Business Analysis Course

22 October 2014
Risks associated with IT in an organization
One way to minimize the risk associated IT is to outsource it.
Outsourcing leads to loss of control.
Business Analyst falls between business and development. It is a
communication role. They retain the corporate knowledge of the
organization.
Internal Business Analyst provides continuity
See page 4, Business Analysis reader. Lifecycle for business
change.
Alignment = making changes to the structure of the organization to
meet the challenges of the changing environment.
Business Case plan for change
The cycle then follows around.
The process continues around to meet the changes in the business
environment.
A company has to be constantly changing in a structured way,
rather than in a slapdash way.
Most business analysts work within the project process although
some work in other areas.
What do Business Analysts do? (See page 17, ring binder, page
10 book)
Involved in helping to define the business case
Define the functional and non functional requirements
Excludes :
Project management
Planning techniques
IT service or infrastructure management
They are trusted advisors
Business case can advise things that may not seem to be obviously
in the interests of the business

Solution should be good enough not necessarily perfect. Good

enough leads to agility.

Competencies of a Business Analyst

Behavioural skills and personal qualities
Business knowledge
Techniques
Mnemonic: BBT
Pages 22 and 23 ring binder, pp 17 -25 book
Typical question What are the three competencies of a business
analyst?
Competencies can be developed in a number of different ways but
Skills Framework for the Information Age is one source. SFIA and
SFIA plus
If you were using Isaksen and Treffingers approach
Which would be the next stage or previous stage to the current
stage. `use mnemonic My Dog Pants If Shes Active.
P 28 ring binder,
Business Analysis approach
This is the main structure of the course
Page 58 book, p 29 ring binder
Extending the model, p 68
Possible question What is the stage at the start, before or after the
given stage.
I call all Elephants Dumbo, page 31 ring binder important
Project Initiation Document
Scope defined as a part of the PID. May also define what is not in
scope. No need to define everything out of scope, only the things
that are related, but not included. Interested in what comes out of
some of the things that are out of scope, but has no say in that area.
The interface between the two may be important though. An
interface to BACS means that the output from the system must be in
the format that BACS can read. We cant go and change BACS.
Constraints
How much time and money
Authority

Who is the sponsor?

Resources
What other resources are required?
Strategy Analysis
Define what we need to do change the current situation. First we
need to analyze the current situation in order to see what we need
to change. Use a SWOT analysis to do this.
Definition of strategy: p34 ring binder quote important
Strategy
Virgin sold megastores for $100M to fund Virgin Galactic
Had to sell Virgin Media to prop up the funding
Needed a regulator for insurance purposes. Had to set up the
regulator as here wasnt one. This includes Lockheed and Boeing,
who are all trying to provide their own solutions, so they are
delaying the regulation until they develop their own systems.
Strategy
Small company Owner or Entrepreneur
Large company individual intrapraneurs within the company,
possibly competing
Strategy Lenses p36 ring binder
Design lens (formal planning)
Ideas lens (Entrepreneurial)
Experience lens (Intrapraneurial)
Internal politics
Dependency control of resources
Financial
Position STOP triangle p76 book
Uniqueness can share withhold resources or knowledge
Uncertainty
Garbage can model
Recycling old ideas p37 ring binder
Strategic Analysis techniques SWOT

Opportunities and Threats

External
PESTLE P40 and 41 ring binder
Porters 5 forces p42 ring binder analyzing the competition
Scenarios
Internal
Strengths and weaknesses
MOST analysis p43 and 44 ring binder analyze the existing strategy
Resource audit Tangible and Intangible
Boston Box p47 ring binder
SWOT
P48
Implementing Strategy p51 ring binder
Time How quick?
Scope How big is the change?
Capability change process in place?
Readiness responsiveness?
Strategic leadership
Balanced Business Scorecard
An Excel sheet is available from Microsoft Office website.
Mnemonic CLIF
Customer
Learning and growth
Internal business processes
Financial

