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the little book of

Business
Analysis
Why read this book?

Welcome
Because you want just one source
of information that covers the basic
principles of Business Analysis.
to our little book on the
big subject of
Business You need those useful tips, stats and
facts for an upcoming presentation but

Analysis don’t have time to research them.

Everyone is talking about the subject and


the numerous methodologies – you need
someone to put it in perspective for you.

2.
Alternative reasons There is too much information out there
to read this book on this subject – you need something
you can digest in small chunks.

Your inbox is overflowing and you


want a more tactile experience.

You’ve heard a rumour there are


other little books in this series and
just want to read them all.

Enjoy!

4.
Contents 1. Setting the scene 12

2. Getting to a version of the truth 30

3. Capturing requirements 48

4. Process design 74

5. Testing new ways of working 102

6. Business readiness 114

7. Glossary 122

8. Useful resources 126

9. About NineFeetTall 130

6.
What is....
Business Analysis? Business analysis is a
research discipline
of identifying business needs and
determining solutions
to business problems.
Solutions often include a systems
development component, but may
also consist of process improvement,
organisational change or strategic
planning and policy development.

Wikipedia

8.
What is the role of a....
Business Analyst? A consultancy role
that has responsibility for
investigating business systems,
identifying options for improving
business systems and bridging
the needs of the business
with the use of IT.

British Computer Society,


The Chartered Institute for IT

10.
1 OPENING SCENE
TAKE 1
Setting
the scene

12.
What is Strategy is the

strategy? direction and scope


of an organisation
over the long-term:
which achieves advantage for
the organisation through its
configuration of resources within a
challenging environment, to meet
the needs of markets and to fulfil
stakeholder expectations.

Johnson & Scholes

1. Setting the scene


14.
In other
words… RESOURCES What resources
(skills, assets, finance,
relationships, technical
competence, facilities)
DIRECTION Where is the business trying are required in order to
to get to in the long-term? be able to compete?

MARKET Which markets should a ENVIRONMENT What external,


SCOPE business compete in and environmental factors
what kind of activities are affect the business’
involved in such markets? ability to compete?

ADVANTAGE How can the business STAKEHOLDERS What are the values and
perform better than the expectations of those in
competition in those markets? power in and around the

1. Setting the scene


business?

16.
Where to
start?
Before embarking on any project, There are various strategic planning tools
you will need to understand the that you can use to analyse these factors.
internal and external factors that
can affect your proposed strategy. Some of the most widely used tools include:

»» SWOT Analysis
»» PEST Analysis
»» Porter’s 5 Forces
»» McKinsey’s 7S Model

1. Setting the scene


18.
SWOT
Analysis S TRENGTHS
The advantages over the competition
concerning this project.
Use a S W O T Analysis
W EAKNESSES
to analyse the…
The disadvantages you have internally
compared with the competition.

O PPORTUNITIES
Current external trends which are
waiting to be taken advantage of.

T HREATS
External movements which may cause a
problem and have a negative impact on

1. Setting the scene


your business.

20.
PEST Analysis
P OLITICAL
Global issues, legislation or regulations
Use a P E S T Analysis to which may impact now or in the future.
examine important external factors
that may impact your project. E CONOMICAL
Interest rates, inflation and consumer
confidence should all be taken into account.

S OCIAL
Media, major events or advertising and
publicity factors can all make an impact.

T ECHNOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENT
Technological advancements, innovations
as well as global communications should

1. Setting the scene


be considered.

22.
Porter’s 5 Porter identified five factors that act together

Forces to determine the nature of competition within


an industry:

Use Porter’s 5 Forces to analyse

BARGAINING
SUPPLIERS
POWER OF
the competitiveness of the industry
in which you operate, and the
‘attractiveness’ of the market. DE G
COM GREE NIN
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UT OF

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1. Setting the scene


24.
McKinsey’s 7S
Framework STRUCTURE

McKinsey’s 7S Framework model


STRATEGY SYSTEMS
is based on the theory that, for an
organisation to perform well, these
7 elements need to be aligned and SHARED
VALUES
mutually reinforcing.

