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A G U I D E T O T H E B U S I N E S S A N A LY S I S
B O DY O F K N O W L ED GE
BABOK
v3
A GUIDE TO THE BUSINESS ANALYSIS
BODY OF KNOWLEDGE
IIBA, the IIBA logo, BABOK and Business Analysis Body of Knowledge are registered trademarks owned by
International Institute of Business Analysis. CBAP is a registered certification mark owned by International Institute of
Business Analysis. Certified Business Analysis Professional, EEP and the EEP logo are trademarks owned by International
Institute of Business Analysis.
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Unified Modelling Language and UML are trademarks of the Object Management Group.
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No challenge to the status or ownership of these or any other trademarked terms contained herein is intended by the
International Institute of Business Analysis.
Any inquiries regarding this publication, requests for usage rights for the material included herein, or corrections should be
sent by email to bok@iiba.org.
This document is provided to the business analysis community for educational purposes. IIBA does not warrant that it is
suitable for any other purpose and makes no expressed or implied warranty of any kind and assumes no responsibility for
errors or omissions. No liability is assumed for incidental or consequential damages in connection with or arising out of the
use of the information contained herein.
Table of Contents
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
Chapter 1: Introduction
Table of Contents
Trace Requirements 79
Maintain Requirements 83
Prioritize Requirements 86
Assess Requirements Changes 91
Approve Requirements 95
Table of Contents
9.2
9.3
9.4
9.5
9.6
10.1
10.2
10.3
10.4
10.5
10.6
10.7
10.8
10.9
10.10
10.11
10.12
10.13
10.14
10.15
10.16
10.17
10.18
10.19
10.20
10.21
10.22
10.23
10.24
10.25
10.26
10.27
10.28
10.29
10.30
10.31
10.32
Table of Contents
10.33
10.34
10.35
10.36
10.37
10.38
10.39
10.40
10.41
10.42
10.43
10.44
10.45
10.46
10.47
10.48
10.49
10.50
Prioritization 311
Process Analysis 314
Process Modelling 318
Prototyping 323
Reviews 326
Risk Analysis and Management 329
Roles and Permissions Matrix 333
Root Cause Analysis 335
Scope Modelling 338
Sequence Diagrams 341
Stakeholder List, Map, or Personas 344
State Modelling 348
Survey or Questionnaire 350
SWOT Analysis 353
Use Cases and Scenarios 356
User Stories 359
Vendor Assessment 361
Workshops 363
iv
Preface
IIBA was founded in Toronto, Canada in October of 2003 to support the business analysis community
by:
creating and developing awareness and recognition of the value and contribution of the business
analyst,
defining the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK),
providing a forum for knowledge sharing and contribution to the business analysis profession, and
The Body of Knowledge Committee was formed in October of 2004 to define and draft a global
standard for the practice of business analysis. In January of 2005, IIBA released version 1.0 of A Guide
to the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK Guide) for feedback and comment. That version
included an outline of the proposed content and some key definitions. Version 1.4 was released in
October of 2005, with draft content in some knowledge areas. Version 1.6, which included detailed
information regarding most of the knowledge areas, was published in draft form in June of 2006 and
updated to incorporate errata in October of 2008.
The Body of Knowledge Committee developed version 2.0 of A Guide to the Business Analysis Body of
Knowledge (BABOK Guide) with the guidance of expert writing teams, and feedback garnered from
expert, practitioner, and public reviews. Version 2.0 introduced such concepts as the Requirements
Classification Schema and the Input/Output models. Version 2.0 was published in 2009 and became the
globally recognized standard for the practice of business analysis.
Following the publication of version 2.0, IIBA sought out a number of recognized experts in business
analysis and related fields and solicited their feedback on the content of that edition. The Body of
Knowledge Committee used these comments to plan the vision and scope of this revision. The Body of
Knowledge Committee worked with teams of expert writers to revise and update the content. The
revised draft of A Guide to the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK Guide) was reviewed
by teams of both expert and practitioner reviewers. The Body of Knowledge Committee used the
feedback provided to further enhance and refine the text and then made the content available to the
business analysis community for review in 2014. The thousands of items of feedback from this public
review were used to further revise the text to form A Guide to the Business Analysis Body of
Knowledge (BABOK Guide) version 3.0.