Investigation Techniques p56 ring binder p 73 book

Review of the existing business situation
As a rich picture p67 ring binder or a mind map p70 ring binder *
This is a deliverable
Quantitative approaches p88 book
Collecting metrics
Questionnaires
Special purpose records collecting records manually if system
does not give otherwise
Activity sampling time and motion
Document analysis look at completed forms and reports
Qualitative approaches P78 book
Interviews p61 ring binder
Observation p62 ring binder
Workshops p63 ring binder p83 book
Scenarios p64 ring binder
For instance, removing cash from an ATM represented by an activity
diagram
Prototyping a demonstration system or a simulation of the system
Documenting techniques
*Rich pictures P67 ring binder p92 book
Aims to capture the key elements of the organization including the
ethos and relationships
*Mind maps p93 book p70 ring binder
The link between the two is unclear
Swimlane diagrams p72 ring binder
Actors, tasks and flow
Spaghetti map p73
Shows how people move about the environment to carry out tasks.
Good for improving processes
Fishbone (ishikawa) diagramP95 book
Use Four Ms Manpower, machines, measures and methods
OR

Six Ps people, place, processes, physical evidence, product/service

and performance measures
Business needs log p97 book
Consider perspectives p60 book p78 ring binder
Identify key stakeholders
Stakeholder Analysis and Management
Stakeholder definition p80 ring binder
Power/interest grid p82 ring binder
This is a personal document and shows how you feel they should be
engaged
Comes up as an exam question, need to memorize this.
Stakeholder attitudes

Day 2, 23 October
Modelling Business Systems
Terms of reference are the terms of reference to write a business
case.
TOR should be provided but often arent. May have to create terms
of reference.
OSCAR
Objectives
Scope
Constraints
Authority
Resources
Visualise the scope. Create a context diagram. Includes things out
of scope because they may have to interface with them.
Constraints are not solutions. Following the law is a constraint, but it
doesnt necessarily suggest a solution.
Investigate situation
Rich picture or mind map
Gap analysis = where you started from and where you want to get
to
Options for change
Consider Perspectives
Power Interest grid PIG for stakeholder analysis
Links to STOP triangle
S set strategy
T middle managers
OP operational staff

Business Process
Input

(this process consumes resources)

Transformation carries out by Actors

Output

Trigger aka Event*

-------------------

Added value
Outcome

Outputs with no added value (NVA) these should be removed

Customers determine the added value
Too costly customers dont buy
Too cheap sell lots but dont make much money
*3 kinds of events
1. External the source is external to the project
No control over
When it happens
Frequency
Scale
Format
Can cause problems if improperly understood
2. Internal
Should be able to control this data from one process to another
3. Time
Significance - needs to be defined. Doesnt happen until you make
it happen. May be affected by constraints such as payroll run so
people are paid on time.
Soft system methodology (SSM)
CATWOE Components of a business perspective P91 ring binder
Customers
Actors
Transformation
Worldview
Owner
Environment
KPI categories CLIF based on Critical Success Factors (CSF)
7 stages
Appreciate the unstructured problematical situation
Understand the worldview
Create root definitions of relevant situations
Comparison to real world
Make and test conceptual models of relevant systems
Identify desirable changes
Action to improve the problem situation

10

Using a hotel as an example

All provide overnight accommodation
Savoy 800
Strand Palace 180
Travelodge 80
Do not really compete. They provide the same service but at
different levels.
The difference is the Worldview (the Weltanschauung)
When The Cat Acts Over Excited = CATWOE in the right order
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

World view
Transformation
Customers
Actors
Owner
Environment

Business Activity Model

A conceptual model a vision of the future (No need to worry

about who, when or how)

One for each business perspective (If there are six

perspectives youll get six models)

Need to build a consensus model

Aids analysis and improvements

Does not show who carries out the activities or where they are
carried out

Business Activity Model (BAM)

A

11

12

Business Activity Model

Ring binder p 94 onwards Book pp117 onwards
Starts with the Primary activity (Doing activities)
Items should be labelled verb noun from the business perspective
lend item rather than borrow item
You can overlay more information as text onto the diagram.
Build the model by creating as many items as you think necessary
and then provide links between them in terms of dependencies.
Build a consensus that will be acceptable to primary stakeholders.
This will be the final business activity model.
Analyse Needs
GAP analysis
Convert BAM to high level process model (like another BAM but
converting As is to To be)
Inputs
Agreed business activity model
Terms of reference
View of system rich picture or mind map
Business objectives and strategy
Ask

the following questions:

Do the desired activities exist in the current system?
Do the current activities work well or have problems?
How extensive are the problems with the current activities?
Are there aspects of the current business systems that are not
supported in the BAM?*

*Could go through BAM seeing what processes have been suggested

as important but arent currently implemented
If they arent there:
They could be new
You might have missed it
Organisational Context
P106 ring binder (look at this)