SKILLS STYLE

STAFF

1. Setting the scene


26.
Selecting
the right tool
for the job Porter’s 5 Forces
Used for analysing the attractiveness
and likely profitability of an industry.
S W O T Analysis
Great for reviewing the internal elements of
the business, for example, understanding McKinsey’s 7S Framework
the weaknesses of your business could Use this model to help identify what needs
help you to manage and eliminate threats, to be realigned to improve performance,
which may otherwise catch you unaware. or to maintain alignment during change.

Whatever the change, the model can be


P E S T Analysis used to understand how the elements are

1. Setting the scene


A great tool to ensure you give adequate interrelated, and so ensure that the wider
consideration to the external factors that impact of changes made in one area is
could impact your business or project. taken into consideration in other areas.

28.
Getting to
a version
of the truth
2

30.
The truth is
out there…
Getting to a version of the
truth requires interaction with
key stakeholders through a well
balanced mix of elicitation techniques.

business needs and


Your project’s
the stakeholder mix will determine
which elicitation methods you should use.

2. Getting to a version of the truth


Let us help you select the best
elicitation techniques
for you…

32.
Elicitation
techniques:
Interviews l Pros
Allows in depth discussion to enable
you to extract detailed information from
individuals. Can often lead to an accurate
The most commonly used technique understanding of the process.
used for requirements gathering.

When to use LCons


When you need depth of understanding Large amounts of qualitative data can be

2. Getting to a version of the truth


over breadth. hard to analyse. Interviews can also be a
time consuming exercise if your stakeholder
group is large.

34.
Elicitation
techniques:
Workshops l Pros
One of the most powerful techniques in
gaining consensus on requirements. Can
forge an agreement between stakeholders
Stakeholders brought together and team.
for a short intensive workshop.

When to use LCons


When knowledge is dispersed among Requires good facilitation skills.

2. Getting to a version of the truth


stakeholders.

36.
Elicitation
techniques:
Document
Review l Pros
Enables you to understand the process
Elicit requirements by studying and not the biased opinion of individuals!
available documentation. A good Has little or no impact on stakeholders time.
starting point before involving others.

When to use LCons

2. Getting to a version of the truth


When there are complex departmental Documents can be difficult to interpret
systems and no single user knows the correctly without input from individuals.
full process.

38.
Elicitation
techniques:
Surveys l Pros
Useful for quickly gathering data from a
large group of participants, particularly when
Information is elicited via questions stakeholders are geographically dispersed.
to sample groups, sometimes Results can be statistically analysed.
anonymously, in a short space of time.

When to use LCons


When your stakeholder list involves high Surveys can take a long time to develop

2. Getting to a version of the truth


numbers. With free online survey software and response rates cannot be guaranteed.
readily available, surveys are also an Not well suited for collecting behavioural
inexpensive way to gather information. information.

40.
Drawing
conclusions… Once your elicitation methods
have been employed, be
sure to document the
elicitation quickly , while it
is still fresh in your mind.

Share the results with


project drivers and appropriate

2. Getting to a version of the truth


stakeholders to confirm their
agreement with the findings.

42.
Be prepared
for... NineFeetTall’s recent ‘Truth or Dare’ survey
revealed…

»» Conflicting requirements from different


stakeholders

»» Unspoken or assumed requirements


»» Difficulty gaining access to the right
stakeholders

»» The stakeholders’ unwillingness to

2. Getting to a version of the truth


change or help design a new product

»» Not enough time allocated to meet


with all the important stakeholders

44.
What makes a good business analyst
listen
a good has the ability to
to what is being said

Business and hear what is not.

Analyst? www.modernanalyst.com

2. Getting to a version of the truth


46.
Capturing
3 requirement

48.
Requirements
analysis
An effective analysis of your
requirements will allow you to
understand what you need and
what you want in order for your
project to be a success.

3. Capturing requirements
50.
Why do
we need What marketing What marketing

requirements
suggested approved

specification?
As designed by What was built
engineering

3. Capturing requirements
How it was What the
installed customer wanted

52.
Get it right! 60%-80%
of project failure
can be attributed directly
to poor requirements
gathering and analysis.

Source: Gartner

3. Capturing requirements
54.
The 9 top 1. Poor definition of requirements

reasons 2. Ineffective communication

for project 3. Lack of handover process

failure 4. Lack of sponsor involvement


5. Poor strategic alignment
6. Poor risk management
7. Poor planning
8. Long time to delivery

3. Capturing requirements
9. Scope creep

56.
What is a A requirement is a
requirement?
statement that identifies a necessary
attribute, capability, characteristic
or quality of a system for it to have
value and utility to a user.

