Defining Business Analysis

Overview of the business analysis discipline

• Key roles and responsibilities
• The Business Analysis Body of Knowledge^® (BABOK^®)
• Distinguishing between business analysis and other related disciplines

Introducing the business analysis framework

• Industry best practice from the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA^®)
• Applying the 6 Cs baseline framework and its analytical devices

Confirming Organisation and Stakeholder Needs

Performing needs analysis

• Capturing business needs at the organisational or department levels
• Conducting enterprise-level contextual analysis using strategic, tactical and operational tools

Identifying key stakeholders

• Conducting stakeholder analysis
• Creating the analysis plan
• Building the communication plan

Conducting the Analysis

Analysing the business landscape

• Categorising and prioritising business needs and issues using affinity diagrams and gap analysis
• Modelling the business at the process, organisation, information and technology levels

Detecting problems and finding solutions

• Exposing root causes of problems
• Finding opportunities for growth
• Identifying action-oriented business initiatives to address problems and opportunities

Comparing the Project Initiatives

Techniques for evaluating derived options

• 2x2 analysis grid
• Prioritisation matrices
• Paired comparison analysis

Assessing for business suitability

• Identifying first order and second order change implications
• Conducting rigorous feasibility studies

Constructing the Project

Documenting critical project parameters

• Building SMART project objectives
• Specifying critical project elements and deliverables

Preparing the business case

• Structuring the business case
• Identifying quantitative and qualitative project benefits and costs

Crafting Requirements

Planning for requirements analysis

• Selecting your approach based on analysis assumptions
• Documenting guiding principles, ground rules and templates
• Producing a requirements development plan to guide and manage the process

Building requirements using the 5-step model

• Eliciting stakeholder wants and needs
• Analysing stated requirements
• Specifying the requirements document
• Validating the requirements document with key stakeholders
• Managing the change control process

Consulting best practices and standards

• Addressing common challenges typically encountered during requirements development
• Outlining industry standards

Calibrating Organisational Performance

Supporting downstream implementation and development

• Business analyst as change agent
• Realising proposed benefits

Ongoing organisational performance

• Identifying the business analysis opportunities beyond the project level
• Processes for managing and reporting on organisational performance
• Applying ongoing evaluative techniques

Developing Business Analysis Competencies

• Going beyond the mechanics of analysis
• Applying the IIBA^® Business Analysis Competency framework
• Managing stakeholder agreement and conflict