The goal of this revision was to:
incorporate new concepts and practices in use since the last revision,
address the broadening and evolving scope of the profession,
incorporate lessons learned from practitioners who have worked with the current version,
improve the readability and usability of the guide,
improve the consistency and quality of text and illustrations, and
improve consistency with other generally accepted standards relating to the practice of business
analysis.
This publication supersedes A Guide to the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK Guide)
version 2.0.
The BABOK Guide contains a description of generally accepted practices in the field of business
analysis. The content included in this release has been verified through reviews by practitioners, surveys
of the business analysis community, and consultations with recognized experts in the field. The data
available to IIBA demonstrates that the tasks and techniques described in this publication are in use by a
majority of business analysis practitioners. As a result, we can have confidence that the tasks and
techniques described in the BABOK Guide should be applicable in most contexts where business
analysis is performed, most of the time.
The BABOK Guide should not be construed to mandate that the practices described in this publication
should be followed under all circumstances. Any set of practices must be tailored to the specific
conditions under which business analysis is being performed. In addition, practices which are not
generally accepted by the business analysis community at the time of publication may be equally
effective, or more effective, than the practices described in the BABOK Guide. As such practices
become generally accepted, and as data is collected to verify their effectiveness, they will be
incorporated into future editions of this publication. IIBA encourages all practitioners of business
analysis to be open to new approaches and new ideas, and wishes to encourage innovation in the
practice of business analysis.
IIBA would like to extend its thanks and the thanks of the business analysis community to all those who
volunteered their time and effort to the development of this revision, as well as those who provided
informal feedback to us in other ways.
vi
Introduction
1.1
Introduction
Project
Pre-Project
Project
Post-Project
Rationale
Delivery
Benefits
Strategy Analysis
RADD
Solution Evaluation
1.2
1.3
Introduction
Other common job titles for people who perform business analysis include:
business architect,
business systems analyst,
data analyst,
enterprise analyst,
management consultant,
process analyst,
product manager,
product owner,
requirements engineer, and
systems analyst.
1.4
Introduction
1.4.1
Key Concepts
The Business Analysis Key Concepts chapter provides a basic understanding of
the central ideas necessary for understanding the BABOK Guide.
1.4.2
Knowledge Areas
Knowledge areas represent areas of specific business analysis expertise that
encompass several tasks.
The six knowledge areas are:
Each knowledge
area includes a
visual
representation of
its inputs and
outputs.
Introduction
address that need, and align the resulting strategy for the change with
higher- and lower-level strategies.
Requirements Analysis and Design Definition: describes the tasks that
business analysts perform to structure and organize requirements
discovered during elicitation activities, specify and model requirements and
designs, validate and verify information, identify solution options that meet
business needs, and estimate the potential value that could be realized for
each solution option. This knowledge area covers the incremental and
iterative activities ranging from the initial concept and exploration of the
need through the transformation of those needs into a particular
recommended solution.
Strategy Analysis
Requirements
Analysis and Design
Definition
Elicitation and
Collaboration
Requirements Life
Cycle Management
Solution Evaluation
1.4.3
Tasks
A task is a discrete piece of work that may be performed formally or informally as
part of business analysis. The BABOK Guide defines a list of business analysis
tasks. The definition of a given task is universally applicable to business analysis
efforts, independent of the initiative type. A business analyst may perform other
activities as assigned by their organization, but these additional activities are not
5
Introduction
Inputs
Elements
Guidelines/Tools
Techniques
Stakeholders
Outputs
.1 Purpose
The Purpose section provides a short description of the reason for a business
analyst to perform the task, and the value created through performing the task.
.2 Description
The Description section explains in greater detail what the task is, why it is
performed, and what it should accomplish.
.3 Inputs
The Inputs section lists the inputs for the task. Inputs are information consumed
or transformed to produce an output, and represent the information necessary
for a task to begin. They may be explicitly generated outside the scope of
business analysis or generated by a business analysis task. Inputs that are
generated outside of the business analysis efforts are identified with the qualifier
'(external)' in the input list.
There is no assumption that the presence of an input means that the associated
deliverable is complete or in its final state. The input only needs to be sufficiently
complete to allow successive work to begin. Any number of instances of an input
may exist during the life cycle of an initiative.
