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Applications Executive Council®

Drivers of Business Analyst Effectiveness

IIBA—Building Business Capabilities 2012

Moderator: Mark Tonsetic

Senior Research Director

A FRAMEWORK FOR MEMBER CONVERSATIONS

The mission of The Corporate Executive Board Company and its affiliates (CEB) is to unlock the potential of organizations and leaders by advancing the science and practice of management. When we bring leaders together, it is crucial that our discussions neither restrict competition nor improperly share inside information. All other conversations are welcomed and encouraged.

CONFIDENTIALITY AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

These materials have been prepared by CEB for the exclusive and individual use of our member companies. These materials contain valuable confidential and proprietary information belonging to CEB and they may not be shared with any third party (including independent contractors and consultants) without the prior approval of CEB. CEB retains any and all intellectual property rights in these materials and requires retention of the copyright mark on all pages reproduced.

LEGAL CAVEAT

CEB is not able to guarantee the accuracy of the information or analysis contained in these materials. Furthermore, CEB is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or any other professional services. CEB specifically disclaims liability for any damages, claims or losses that may arise from a) any errors or omissions in these materials, whether caused by CEB or its sources, or b) reliance upon any recommendation made by CEB.

© 2012 The Corporate Executive Board Company. All Rights Reserved. AEC4272312SYN

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ROAD MAP FOR THE PRESENTATION

Measuring BA Effectiveness

Changes to the BA Role

Levers to Improve BA Effectiveness

Key Takeaways and Upcoming Events

4


PRESSURE ON THE TRADITIONAL BUSINESS ANALYST

Shifts in corporate IT are making it difficult for business analysts to deliver value within the traditional dimensions of their role.

■ At the same time, flat budgets result in longer hours for many BAs, increasing risk of burnout.

Shift in IT Value, Ownership, and Role Challenges to Traditional Business Analyst Role

1. Information Over ProcessCompetitive advantage from information technology shifts toward customer experience, data analytics, and knowledge worker enablement; consequently, information management skills will rise in importance relative to business process design.

Managing requirements that are more fluid, uncertain, and difficult to document

2. IT Embedded in Business ServicesCentrally provided applications and infrastructure will be embedded in business services and delivered by a business shared services organization.

Understanding the expectations of supporting end-to-end IT services rather than projects

3. Externalized Service DeliveryDelivery will be predominantly externalized as vendors expand service provision and internal resources become brokers not providers.

Maintaining visibility into the environment as more solutions are introduced without their direct involvement and/or through vendors

4. Greater Business Partner ResponsibilityBusiness unit leaders and end users will play a greater role in obtaining and managing technology for themselves where differentiation has more value than standardization.

Adapting to new engagement models in which many sponsors want a more hands-on leadership role in IT projects

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In response, the Council developed a model of BA effectiveness to help navigate these changes in demand.

■ This model is based on AEC’s BA Competency Framework and serves as the basis for the Council’s BA Effectiveness Diagnostic.

A MODEL OF BUSINESS ANALYST EFFECTIVENESS

Relationship Management and Communication

BA Effectiveness

Technology Management

Needs Discovery

■ Requirements Elicitation—Ability to identify a desired future state that addresses a business problem.

■ Requirements Management and Analysis—Ability to manage requirements to the smallest set that will provide the biggest impact in advancing business objectives.

■ Creating Compelling Business Cases—Ability to measure and communicate proposed project benefits.

■ Providing Accurate Project Effort Estimates—Ability to quantify project resource requirements.

■ Architecture Management—Ability to create solutions that advance architectural objectives.

■ Designing for Usability—Ability to design solutions for end-user adoption and productivity improvement.

■ Communications and Change Leadership—Ability to communicate effectively across multiple constituencies to support project and organizational change objectives.

■ Business Relationship Management—Ability to engage business sponsors and contribute to their targeted business outcomes.

