Identifying Problems & Opportunities

Casey Ayers
MBA • PMP®
CaseyAyers.com | @caseyayers
linkedin.com/in/caseyayers

PMP® is a registered mark of the Project Management Institute, Inc.

 Assessing Business Needs
Stakeholders & Needs Analysis
Goals & Objectives
What’s Ahead Ranking Objectives
Assessing Business Needs
 The Business Analyst’s Job

Understand the Define the desired

present state future state

Determine how to
get there
 The Business Analyst’s Job

Understand the Define the desired

present state future state
Assess Needs
 Business need may be a problem or
opportunity that should be addressed
Needs are rarely fully known at the outset
Assessing
Business analyst gathers facts, conducts
Business Needs analysis to discover or detail needs
Assessments may be revisited as external
factors change
 The Business Analyst’s Job

Understand the Define the desired

present state future state

Gap Analysis
 Sufficient analysis yields a better
understanding of business needs
Assessing
Early focus should be on understanding the
Business Needs situation fully, rather than on trying to find
a solution from the outset
 Insufficient analysis or focus on developing
a solution too early will often result in a
Assessing poor solution or overkill
Business Needs Stakeholders should be considered and
included in the assessment process
Stakeholders & Needs Analysis
 Identifying Stakeholders

Individuals Groups Organizations

 Identifying Stakeholders

Affe c ts

Project Perceived Affect

Affects
 Serve as primary sources of information
used in needs assessment
May be essential sources of insight on
value of goals and validity of objectives
Critical to formation, approval or
Key execution of work to meet objectives
Stakeholders
 Sponsor: Responsible for the overall
project or action and its initiation
Business Analyst: Determines needs
and recommends solutions
Project Manager: Responsible for
Key planning and executing project work
Stakeholders
 Benefactors: Provide funding and
support for the project
Beneficiaries: Stand to gain from the
project or action
Impacted: May be impacted in neutral
Key or negative ways
Stakeholders
 Users: Who will use the solution/result?
Regulators: May require work or work’s
result to fit within certain constraints
Implementers: Conduct project work to
bring about the desired result
Key Maintainers: Responsible for supporting
Stakeholders solution following its development
Classifying Stakeholders for Needs Assessment

Responsible In charge of performing needs assessment

Accountable Approves needs assessment activities

Will be asked for input, due to insight

Consult regarding issue at hand

Inform Will receive results of needs assessment

Classifying Stakeholders for Needs Assessment

Table 2-1. “Example RACI for Assessing Business Need.”

Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Project Management Institute, Inc., 2015, Page 13
Goals & Objectives
 Goals & Objectives

Positive traits we wish to maintain

or
Other traits we wish to improve or change
 May already be specified in
organizational strategy documents
May vary based on internal factors,
Identifying industry trends and market environment
Goals May hold varying levels of importance to
organization at large
May have varying levels of support
 Improve uptime/service availability
Create new features and capabilities

Examples of Address competitive action effectively

Goals Improve customer satisfaction

Improve employee satisfaction
Grow revenue and reduce costs
 Goals & Objectives

Goals Objectives
Long-term and ongoing Short-term; defined time horizon

Qualitative in nature Quantitative in nature

Aspirational Verifiable

May be decomposed into May help justify the business

objectives case for undertaking new work
 In line with principles/desires seen in goals

Defining Rooted in needs assessment and feedback

obtained from stakeholders
Objectives
Should be subjected to a five-component
test to gauge quality and usefulness
SMART Objectives In line with principles/desires seen in goals

Specific Clear, observable outcome of proposed work

Measurable Measurable and testable in nature

Realistic, especially in context of resources

Achievable expected to be available

Relevant Aligns with company vision/mission/goals

Expected to be complete within a specific

Time-Bound timeframe that aligns with business needs
 Improve software efficiency to reduce
Examples of processing time by 10% in order to
Objectives improve customer satisfaction within the
next six months.
 Specific
Measurable Improve software efficiency to reduce
processing time by 10% in order to
Achievable improve customer satisfaction within the
Relevant next six months.
Time-Bound
Examples of Reduce departmental materials waste by
5% per quarter for the next year, as part of
Objectives a company-wide environmental initiative.
 Specific
Measurable Reduce departmental materials waste by
Achievable 5% per quarter for the next year, as part of
a company-wide environmental initiative.
Relevant
Time-Bound
Ranking Objectives
 Ranking Objectives

