iiba st louis chapter march 2008 presentation

8/14/2019 IIBA St Louis Chapter March 2008 Presentation

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International Institute of Business Analysis

Vision: The world's leading

association for

Business Analysis

professionals

Mission: To develop and

maintain standards for the

practice of business analysis

and for the certification of its

practitioners

1


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Business Analysis: the Next Step

Towards Project Success

Dave Wirick, PMP, CMA

Copyright BabSim, LLC 2007


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Workshop Overview

Describe the importance of requirementsmanagement and business analysis and thechallenges of them

Introduce participants to the emerging profession of

business analysis with a focus on projectrequirements definition

Describe the role of the BABOK and theInternational Association of Business Analysts (IIBA)

Describe the roles of business analysis and therequirements cycle

Describe training options for increasing the skills ofbusiness analysts and for achieving better projectoutcomes


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The IT Professional Outlook:

Where do we go from here? By 2010, IT Professionals will need to

possess expertise in multiple domains.

Technical aptitude alone will no longer beenough.

IT professionals must prove they can

understand business realities- industry, coreprocesses, customer bases, regulatory

environment

And contribute real business value to their

enterprise.


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Consider These Statistics:

66% of software projects aren't expected to finishon time or on budget

56% of project defects originate in the

requirements phase of the project Completed projects have only 52% of proposed

functionality

75-80% of IT project failures are the result of

requirements problems


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What the Experts are saying about BA!!

"What CIOs increasingly demand is a businessanalyst-someone who can use a rich knowledge ofthe business end of things to develop applications

that actually work well for the business." "The New ITDepartment: The Top Three Positions You Need CIOMagazine, January 1, 2006

"As part of its annual skills and salary survey, Foote

Partners listed the hot jobs most likely to withstandoffshoring. If you're starting out or seeking a change,consider these disciplines: Business analysts; Datamodelers; Project managers.A Tale of Three Studies"Certification Magazine, March 2006


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What is Business Analysis?

The set of tasks, knowledge, and techniques required to

identify business needs and determine solutions to

business problems (BABOKVersion 1.6)


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What Is a Business Analyst? (1)

Business Analysts are responsible for identifying the businessneeds of their clients and stakeholders to help determine solutionsto business problems.

The Business Analyst is responsible for requirements developmentand requirements management. Specifically, the Business Analystelicits, analyzes, validates and documents business, organizationaland/or operational requirements. Solutions are not predeterminedby the Business Analyst, but are driven solely by the requirementsof the business. Solutions often include a systems developmentcomponent, but may also consist of process improvement or

organizational change.

Source: IIBA,


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What Is a Business Analyst? (2)

The Business Analyst is a key facilitator within anorganization, acting as a bridge between the client,stakeholders and the solution team.Business analysis is distinct from financial analysis, projectmanagement, quality assurance, organizational

development, testing, training and documentationdevelopment. However, depending on an organization, anindividual Business Analyst may perform some or all of theserelated functions.

Source: IIBA


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Roles of the Business Analyst

Gather requirements

Document processes

Identify improvement opportunities

Document business requirements Act as the liaison between users and architects


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Metaphors for the Business Analyst

Watchdog (over business objectives in

projects)

Translator

Entrepreneur

Archivist

Detective

Diplomat

Storyteller

Economist

Vendor manager


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The Business Analyst and Knowledge

Management

The BA gathers data (which is unstructured and

unusable-comments from users)

Converts that data into information (which has

structure-requirements) And then converts that information into knowledge

(which is structured and usable by those who will

build the application-requirements analysis and

modeling)


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Business Analysis as a Profession

IIBA intends to achieve that goal by:

Creating and developing awareness and recognition of the value and

contribution of the Business Analyst

Defining the Body of Knowledge

Providing a forum for knowledge sharing and contribution to the Body of

Knowledge

Identifying the required skills and competencies of a qualified Business

Analyst

Defining training and professional development standards

Publicly recognizing and certifying qualified Business Analysts


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Challenges of Good Business Analysis

Pressures on an organization to assign existing resources toa project (resources which may not have the skills necessaryfor adequate and effective analysis)

The lack of advance planning

The lack of training for Business Analysts Gap between what Business Analysts are assigned to doand what they should be assigned to do

The ad hoc and irregular deployment of business analysts Outsourcing and relying on external contractors to perform

major roles in system development Organizational impatience with the planning process


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Business Requirements

A condition or capability needed by a stakeholder to solve aproblem (BABOKVersion 1.6)

Focus on a particular business process or processes

Describe the business need or problem and address all the

functions associated with the accomplishment of theseprocesses

In project terms, are the detailed items necessary toaccomplish the goals of the project which are documented inthe scope statement


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Business Requirements (2)

Should focus only on the What of the project What functions and features must be included?

What other systems, organizations or projects will impact this project?

What people will be using the product of the project?

What people will influence the projects completion? Not simply a list of functions and features

Should also prioritize these business needs and address in specificterms the details of each

Should not include specifics on how these processes will be

accomplished, which is the role of the systems analyst.


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Good Requirements

Necessary

Verifiable

Attainable

Clear

Source: Ivy F. Hooks and Kristin A. Farry, Customer Centered Products (AMACOM,

2001)


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The Requirements Cycle

Enterprise Analysis :

-Define the problem

-Define the solution scope

Requirements Planning and

Management

-Plan the requirements

process

Requirements Elicitation

-Gather the requirements

Requirements Analysis and

Documentation

-Apply analysis models-Identify gaps

-Refine requirements

Requirements

Communication

-Present models

-Create consensus

-Refine requirements

The Requirements Cycle

Solution Assessment and

Validation

-Ensure that the project

meets the requirements

The Difference between many current BA


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The Difference between many current BA

courses and Premier Knowledge Solutions

BA?