■ Design Team Relationship Management—Ability to engage developers to ensure productivity and solution quality.

3

21 Needs Discovery

Relationship Management and Communications


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INTRODUCING THE BA EFFECTIVENESS DIAGNOSTIC

Developing the BA Effectiveness Diagnostic

Select Participating AEC Members

1. Diagnostic Development


BA E� ectiveness


Needs Discovery

■ Requirements Elicitation—Ability to identify a desired future state that addresses a business problem.

■ Requirements Management and Analysis—Ability to manage requirements to the smallest set that will provide the biggest impact in advancing business objectives.

■ Creating Compelling Business Cases—Ability to measure and communicate proposed project benefi ts.

■ Providing Accurate Project E� ort Estimates—Ability to quantify project resource requirements.

■ Architecture Management—Ability to create solutions that advance architectural objectives.

■ Designing for Usability—Ability to design solutions for end-user adoption and productivity improvement.

■ Communications and Change Leadership—Ability to communicate e� ectively across multiple constituencies to support project and organizational change objectives.

■ Business Relationship Management—Ability to engage business sponsors and contribute to their targeted business outcomes.

■ Design Team Relationship Management—Ability to engage developers to ensure productivity and solution quality.

3

21

Build the Business Analyst Competency Framework

3. Survey Participation

Launch diagnostic to 200 Business Analysts

2. Member Input

Seek feedback from member companies on model

4. Comparative Analysis

Analyze the drivers of BA effectiveness

5. Presentation of FindingsOutput: 11:45AM Jun 25 2012

Modified 11:33AM Jun 25 2012

InformatIon technology PractIceApplicAtions ExEcutivE council®

New Talent Foundation

Publish key findings from the diagnostic

WHEN PERFORMANCE MATTERS MOST™

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Bottom Quartile BAs Top Quartile BAs

IDENTIFYING WHAT DRIVES BUSINESS ANALYST EFFECTIVENESS

I. Deploy Surveys II. Measure BA Effectiveness III. Translate Findings into Practical Guidance

Business Analyst Survey (n = 200) ■ BAs assess the importance and personal effectiveness of nine core competencies.

■ BAs provide information on educational and professional background, time allocation, and access to coaching/mentoring opportunities.

Please select the level that best describes your current, personal skill set for Architecture Management1.

Level2 1 Level 5

BA Supervisor Survey (n = 39) ■ BA leaders assess the importance and effectiveness of nine core competencies for the BA group as a whole.

■ BA leaders provide information on talent management and development strategies for the BA group.

Please select the level that best describes the current effectiveness of your BA group’s Architecture Management skill set.

Level2 1 Level 5

■ Individual BA effectiveness responses are combined and adjusted based on BA supervisor effectiveness ratings to diminish self-reporting bias.

■ An index was created by averaging adjusted effectiveness scores and scaling to 100.

■ Scale was also validated based on BA annual performance evaluations.

Needs Discovery

BA Effectiveness



The BA Effectiveness Index is measured as an index from the three model components. Index scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores reflecting higher levels of BA Effectiveness.

■ Distill the practical implications borne out by the data.

■ Provide real-world illustration of key insights via practitioner tools and tactics.

Time Spent on Solutions Design Illustrative Driver

x0.8x

2 Each competency level is explicitly defined to maximize consistency is reporting across BAs. See the Implementation guide for the level definitions for each competency.

Example Key Teaching:

The best BAs more efficiently allocate time on solutions design.

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n = 200 BAs.

Source: AEC, BA Effectiveness Diagnostic, 2012.

EFFECTIVE BAs PROVIDE SCALE AND ENHANCE EFFICIENCY

Total Annual Project Budget per BA (Number of Projects x Project Size)Millions of US Dollars

The most effective BAs are able to carry larger project loads on an annual basis.