It describes what
is wanted and

3. Capturing requirements
what it will do.

58.
Documenting
requirements
Here are some useful words to use
when documenting your requirements.

3. Capturing requirements
60.
Take care
when Beware of…
documenting AMBIGUITY

requirements Does the requirement actually say what is


required or is it all fluff and no substance?

OVERLAP
Are there requirements that might cross
over with one another?

REALISM
Is the requirement realistic or is it just
one person’s pipedream that could

3. Capturing requirements
never be possible?

TESTABILITY
Can the requirement be tested?

62.
Prioritising
requirements
A standard Business Analyst format
for prioritising requirements is through
the MoS CoW technique.

3. Capturing requirements
64.
MoSCoW

M UST HAVE C OULD HAVE


A requirement that is fundamental A requirement that can more easily be left
and must be met by the solution. out of the increment under development.

S HOULD HAVE W ON’T HAVE


A requirement for which, if not directly met A requirement that stakeholders have
by the solution, there is a workaround that agreed will not be implemented in a given
is acceptable to the business. release, but may be considered for the future.

3. Capturing requirements
66.
Sign-off
The final stage of producing
a requirements document is
the all important document

al l
APPROVAL:

tt
sign-off.

ninefee ay 2013
Whilst this may be the
final step in the process, it is
important you understand from

25th M the very beginning who will


be signing off your document.

3. Capturing requirements
68.
Avoiding
scope creep
Changes will happen but
at least you can assess the
It is critical that you
have aclear and well cost, time and
impact to

understood scope . quality and make informed


decisions on whether changes
should be included or not.

3. Capturing requirements
70.
How to avoid
scope creep
1. Have a clear understanding of the 6. Map all work requirements and
project vision. milestones onto a detailed project plan.

2. Know the priorities of the project drivers. 7. With your schedule in place, assign
all required resources.
3. Clearly define your intended
deliverables and get them approved 8. Determine your critical path. This is likely
by the project drivers. to change over the course of your project
so it is important to evaluate it before
4. Breakdown the deliverables into development begins.

3. Capturing requirements
actual work requirements.
9. Expect scope creep! Implement Change
5. Break the project down into minor Order Forms to enable you to perform a
and major project milestones. cost/benefit analysis for all change requests.

72.
Process
4 design

74.
What is Process design
process is used to develop

design? efficient
business practices.

It combines the

objectives
of each department
in the business to create a

repeatable
set of instructions
to make the business

4. Process Design
run efficiently.

76.
9 process
mapping
questions
1. What are the key inputs? 5. What decisions are made in the process?
2. What are the main outputs? 6. Who performs each activity?
3. Where does the output go? 7. Who are the suppliers of the process?
4. What generates the process? 8. Who are the customers of the process?
9. What sequence are the activities

4. Process Design
performed in?

78.
Process
mapping tools
and models
The real world is usually complex Business analysts use a number of
and messy. different process models:

You need an approach to process »» Rich Pictures


design that first lets you clearly see
what’s happening – and then helps
»» Flowcharts
you think about how the situation »» Swim-lanes
could be improved.
»» Use Cases
»» Data Flow Diagrams

4. Process Design
80.
Rich Pictures
Rich Pictures help visualise business Key elements of a Rich Picture:
processes.
PROCESSES
What are the processes for transforming
inputs into outputs?
RESOURCE PLANNING

LOTUS NOTES
INPUTS
What are the inputs? Where do they
WEBSITE CRYSTAL
REPORTS

come from?
EDUCATION
NETREGULATE DATABASE G: DRIVE ANNUAL
VISITOR

OUTPUTS
MASTER LIST MONITORING
PLANNING

What are the outputs? Where do they go to?


PAPER ELECTRONIC
DOCUMENTS
DOCUMENTS
SCANNER

STEPS

4. Process Design
MANUAL INPUT What are the basic steps in-between.
COMPLAINTS LOG

EDUCATION SYSTEMS DATA FLOW – AS IS

82.
Key attributes of a Swim-lane diagram:

Swim-lanes
(often referred to as cross-functional flowcharts)
LANES
Processes and decisions are grouped
visually by placing them in lanes.
Allows you to quickly and easily plot
and trace processes and, in particular, PROCESS FLOW
the interconnections between Highlights the flow of a process between
processes, departments and teams. different functions or departments.