A major difference between current

courses and ours is the inclusion of the

most current BABOK, which is becomingthe standard for best practices for business

analysis. Either now or in the future,

teaching a BA course without basing it on

the BABOK may become like teaching anon-PMBOK PM course or a non

authorized Microsoft Course.


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What is the BA BOK?

Business Analysis is

the set of tasks,knowledge &techniquesrequired to identifybusiness needs &determine solutions

to businessproblems

The Business Analysis Body ofKnowledge

Captures the sum of knowledgewithin the profession of BusinessAnalysis

Areas of knowledge

Associated activities & tasks

Skills necessary to be effective Reflects what is currently accepted

practices

Owned & enhanced by theprofessionals who apply it


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BA BOK Knowledge Areas

Requirements Planning & Management

Requirements

ElicitationSix KnowledgeSix Knowledge

AreasAreas

Requirements

Communications

Requirements

Analysis &

Documentation

Enterprise

Analysis

Solution Assessment and validation


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Business Analyst Roles in Leading Enterprise

Analysis

Provide management with the information they need

Work with other stakeholders to collect the necessaryinformation to inform decision making that takes into account

cross-organizational impacts Focuses at the enterprise level to ensure that inter-project

dependencies and system interfaces are adequately factoredinto decision making.

Need to balance the cost of information gathering with theamount of information required


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Requirements Planning Is Necessary So

That

Stakeholders have a common understanding of theprocess

The most appropriate activities are performed

The requirements work effort is coordinated The requirements team understands its role and the

activities they will perform

The business analyst can react appropriately to

changes Supporting tools and resources are available to the

requirements team when they are needed

Changes are managed so that the objectives of theproject are met


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Requirements Traceability

Link products to the purpose for which they were

created

Confirm that requirements gathering is done

Ensure that work outside scope is not performed Ensure stakeholder notification of changes

Increase quality

Facilitate the change control process


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Document Requirements (1)

May use a common format and may include:

A vision document

Business process description

Business requirements document Request for proposal/quotation

Software requirements specification


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Data and Behavior Models

Static models (i.e., they show the model at a point intime)

Include: Business rules

Class models CRUD matrices Data dictionaries Data transformation and mapping

Entity relationship diagrams Metadata definitions


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Process-Flow Models

Activity diagrams

Data flow diagrams

Event identification

Flowcharts Sequence diagrams

State machine diagrams

Workflow models


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Usage Models

Illustrate the interaction of a user with a solution Allow a focus on the analysis of the requirements from the

point of view of that user, who will play a major role indetermining the success of the system.

7 usage models: Prototyping Storyboards or screen flows Use case descriptions Use case diagrams User interface designs User profiles User stories


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Create Requirements Package

Determine which components of the overall

comprehensive requirements document should be

grouped together

Assess the audience to whom the requirementswill be presented

Evaluate the documentation required based on the

type of project

Package the requirements for presentation


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Ensure the Usability of the Solution

The business analyst can support the efforts to create a

usable solution by keeping the team focused on the

requirements

The business analyst can also serve as an advocate forthe interests of users as a counter-balance to the

interests of the technical team.


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Support the Implementation of the Solution

The business analyst may have the best and most

thorough knowledge of the users of the solution

Can provide effective insight to the implementation team

and assist in their communications with the users.


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Business Analyst The Pivotal IT Role of the

Future

Technical skills are relatively easy to

outsource, but organizations cannot

abdicate control of their businessrequirements in virtually every

organization, the pivotal leadership role

of the business analyst is beginning toshape the future of IT Kathleen B. Hass, PMP

B bb Si l


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Babbage Simmeland IIBA + PMI

For over 24 years, Babbage Simmel has been a leader in business processes; including PM, BA,organizational development and advanced technology training and consulting

PMI Global Registered Education Provider (PMI R.E.P.)

IIBA Charter member (EEP) Endorsed Education Provider and sits on the IIBA Advisory Council

Courses aligned with PMIs Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) and IIBA BABOK

Babbage Simmel is a Four Tier Microsoft Gold Partner


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Babbage Simmels BA Program is

recognized for A strong curricula, based upon the IIBA

methodology that is becoming the standard BA

Methodology for BA Certification. An unequaled delivery platform that consists of

curriculum created by industry subject matter

experts and delivery by those same experts.

BS facilitators are recognized for their ability to

provide instruction of theory and their ability to

ground the theory in real life application!


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Learning Objectives for BA Training

Reduce requirements development time and improve

market responsiveness

Control costs

Generate greater customer satisfaction

Increase morale and team building

Enhance productivity

Organizational effectiveness and project success


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Babbage Simmel BA Courses

Two-, three, four-, and five-day intro to BA Five-day intense workshops leading to

International Institute of Business Analysts(IIBA) certification

Two and three-day focused workshops.

Those workshops can also be combined intoa ten-day comprehensive professionalcertificate series.

The Babbage Simmel business analysissuite of workshops conforms to the IIBABusiness Analysis Body of Knowledge (theBABOK).


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Thanks for coming

t d !

Questions?

iiba st louis chapter march 2008 presentation

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