Bottom Quartile BAs

Top Quartile BAsAverage BA

$3.6

$5.0

$6.5

M

M

M

+39%

+30%

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THREE LEVERS TO IMPROVE BA EFFECTIVENESSCouncil analysis of data from more than 200 BAs suggests three levers that Applications leaders can pull to improve the effectiveness of their business analysts.

Management “Lever” Key Challenge Quick Win Near Term Medium Term

I. Structure the Role for

Success

How can we encourage the right behaviors in our BAs?

How can we better structure the role to meet diverse business demands?

1. Clearly establish accountability in your business analysts’ objectives.

6. Formalize specializations to maximize BAs’ effectiveness.

II. Develop the Right

Skills

What are the most important areas to focus coaching and training?

What kinds of IT expertise will most benefit our BAs?

Which project experience is the most valuable?

2. Expand influencing skills through targeted coaching.

3. Grow breadth in the right IT domains.

4. Provide BAs with “new world” project opportunities.

III. Utilize BAs More Effectively

How should BAs allocate their time to maximize productivity and deliver business value?

5. Improve BAs efficiency on requirements documentation.

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TENURE ALONE DOES NOT EXPLAIN EFFECTIVENESS

BA Effectiveness Index1 by Tenure as a BAAverage BA Effectiveness Index Score

While more tenured BAs exhibit higher levels of effectiveness, tenure alone is a small contributor.

n = 200 BAs.


1 The BA Effectiveness Index measures business analyst skills across three broad domains: needs discovery, technology management, and relationship management. Index scores range from 0 to 100, where 0 is the least effective BA and 100 is the most effective BA.

47

5457

60

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

90th Percentile BA Effectiveness

Total BA Effectiveness Range

10th Percentile BA Effectiveness

One Year or Less

Two to Four Years

Five to Nine Years

10+ Years

BA

Eff

ecti

vene

ss In

dex

BA Effectiveness Range Explained by Tenure is Minimal.

BA Tenure

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4.0

5.7

ACTION 1: CLEARLY ESTABLISH ACCOUNTABILITYEstablishing clear ownership around core BA activities elevates a sense of accountability, driving up BA effectiveness.

n = 200 BAs.

Source: AEC, BA Effectiveness Diagnostic. 2012.

Bottom Quartile BAs

Top Quartile BAs

+42.5%

1 BA is formally a Critical Participant or Clear Owner.

Competencies Where BA Has Formal Ownership1

Number of Competencies (Out of Nine)

BA Competency RACI ChartLevel of BA Involvement

No Involvement

ContributorCritical

ParticipantClear Owner

1 2 3 4

Invo

lvem

ent

Scal

e

Nine BA Competencies

1. Requirements Elicitation

2. Requirements Management and Analysis

3. Creating Compelling Business Cases

4. Providing Accurate Project Effort Estimates

5. Architecture Management

6. Designing for Usability

7. Communications and Change Leadership

8. Business Relationship Management

9. Design Team Relationship Management

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84% 16%

64% 36%

ACTION 2: EXPAND INFLUENCING SKILLS

BAs with Strong Influencing Skills1 Percentage of BAs

Prevalence of Sales or Marketing ExperiencePercentage of BAs

The most effective BAs have strong influencing skills, a competency that is core to sales and marketing experience, helping them drive consensus.

n = 200 BAs.


Low Influencing

Skills

Strong Influencing

Skills

0%

50%

Bottom Quartile BAs

Top Quartile BAs

1 The ability to influence business partner decision making to optimize requirements prioritization and build long-term relationships to drive engagement in IT strategy

BAs with strong influencing skills are more than twice as likely to have sales and marketing experience.

No Sales or Marketing Experience

Has Sales or Marketing Experience

2.25x

Tactics for Expanding BA Breadth of IT Experience

■ Encourage BAs to work on more explicit stakeholder communication plans.

■ Coach BAs to “reframe” unrecognized problems, needs, or assumptions in dialogue with business sponsors.