Technology &
Infrastructure

Constraints on
Potential Value
Available Solutions

Organizational &
Environmental Factors
 How well does objective align with
organizational goals?
What stakeholders may support
completion of the objective?
What stakeholders may resist
Organizational & completion of the objective?
Environmental Factors
What market conditions may help or
hinder meeting the objective?
 What legal or regulatory hurdles might
hinder progress?
How might objectives be impacted by
organizational policies and procedures?
Which objectives are practical to
Constraints on
Available Solutions complete, given organizational
resources, talent and focus?
 What infrastructure/technology is
required to complete the objective?
What necessary infrastructure/
technology is already in place?
How difficult, costly and time-consuming
Technology &
Infrastructure will it be to develop any necessary
infrastructure/technology not in place?
 What net benefit is expected from
completing the objective?
How long will it take to earn back our
investment?
Does this objective offer a greater return
on investment than other options?
Potential Value
Does alignment of objective with
organizational goals result in higher value?
 Organizational goals and objectives not
always clearly defined
S W SWOT analysis can help in forming goals
and collecting insight from stakeholders
O T
Strengths
Weaknesses
SWOT Analysis SWOT =
Opportunities
Threats
 STRENGTHS
S W
Ways the organization is well-positioned to
solve problems or leverage opportunities
O T
EXAMPLES
High level of customer loyalty
Favorable component cost contracts
SWOT Analysis
Talented, committed staff
 WEAKNESSES
Ways the organization is not well-positioned
S W to solve problems or take advantage of
opportunities

O T Objectives may be directly targeted at

improving weaknesses
EXAMPLES
SWOT Analysis Low levels of customer satisfaction
Long lead-times on new development
Lack of internal expertise
 OPPORTUNITIES
S W Externally-focused in nature
May also include mitigation of problems
O T EXAMPLES
New market area ripe for development
Upgraded tech and processes could
SWOT Analysis increase productivity and reduce costs
Unserved customer needs discovered
 THREATS
Externally-focused in nature
S W
Any factors that may stymie success or
completion of objectives
O T
EXAMPLES
Competitor introduces new product line
SWOT Analysis New law requires change to current
business practices
Necessary components in short supply
 S W Objectives often created based on
opportunities and threats; designed and
O T ranked based on strengths and weaknesses
Provides greater context to needs analysis

SWOT Analysis Helps analysts identify root causes

 ASSESSING BUSINESS NEEDS
Business needs may spawn from
problems or opportunities
Rarely are problems or
opportunities fully understood
Takeaways when first identified
 ASSESSING BUSINESS NEEDS
Business analysis explores needs
to create objectives
Objectives later useful in
forming project charters and
Takeaways other foundational documents
 GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Goal: Long-term, qualitative in nature
Objective: Short-term, measurable in nature
SMART Objectives: Specific, measurable,
achievable, relevant, and time-bound
Takeaways
 STAKEHOLDERS & NEEDS ANALYSIS

Any person, group, or organization

that impacts or may be impacted
by our assessment of needs or by
related project(s)
Takeaways
 STAKEHOLDERS & NEEDS ANALYSIS
Key stakeholders include sponsors,
project managers, benefactors,
users, implementors, and others
Critical sources of input in
gathering information and forming
Takeaways requirements and objectives
 RANKING OBJECTIVES
Some objectives may demand more attention
or make more sense to undertake than others
Organizational and environmental factors
Constraints on available solutions
Technology and infrastructure
Takeaways Potential value
SWOT analysis can provide useful perspective
in forming and ranking objectives
 Comparing Organizational
Capabilities & Requirements
What’s Next