HAND-OVERS
Highlights the key hand-over points.

INEFFICIENCIES
Great tool to help spot processing gaps,
delays and inefficiencies.
Staff member A

START GATEWAY NEXT FINAL END


1 2 ACTIVITY 3 5 6 7
EVENT (DECISION) ACTIVITY ACTIVITY EVENT

4. Process Design
4
Staff member B
ALTERNATIVE
ACTIVITY
84.
Process
mapping
Business
should help improvement
you decide… Vs
Business process
re-design

4. Process Design
86.
Improvement Vs Re-engineering
BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT BUSINESS RE-ENGINEERING
Normally assumes some pre-defined Builds the optimum process first and
constraints especially regarding then designs the organisation around it.
organisational structure.

»» Taking what you have and making it better »» Wipes slate clean and starts again
»» Bottom up, within the departments »» Top down, spanning departments
»» Focus on existing process »» Focus on outcome
»» In the order of 10-20% efficiency »» Up to 10 times efficiency gains have been
gains reported

»» Incremental improvements, less risky »» Radical change but more risky

4. Process Design
88.
Business
improvement WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?

tools How do you know what’s right for your


organisation?

Lean Vs Six Sigma Vs Lean Six Sigma Lean originates from the Japanese
manufacturing industry
Some people speak of Lean, some
speak of Six Sigma and some use a Lean focuses on:
combination of the two.
»» eliminating waste from processes
»» increasing process speeds

4. Process Design
90.
Six Sigma
…is a set of tools and strategies In recent years, Six Sigma is often
for process improvement originally combined with Lean
developed by Motorola in 1986
Lean Six Sigma combines speed
It seeks to improve the quality of process with quality improvements.
outputs by:
Whilst Lean promotes rapid business
»» identifying and removing the causes processes, this focus can sometimes
of defects result in a lack of quality.

»» reducing cycle times Together Lean and Six Sigma can result
»» eliminating costs which provide in the most efficient, quality workflows
no value to customers possible, allowing your company to
maximise productivity, while eliminating

4. Process Design
waste and reducing costs.

92.
Business ...the fundamental

process rethinking and radical redesign


of business processes to achieve

re-design dramatic improvements


in critical contemporary modern
measures of performance, such as
cost, quality, service and speed.
Using Radical Change to Improve
Organisational Performance
Michael Hammer

4. Process Design
94.
96.
Vs

re-design
process
Business
improvement
Business

Incremental, DEGREE
Radical, extreme
small steps OF CHANGE

STARTING
Existing processes Start from new
POINT

FREQUENCY
Continuous One-time
OF CHANGE

Bottom up PARTICIPATION Top down

Narrow, within TYPICAL Broad, cross


functions SCOPE functional

4. Process Design
The key stages
of business
process
re-design

GAP
AS-IS TO-BE TRANSITION
ANALYSIS

4. Process Design
98.
GAP analysis
Compare the “As-Is” and “To-Be” PROCESS
processes and highlight any gaps
using this NineFeetTall framework
to ensure all areas are addressed.

PEOPLE ORGANISATION

SYSTEMS

4. Process Design
100.
5 Testing new
ways of
working

102.
Testing,
testing,
1, 2, 3…
Testing is the practice
of making objective judgments
regarding the extent to which a
new system meets, exceeds or
fails to meet stated objectives.

5. Testing new ways of working


104.
9 areas a good
test strategy 4. The responsibilities of those undertaking

should highlight
the testing.

5. The conditions under which testing will


take place.

1. The approach that needs to be taken. 6. The environment requirements of testing.


2. The test stages that will be passed 7. The success criteria for testing to be
through. classified‘ passed’ or ‘fit for purpose’.

3. The teams/people responsible for 8. How testing will be managed, tracked

5. Testing new ways of working


undertaking testing. and reported.

9. The key risks and areas of concern


as stated by the business / suppliers.

106.
Test plan

PLAN EXECUTE REVIEW REGRESSION

»»Test plans »»Test execution »»Analyse issue »»Regression


»»Test scripts »»Actual results »»Prioritisation test planning
»»Acceptance »»Evaluation »»Correction
»»Issue logging

5. Testing new ways of working


criteria

108.
90%
of the effort involved in testing is in the
planning and preparation.
only 10%
of effort is deployed in the
testing of the actual system.