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5.5

ACTION 3: GROW BREADTH IN THE RIGHT IT DOMAINSBAs who have previously worked across a range of IT domains are able to more easily navigate cross-IT partnerships and guide projects end-to-end.

n = 200 BAs.


IT Domains

■ Applications Development

■ Enterprise Architecture

■ Project Management

■ Vendor Management

■ Quality Assurance

■ Infrastructure

■ Maintenance and Support

Tactics for Expanding BA Breadth of IT Experience

■ Rotate BAs through other IT functions to increase visibility into coordination needs across groups.

■ Establish coaching and mentoring relationships outside of the BA group to accelerate cross-functional collaboration skills.

Bottom Quartile BAs

Bottom Quartile BAsTop Quartile BAs Top Quartile BAs

+49%

Breadth of IT Experience Number of IT Domains Previously Worked

Types of Previous Domain Experience Percentage of BAs

Vendor Management

Enterprise Architecture

33%

19%

73%

60%

While most BAs have experience in the “usual suspects,” such as Project Management, Applications Development, and Maintenance and Support, the most effective BAs have working knowledge of Vendor Management and Enterprise Architecture as well.

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ACTION 4: PROVIDE BAs WITH “NEW WORLD” PROJECT OPPORTUNITIES

Experience with Multiple “New World” ProjectsPercentage of BAs with Experience in Two or More “New World” Project Types

Expose BAs to “new world” projects.

■ Even inexperienced BAs should be given opportunities to work on challenging “new world” projects to grow their skill sets.

“New World” Project Types

Collaboration

Mobile

Business Intelligence or Analytics

Software-as-a-Service

Business projects without IT components

“Old World” Project Types

Maintenance and Enhancement

Process Automation

Customer Interface Applications (Web)

31%

58%


n = 200 BAs.


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11.3

8.9

ACTION 5: IMPROVE BA EFFICIENCY ON REQUIREMENTS

Average Time Spent on Requirements DocumentationNumber of Hours per Week

The most effective BAs have begun to scale back time on requirements documentation in favor of more time on relationship management and workflow assessment.



n = 200 BAs.

(2.4) Hours per Week

Tactics for More Efficient Requirements Documentation

■ Apply a lightweight documentation approach for projects that are likely to rapidly change.

■ Place more emphasis on needs analysis than on documentation.

■ Leverage business sponsors’ willingness to lead requirements.

What can you do with an extra two weeks per year? The best BAs spend one extra week on relationship management and one week on understanding customer workflows.

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79%

21%

40%

60%

ACTION 6: FORMALIZE SPECIALIZATIONS TO MAXIMIZE BAs EFFECTIVENESS

Specialist and Generalist BAsPercentage of BAs

Promoting specialization enables BAs to narrow their development focus and more efficiently scale their work.

■ Fifty-five percent of specialized BAs (2+ specializations) have new world experience (2+ project types) compared to 40% of those who are generalists.



n = 200 BAs.

Specialists

Generalists

The most effective BAs are nearly three times as likely to be specialists.

Specialists: BAs who formally took two or more specialized roles in projects they worked in the past 12 months. Formal specialized roles examined include:

■ Product owner (Agile) ■ Scrum master (Agile) ■ BA for a project using Agile ■ Project manager/BA hybrid role

■ Technology broker ■ Consultant to business Sponsors

■ BA for information-intensive projects

Generalists: BAs who did not take any specialized role in projects they worked in the past 12 months.

2.85x

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TEN BA SPECIALIZATIONS

The “Family” of Business Analyst Specializations1

A “family” of BA specializations is emerging in response to more diversified projects and delivery channels.

■ In the past, BA specialization has involved technologies (e.g., SAP BA) or domains (e.g., HR BA).

■ Today’s specialized BAs are aligned to the nature of the portfolio and changing approaches to solutions delivery.

■ Fifty-two percent of organizations expect to increase the degree of specialization in their BA groups across 2012.