The Inputs section includes a visual representation of the inputs and outputs, the
other tasks that use the outputs, as well as the guidelines and tools listed in the
task.
.4 Elements
The Elements section describes the key concepts that are needed to understand
6
Introduction
how to perform the task. Elements are not mandatory as part of performing a
task, and their usage might depend upon the business analysis approach.
.5 Guidelines and Tools
The Guidelines and Tools section lists resources that are required to transform the
input into an output. A guideline provides instructions or descriptions on why or
how to undertake a task. A tool is something used to undertake a task.
Guidelines and tools can include outputs of other tasks.
.6 Techniques
The Techniques section lists the techniques that can be used to perform the
business analysis task.
1.4.4
Underlying Competencies
Underlying competencies reflect knowledge, skills, behaviours, characteristics,
and personal qualities that help one successfully perform the role of the business
analyst. These underlying competencies are not unique to the business analysis
profession. However, successful execution of tasks and techniques is often
dependent on proficiency in one or more underlying competencies.
Underlying competencies have the following structure:
Purpose
Definition
Effectiveness Measures
.7 Stakeholders
Introduction
.1 Purpose
The Purpose section describes why it is beneficial for business analysts to have this
underlying competency.
.2 Definition
The Definition section describes the skills and expertise involved in the application
of this competency.
.3 Effectiveness Measures
1.4.5
Techniques
Techniques provide additional information on ways that a task may be performed.
The list of techniques included in the BABOK Guide is not exhaustive. There are
multiple techniques that may be applied alternatively or in conjunction with other
techniques to accomplish a task. Business analysts are encouraged to modify
existing techniques or engineer new ones to best suit their situation and the goals
of the tasks they perform.
Techniques have the following structure:
Purpose
Description
Elements
Usage Considerations
.1 Purpose
The Purpose section describes what the technique is used for and the
circumstances under which it is most likely to be applicable.
.2 Description
The Description section describes what the technique is and how it is used.
.3 Elements
The Elements section describes key concepts that are needed to understand how
to use the technique.
.4 Usage Considerations
The Usage Considerations section describes the conditions under which the
technique may be more or less effective.
Introduction
1.4.6
Perspectives
Perspectives are used within business analysis work to provide focus to tasks and
techniques specific to the context of the initiative. Most initiatives are likely to
engage one or more perspectives. The perspectives included in the BABOK
Guide are:
Agile
Business Intelligence
Information Technology
Business Architecture
Business Process Management
Perspectives are not mutually exclusive, in that a given initiative might employ
more than one perspective.
Perspectives have the following structure:
Change Scope
Business Analysis Scope
Methodologies, Approaches, and Techniques
Underlying Competencies
Impact on Knowledge Areas
.1 Change Scope
The Change Scope section describes what parts of the enterprise the change
encompasses when viewed from this perspective and to what extent it impacts
both the objectives and operations of the enterprise. The change scope also
identifies the type of problems solved, the nature of the solutions being sought,
and the approach to delivering these solutions and measuring their value.
.2 Business Analysis Scope
The Business Analysis Scope section describes the key stakeholders, including a
profile of the likely types of sponsors, the target stakeholders, and the business
analyst's role within an initiative. It also defines likely outcomes that would be
expected from business analysis work in this perspective.
.3 Methodologies, Approaches, and Techniques
The composition of this section is unique to each perspective. In each case it
describes the methodologies, approaches, or techniques that are common and
specific to the application of business analysis in the perspective. Methodologies
9
These perspectives do not presume to represent all the possible perspectives from
which business analysis is practiced. The perspectives discussed in the BABOK
Guide represent some of the more common views of business analysis at the time
of writing.
Introduction
and approaches are specialized ways of undertaking the business analysis work.
The techniques included in this section are techniques that are not included in the
Techniques chapter of the BABOK Guide but are especially relevant to the
perspective.
In the Business Architecture perspective, reference models are listed instead of
methodologies or approaches. In the Business Process Management perspective,
frameworks are listed instead of approaches.
.4 Underlying Competencies
The Underlying Competencies section describes the competencies that are most
prevalent in the perspective.
10