RequirementCoach Analyst Brief

How Effective Business Analysis Achieves Business Outcomes

Business analysis is more than just the activity of requirements definition. Unfortunately, most organizations still follow a process in which business analysis occurs only during that one phase of the project. When business analysis is considered only as a singular task, the project lifecycle ends up with a few disconnects and missing activities, as you can see in the image below.

5 2 1 3
People

4 6
Technology Solution
Transition

X?
Business Problem or Need

7
?
Business Outcomes ?

Solution Requirements

? ?

? ?

5
Process

This image describes the process normally performed by organizations with low business analysis maturity. Although all of the critical points are included in the process, what is missing is the business analysis that is necessary to support those important milestones. Traditionally to start off the project lifecycle, the organization will perform extensive analysis on the problems or needs currently facing the organization. Then, the solution is developed, built, and tested before transitioning it to implementation so that it can deliver the desired business outcomes. This process sounds simplebut there is a lot that can go wrong when the business analyst is not involved from end-to-end. Even though the process usually delivers an outcome, most often its not the outcome that the business is looking for. There are a few problems that are encountered on a regular basis when following a process with minimal business analysis involved: 1. The business problem or need is poorly documented. 2. There are no business requirements defined. 3.  There is a disconnect between the problem definition and the development of solution requirements. 4. Stakeholders are not consulted regarding their needs. 5.  There is no formal impact assessment; the solution only deals with changes in technology, and not the accompanying people and processes. 7. There is a lot of uncertainty surrounding the poorly defined transition. 8. Desired business outcomes may or may not be delivered.
Copyright 2013 Enfocus Solutions Inc. All Rights Reserved

RequirementCoach Analyst Brief

The problems listed on the previous page are detrimental to the success of a project. They either cause extensive rework or complete failure, therefore wasting time and budget. The bad news is that most organizations still encounter these issues. The good news is that they can be easily mitigated by implementing mature business analysis practices, as described below.

Business Requirements

People
Stakeholder Requirements

X?
Business Problem or Need
Solution Requirements

Technology Solution

Transition Requirements

Business Outcomes

Impact Assessment

Process

By adopting and uplifting business analysis practices within the organization, projects have a higher chance of delivering the benefits laid out in the business case. Including business analysis in every phase of the project lifecycle will help deliver more successful business outcomes by ensuring: 1. The business problem is clearly and accurately described. In many organizations, the problem is defined by business stakeholders rather than a business analyst. However, the business analyst is equipped with the skills necessary to adequately explore a problem or situation and facilitate the discussion about the appropriate course of action. 2. A complete set of business requirements is gathered. This includes the problem statement, project vision, business objectives, constraints, and features. These high-level requirements are often overlooked and never documented. However, the business analyst understands that they are necessary to develop a good foundation for requirements elicitation and development activities. Without these requirements, the requirements analysts have little or no direction as to what the final solution must deliver, and the final solution runs the risk of not aligning with the project vision.

Copyright 2013 Enfocus Solutions Inc. All Rights Reserved

RequirementCoach Analyst Brief

3. The project team properly prepares for solution requirement development. In the traditional process shown in the image on the previous page, once the problem has been defined, the next task is to develop solution requirements. However, there are actually a couple different steps that must occur before these requirements can be developed. They require the completion of a few different tasks. Once the problem is defined, it must be clearly documented along with the other business requirements. Also, impact analysis must be performed and stakeholder needs, or stakeholder requirements, must be elicited before solution requirements can be developed. 4. Stakeholders are consulted on their needs regarding the solution. Stakeholders need to be a part of the requirements development process. The business analyst will collaborate with stakeholders to elicit their needs so that there is a true understanding of what everyone expects from the solution. Meeting the expectations of all of the stakeholder groups is integral to project success; however, it can be very difficult to meet expectations when stakeholder needs are not adequately gathered and documented. 5. A  n impact assessment is performed to take into account existing people, process, and technology. All too often, organizations neglect to perform an impact analysis of proposed solutions, leading to many problems. Without a clear understanding of how the solution is going to affect the rest of the organization, there is no true way to successfully plan for a transition or to understand the necessary changes that must be made to the people and processes that accompany the technology solution. In an organization with mature business analysis practices, it is the responsibility of the business analyst to facilitate the impact analysis and document results to share with the project team and business stakeholders. 6. Transition requirements are well-defined. When a transition is poorly managed, the solution will be poorly received by the stakeholders who are supposed to accept and implement it. One of the responsibilities of the business analyst is to help manage the whole transition process from the perspective of both the business and IT. A well-managed transition will ensure all required training takes place, changes are communicated appropriately, post-implementation support is provided, and that existing resources can handle the changes that the solution brings with it.

Copyright 2013 Enfocus Solutions Inc. All Rights Reserved

RequirementCoach Analyst Brief

7. Expected outcomes are achieved. After a problem or need is defined, a business case is developed to approve the project. The benefits that are to be achieved from the project must be clearly documented within the business case so that they can be referred to throughout the project to assess progress, as well as at the end of the project to assess the business outcomes achieved. In many organizations, there are no formal processes in place for ensuring benefits are achieved. However, business analysis best practices require careful documentation and tracking of delivered business value. The business analyst is skilled at facilitating these three key tasks: documentation of expected benefits, assessment of progress, and measurement of achieved outcomes. Enfocus Requirements Suite Facilitates Business Analysis The points discussed in this analyst brief can all be addressed by using Enfocus Requirements Suite. Enfocus Requirements Suite is designed to facilitate solution development that incorporates the best practices of business analysis. The business analysts at Enfocus Solutions are responsible for ensuring the suite of applications reflects the most current set of business analysis trends and best practices. This set of tools allows analysts, project teams, and various groups of stakeholders to communicate and collaborate throughout the project lifecycle to deliver successful solutions. In addition to software applications that are designed to facilitate project analysis, Enfocus Requirements Suite provides the Requirements Excellence Framework, a complete methodology to help organizations improve their business analysis functions. Organizations with low maturity that have adopted new business analysis processes as well as Enfocus Requirements Suite have found less frustration and more success in their projects.

Copyright 2013 Enfocus Solutions Inc. All Rights Reserved