10. Agile BA/Product Owner

Represents a project sponsor to provide feedback and guide an Agile development team

5. Strategic BA/Business Architect

At a portfolio level, supports business strategy articulation and ensures IT alignment to business capabilities

2. Customer Advocate/Anthropologist

Analyzes end-user workflows; surfaces unarticulated needs and brings end users’ needs into project sponsor dialogue

7. Integration Specialist

Manages interdependencies across projects and external solutions to minimize post-implementation fixes

6. Business Process BA

Maps business processes and identifies opportunities to redesign processes or technologies to improve efficiency

1. User Experience BA

Provides usability insight to project design teams and helps sponsors understand usability requirements

9. BA/Project Manager

Owns needs analysis with business sponsors and manages the solutions design team

4. Technology Broker

Consults and advises on the best means to fulfill a given solution need (COTS, Cloud, sourcing, build)

8. Data-Focused BA

Manages needs analysis/requirements primarily for data intensive projects like BI or analytics

3. Buyer’s Agent

Consults to ensure that business sponsors act responsibly when leading IT purchases with vendors

1 These ten BA activities are derived from the Business Analyst Effectiveness Diagnostic and member interviews.

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PROMOTE DOUBLE MAJORINGAll BAs will need foundational skill sets, but organizations should formalize specializations to improve BA performance.

Possible Specialization “Double Majors” Identifying the Right BA

User Experience BADesigning for usability

Requirements elicitation and analysis

Architecture management

Business relationship management

Design team relationship management



Communications and change leadership


Creating compelling business cases



Customer Interface Applications

Mobile

Integration projects

Business intelligence or analytics

Customer Interface Applications

Mobile

Software-as-a-Service

Business projects without IT components

Collaboration

Process automation

Customer Advocate/Anthropologist

Buyer’s Agent

Technology Broker

Strategic BA/Business Architect

Business Process BA

Integration Specialist

BA/PM

Data-Focused BA

Agile BA/Product Owner

Competency Maturity Project Experience

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DETERMINE PROJECT PRIORITIES FOR SPECIALISTS

Prioritization of Project Portfolio for BA SpecializationIllustrative

To resource available BA specialists, segment the project portfolio into three tiers of priority based on project scope and the need for specialists.

Low High

High

Low

Need for Specialists

Project Scope/ Size

All Hands on Deck

These projects are top priority for available BAs with the requisite specializations.

Case-by-Case Decision

For these projects, determine whether to have lightweight involvement of a specialist based on:

■ The degree to which the absence of specialist BAs may present a project delivery risk

■ The degree to which the project provides a development or stretch opportunity for BAs seeking to develop more specialized experience

No Specialists Required

These projects have smaller scope and complexity, such that specialized needs can be supported by a “non-specialized” BA with foundational skills.

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ASSESS PROJECTS’ NEED FOR A BA SPECIALIST

Assessment Criteria

BA Specialization Specialist Not Needed Lightweight Involvement Significant Commitment

1. User Experience BA

Few or no significant interfaces for end users

Project could benefit from some UX expertise embedded in the needs analysis phase.

Project significantly changes end user experience across multiple interfaces.

2. Customer Advocate/Anthropologist

Project not directly targeted at end users’ workflow enhancement

Project targets to change some existing end user behaviors or processes.

Project requires a deep understand of end user behaviors and workflows to design appropriate solution.

3. Buyer’s Agent Business partners are not pursuing external vendors.

Business partners require limited support with managing vendor interactions.

Business partners require guidance as they pursue technology purchases with vendors.

4. Technology Broker

Project does not require purchase of external technology.

Limited vendor management activities are included in the project plan.

Requires purchase and/or significant coordination with vendors or service providers

5. Strategic BA/Business Architect1

Project does not require broader business strategy or capabilities analysis.

Project would benefit from business strategy expertise in the upfront concept and needs analysis phases.

