identified when defining analysis-documents-current-state-analysis/.
the future state.
Computershare Edge Labs (ND). Future-Proofing.
Retrieved from
https://www.computershare.com/News/2181
06_Future_Proofing_Paper_PDF_edit.pdf

Module 4 – Analysis of the Current State and Vision on the Future State of a Business | Page 6 of 7
Korban, S. (2015) Why Is The Current State Analysis
Important? LinkedIn.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-current-
state-analysis-important-sergey-korban

Nielsen, PR. (2018). Analysis of the current state.

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of_the_current_state#cite_note-0

The Functional BA: Unraveling the Business Analysis

World (ND). Current State Analysis. Retrieved
from
https://thefunctionalba.com/2019/07/how-to-
analyse-the-current-state/

The Functional BA: Unraveling the Business Analysis

World (ND). Future state definition. Retrieved
from
https://thefunctionalba.com/2019/07/how-to-
define-the-future-
state/#:~:text=The%20define%20future%20st
ate%20task,acceptable%20to%20all%20the%2
0stakeholders.

Compiled by:

JESUS REMAR C. DASSUN, MBA

Faculty, College of Business Management and
Accountancy

Module 4 – Analysis of the Current State and Vision on the Future State of a Business | Page 7 of 7