5. Testing new ways of working


110.
Scoping a PEOPLE
Test manager, test analysts, subject matter

test strategy experts, customers, board, developers, etc.

EQUIPMENT
IT, printers, scanners, tills etc.
What needs to be defined?
SOFTWARE
Test environment, version.

SCHEDULE DATA
When/what, cycles, regression testing. Set up of real data on test system,
appropriate user access rights and security.
RISKS

5. Testing new ways of working


High impact processes, high volume LOCATION
activities, high complexity. Where, desks, etc.

KPIs TEST MANAGEMENT


Performance criteria, sign-off criteria. Tools to track progress and issue resolution.

112.
Business
6 readiness

114.
Your go-live TRAINING
Stakeholders and users have been trained,

checklist training and support material available.

CHANGE PLAN
New ways of working defined and
organisational structure aligned.

SYSTEM COMMUNICATION PLAN


System fully tested, infrastructure in place, Tailored to the audience encouraging
user logons and access rights set up. two-way engagement.

BUSINESS PROCESS CUTOVER PLAN


Documented and communicated with Step by step plan and resource pool to support
clear roles and responsibilities. the go-live issues and change management
process – to prioritise fixes and improvements.
DATA

6. Business readiness
Master data set up, data migration CONTINGENCY
complete and KPIs defined and agreed. A plan in case something goes wrong.

116.
Ready? Going-live without everything in place
may result in:

The decision to go-live or not should »» Insufficient training


not be taken lightly; it is without doubt
one of the most important decisions
»» Business processes not understood
in the project lifecycle and getting it »» Stakeholders missed
wrong can jeopardise the success
of the entire project. »» Lack of communications
»» Business areas not ready for the changes
»» Workflows and exceptions not mapped out
»» No backups and disaster recovery in place
»» Unclear responsibilities, accountabilities

6. Business readiness
and ownership

»» Inadequate implementation strategy

118.
And finally… However beautiful
the strategy,
occasionally
you should
look at the results .

Sir Winston Churchill

6. Business readiness
120.
7 Glossary

122.
Glossary
BA – Business Analyst. PEST – model to analyse Political,
Economical, Social and Technical factors.
BPM – Business Process Management.
Porter’s 5 Forces Model – used to analyse
BPR – Business Process Re-Design. the competitiveness of the industry in which
you operate.
McKinsey’s 7S’ – a model to help balance
the shared values, strategy, structure, Six Sigma – a set of tools and strategies for
systems, skills, staff and style elements process improvement, originally developed
of your project or business. by Motorola in 1986.

MOSCOW – A standard BA format for Stakeholder – anyone who can affect or is


prioritising requirements. affected by an organisation, strategy or project.

LEAN Business Improvement – focuses SWOT – model to analyse your Strengths,


on eliminating waste from processes and Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.
increasing process speeds.

7. Glossary
124.
Useful
8 resources

126.
Useful
resources
WEBSITES SOCIAL
www.ninefeettall.com www.linkedin.com/skills/skill/Business_Analysis
www.9plustraining.com
www.mindtools.com
ASSOCIATIONS
BCS (British Computer Society),
www.modernanalyst.com The Chartered Institute for IT
http://www.bcs.org
BLOGS
www.ninefeettall.com/blog BABoK
(Business Analyst Body of Knowledge)
RESEARCH
Nine Feet Tall’s ‘Truth or Dare’ Survey, 2012 IIBA – International Institute of Business Analysis
www.iiba.org

8. Useful resources
Download the results from
www.ninefeettall.com/insight/register-truth-or-dare-survey/

128.
9 About

130.
About

Each member of the team

are experts in has a broad range of skills and

business transformation knowledge brought together with


a conviction and energy to deliver
with proven experience of delivering
complex change projects across measurable results
multiple industries and sectors. for our clients.

9. About NineFeetTall
132.
Contact us
We hope you have enjoyed our If you would like to discuss your
little book on this big subject. business analysis requirements,
please get in touch:

CALL
01225 904 630

EMAIL
info@ninefeettall.com

WEB
www.ninefeettall.com

About NineFeetTall
9. Setting the scene
134.

1.
www.ninefeettall.com
136.

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