Project requires significant strategy or business capabilities expertise.

6. Business Process BA

Project requires little business process reengineering.

The project requires limited process flow analysis.

Project requires significant business process reengineering.

7. Integration Specialist

Project will not impact operations or data in more than two systems.

Needs analysis and planning would benefit from integration expertise.

Project requires coordination of external solutions with interdependent systems or data.

8. Data-Focused BA

Project is not data intensive or dependent.

Project involves some significant data flows.

Project is information intensive and data is key to competitive advantage.

9. BA/PM Project will have an independent project manager.

N/A Project lacks a project manager.

10. Product Owner (Agile)

Project will use waterfall methodology.

N/A Project will use Agile and require a product owner or a BA to manage the story backlog.

1 Specialization may be required outside of project work.

Assess the depth of need for a BA specialist on projects in your portfolio.

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DEPLOY SPECIALISTS FOR TARGETED ACTIVITIES

Involvement of Foundational BA and BA Specialists Across the Project LifecycleIllustrative

Specialists play more targeted project roles, supporting or relieving the foundational BA’s responsibilities across the lifecycle.

Kickoff Project ExecutionNeeds Analysis Production

Significant commitment

Lightweight involvement

Foundational BA

User Experience BA

Buyer’s Agent BA

Integration BA

Per

cen

tag

e

of

Wo

rklo

adP

erce

nta

ge

o

f W

ork

load

Per

cen

tag

e

of

Wo

rklo

adP

erce

nta

ge

o

f W

ork

load

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ADJUST SPECIALISTS’ LEVEL OF INVOLVEMENT TO MEET PORTFOLIO NEEDS

Activities of Specialist BAs Across the Project LifecycleIllustrative

Specialists vary their level of involvement to balance effort against other project needs.

Kickoff Project ExecutionNeeds Analysis Production

User Experience BA

Buyer’s Agent BA

Integration BA

UX BA coaches foundational BA on user experience needs analysis for this project

Buyer’s Agent BA coaches foundational BA on how to support the sponsor during vendor selection and negotiation.

Integration BA supports foundational BA’s ability to capture and track integration needs.

UX BA owns user experience analysis and integrates results with foundational BA’s analysis of business sponsors’ needs and objectives.

Buyer’s Agent BA focuses on preparing the sponsor for vendor-related interactions.

Integration BA captures integration requirements and dependencies.

UX BA validates that the solution meets user experience requirements.

Buyer’s Agent BA supports the sponsor in user acceptance.

Integration BA supports the execution of integration requirements.

Significant commitment Lightweight involvement

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KEY TAKEAWAYS

1. Improving the effectiveness of your BAs increases scalability for your Applications group, and value and speed for business partners. The best BAs carry 80% more project value than the lowest performing BAs. The best BAs also help to deliver solutions to market more rapidly and more on target with business objectives.

2. Encourage BAs to see beyond project and enterprise IT boundaries. The best BAs understand the architectural end state and are effective influencers across their relationships with business partners, delivery teams, and vendors. By maintaining focus on business needs—not just requirements—they work effectively with emerging technologies and new delivery channels.

3. Formalize accountability for needs discovery, technology management, and relationship management and communication competencies in your BAs’ performance objectives. The more that BAs understand their ownership over these areas, the better they perform and the more project value they deliver.

4. Find opportunities on “new world” projects for newer BAs, not just high performers. Experience in mobile, collaboration, and Software-as-a-Service projects can help BAs learn how to manage unclear requirements and tight project schedules effectively.

5. Identify how the best performers efficiently manage requirements and apply scalable insights institutionally. With a growing set of demands on BAs’ time, unnecessary requirements documentation represents a loss in productivity.

6. Formalize specializations to drive BA focus and effectiveness. Organizations that are developing generalist BAs are falling behind. The most effective BA organizations formalize and cultivate specializations, and find opportunities to match BAs’ strengths to project needs.

For more information, visit www.aec.executiveboard.com

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APPENDIX: BAs HAVE ROOM TO IMPROVE IN ALL DOMAINS

Competency Importance1 and Effectiveness2

Database Average

Supervisors of BAs perceive competency gaps in requirements elicitation and relationship management and communication.

Competency Effectiveness

Competency Importance

Large Competency Gap3

0

1

2

3

4

5

0

1

2

3

4

5

Co

mm

un

icat

ion

s an

d C

han

ge

Lea

der

ship

Req

uir

emen

ts

Man

agem

ent

and

A

nal

ysis

Des

ign

ing

fo

r U

sab

ility

Des

ign

Tea

m

Rel

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ip

Man

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Cre

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Co

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g

Bu

sin

ess

Cas

es

Pro

vid

ing

A

ccu

rate

Pro

ject

E

ffo

rt E

stim

ates

n = 17 organizations


1 Competency Importance benchmark is measured using BA Supervisor responses on behalf of the BA group.2 Competency Effectiveness benchmark is measured using BA Supervisor responses on behalf of the BA group.3 Measured as the gap between competency importance and effectiveness more than 1.0.

4.6

3.3

3.9

3.2 3.2

3.8

4.2

3.94.1

Req

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Elic

itat

ion

Arc

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Man

agem

ent

Bu

sin

ess

Rel

atio

nsh

ip

Man

agem

ent

Needs Discovery



3.33.1

2.72.4 2.3

3.3

2.72.9 2.9

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© 2012 The Corporate Executive Board Company. All Rights Reserved. AEC4272312SYN Source: AEC, BA Effectiveness Diagnostic, 2012.

APPENDIX: DRIVERS OF BA EFFECTIVENESS TESTEDThe Council tested a number of potential drivers of BA effectiveness and also captured input from BA group leaders.

Business Analyst Background

■ Education level ■ Field of study ■ Tenure as a BA ■ Overall work experience ■ Employment status ■ Work experience in IT ■ Breadth of experience in IT ■ Breadth of project type experience ■ Experience with agile projects ■ Work experience in sales or marketing ■ Interaction with IT stakeholders ■ Experience in specialized BA roles ■ Formal training experience and value ■ Coaching experience and value ■ Learning style preference

Business Analyst Workflow

■ Project workload ■ Project portfolio size ■ Project portfolio value ■ Specialized project volume ■ Project versus non-project activities ■ Project activities’ time allocation ■ Non-project activities’ time allocation ■ Volume of administrative work ■ Extent of strategic work ■ Task prioritization ■ Project ownership

Organizational Characteristics

■ Organizational size (number of employees) ■ Industry ■ IT organizational structure ■ Applications organizational structure ■ Business analyst group size ■ Extent of BA services outsourcing ■ BA retention rate ■ Talent development strategy ■ Project staffing model ■ Desired resource allocation ■ Competency prioritization ■ Project ownership approach ■ Career advancement opportunities ■ Access to stakeholders

Business Analyst Attitudes

■ Perceived organizational support ■ Perceived training and coaching value ■ Job satisfaction ■ Career path

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APPENDIX: IDEAL TIME ALLOCATION

BA Allocation of Time on Project ActivitiesPercentage of Time Spent on Each Set of Activities, Current Versus Ideal

BA Allocation of TimePercentage of Time on Project and Non-Project Activities

BAs want to shift from traditional activities to an emerging skill set that includes areas like usability and integration.

27% Non-Project Activities

73% Project

Activities

10%

58%

32%

5%

53%

42%

Current Allocation Ideal Allocation

n = 200 BAs.

Source: AEC 2012 BA Effectiveness Diagnostic.

Traditional Responsibilities:

■ Requirements documentation

■ Designing a solution ■ Communicating with design teams

■ Project management

Emerging Responsibilities:

■ Analysis of customer or end-user workflow

■ Work on usability/ user experience

■ Business process mapping

■ Integration planning or strategy

∆ = +31%

∆ = (9%)

∆ = (50%)

Other Responsibilities

Traditional Responsibilities

Emerging Responsibilities

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APPENDIX: STAFFING ALLOCATION MODEL

How Are You Assigning BAs to Projects? Percentage of Organizations

Fewer than 20% of organizations are ensuring BAs’ skills are the right fit for project needs.

18% Explicit Matching of Skill Sets with Needs

13% Informal Matching of Skill Sets with Needs

64% Primarily Availability

5% Availability Only

n = 39 BA group leaders.

Source: AEC 2012 BA Effectiveness Diagnostic.

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APPENDIX: PARTICIPANT PROFILE–ORGANIZATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS

Respondents by IndustrySample Distribution

Respondents by GeographySample Distribution

Participants in the BA Effectiveness Diagnostic reflect a broad range of organizational profiles.

■ Survey administration involved in-depth collaboration with 17 member organizations.

24% Financial Services

89% North

America

17% Insurance

2% EMEA

15% Business Services

5% Energy and Utilities

7% Government or Non-Profit

19% Manufacturing

13% High Tech

9% APAC

n = 200 BAs.


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32


APPENDIX: PARTICIPANT PROFILE–BACKGROUND AND EXPERIENCERespondents by Educational BackgroundPercentage of BAs

Respondents by Experience with Project TypesPercentage of BAs, Multiple Responses Allowed

Participating BAs reflect diverse educational and professional experiences.

n = 200 BAs.


84%72%

62% 60%

45% 42%37%

27%

13%

Mai

nte

nan

ce a

nd

E

nh

ance

men

t

Pro

cess

A

uto

mat

ion

Inte

gra

tio

n

Pro

ject

s

Cu

sto

mer

Inte

rfac

e A

pp

licat

ion

s (W

eb)

Co

llab

ora

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n

Bu

sin

ess

Inte

llig

ence

or

An

alyt

ics

So

ftw

are

as a

Ser

vice

Bu

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ess

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ject

s W

ith

ou

t IT

Co

mp

on

ents

Mo

bile

22% Bachelor’s Degree in Business

or Finance

28% Bachelor’s Degree in

Engineering, Technology, or

Computer Science

15% No Bachelor’s Degree

25% Other Undergraduate or Graduate Degree

10% Bachelor’s Degree in Social Sciences or Humanities

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33


29

40

56

71

81

APPENDIX: BA EFFECTIVENESS VARIES SUBSTANTIALLY

BA Effectiveness Index1 RangeBA Effectiveness Index Score, by Effectiveness Percentile

There is a broad range of effectiveness across BAs, indicating significant opportunity for improvement.


10th Percentile 25th Percentile 75th Percentile50th Percentile 90th Percentile

n = 200 BAs.1 The BA Effectiveness Index measures business analyst skills across three broad domains: needs discovery, technology management, and relationship

management. Index scores range from 0 to 100, where 0 is the least effective BA and 100 is the most effective BA.

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34


APPENDIX: VARIATION WITHIN AND ACROSS BA GROUPS

BA Effectiveness Index1 Range by OrganizationBA Effectiveness Index Score, Representative Subset of Participating Organizations

There is wide variation in effectiveness across BAs within the same organization.

■ Variation within organizations demonstrates that company-level factors do not explain all differences in BA effectiveness; there are important drivers at the BA level as well.


Organization A

Organization B

Organization C

Organization D

Organization E

Organization F

Organization G

Organization H

Organization I

n = 200 BAs.1 The BA Effectiveness Index measures business analyst skills across three broad domains: needs discovery, technology management, and relationship

management. Index scores range from 0 to 100, where 0 is the least effective BA and 100 is the most effective BA.

100

80

40

60

20

0

90th Percentile

Average

10th Percentile

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