13

Customers dont care how an order is processed through the

organisation
Better to have an alternative view such as Harmons organisation
model p107 ring binder
Process map
Purchase
item

Loan
item

Register
borrower

Accept
returned item

Issue
reminder

Porters Value Chain

P133 book p108 ring binder
Value Proposition
Product/service attributes
o Functionality
o Price
o Quality
o Choice
o Availability
Image and reputation
Customer relationship
Developing business process model
P109 and 110 ring binder
Swimlane diagram
Specific symbols are used
A more complex system on p 111 ring binder
Improving business processes p 114 ring binder
Important
Process measurement
Internal measures
14

 External measures
Process and task measures
Performance issues
Six Sigma
Six sigma (standard deviations) to the right of the mean =
99.99966% defect free
Options Analysis
Option Evaluation
For a daily event once every 806
Business Case
years
Presentation
5 Step DMAIC approach
Define the problem
Measure the data
Analyse the results
Improve the process
Control
Evaluate Options
Inputs?

Outputs?

Techniques

Steps of Waterfall Lifecycle p119 ring binder

Feasibility study (Business case)

Requirements analysis (what is needed)

Solution design (design it)

Solution development (code it)

Operation of new processes and systems (do it)

Processes for developing options p120 onwards ring binder

15

Possible options . Investigate feasibility and remove unfeasible

options
Shortlist options
Evaluate options
Take option(s) forward to the Business Case
Tangible Costs and Benefits p124 and 125 ring binder
vs
Intangible Costs and Benefits
RISK EVALUATION
Risk

High
Medium
Low
Low

medium
Probability

High

Payback calculation
Payback period = how long it takes to recoup your initial investment
However, two ideas might have the same payback period but one
ultimately makes more money than another.
Discounted cash flow
Takes into account the future value of money.
Using 10% interest rate per year
2014
2015
100
110

2016
121

2017
133

Present value of 133 in 4 years time is 100

Net present value is the future value multiplied by the discount
factor
Gives an idea of what money will actually be worth in the future
Discounted cash flow is the accepted way of calculating the value
of money in the future.
You can use the discounted cash flow value to compare the
outcomes of different business cases in the future. Not the values
that they look like now, but what they will be worth in the future.
Internal rate of return
Discount rate that will give a net present value of

16

Item
Hardware
purchase
Hardware
maintenance
Software
purchase
Software
support
Staff savings
Cash flow for
year
Cumulative
cash flow

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 5

Year 6

31000.0
0

32000.0
0

33000.0
0

34000.0
0

31000.0
0
150000.
00

32000.0
0
150000.
00

33000.0
0
150000.
00

34000.0
0
150000.
00

88000.0
0
172000.
00

86000.0
0
86000.0
0

84000.0
0

82000.0
0

2000.00

80000.0
0

200000.0
0
30000.00
150000.0
0
30000.00
150000.0
0
260000.0
0
260000.0
0

Gathering the Requirements p133 ring binder

BCS calls it Requirements engineering
Problems with requirements
A process for requirements engineering
Actors in requirements engineering
Requirements elicitation
Problems with requirements
Not linked to business objectives
Ambiguity
Duplication or conflicts
No requirements
Incorrect or incomplete
Misinterpreted
No measures
Assume a solution
Requirements elicitation
Drawing out requirements and visualising possibilities

17

Tacit vs explicit knowledge

o Individual
o Corporate
Techniques (AERO)
o Interviews, workshops etc.
o Apprentice
Shadowing
Protocol analysis
Enact
o Prototype
o Scenario role play
Recount
o Storytelling
o Scenarios
Observe
o Observation

18

Requirements
elicitation

Requirements
analysis

Requirements
validation

Requirements documentation

Requirements management
Page 137 ring binder
Business Case already contains the high level requirements
These then need to be analysed further in order to find out the
atomic requirements
Requirements come in a number of flavours
Business requirements
Solution requirements

Requirement
Requirement
s

Business

General
General

Solution

Technical
Technical

Functional
Functional

NonFunctional
Functional

19

Categories of requirements p172 fig 10.3

Functional requirements must be implementable and testable
Hold details of customer including name, address, credit limit,
date of last order
Allow changes to be made to customer details
Report all orders placed in the last week
Data Entry
Gathering and recording data
Procedural
Implementation of the business
rules

Data maintenance
Changes to data, including data
deletion
Retrieval requirements
Reporting, responding to
enquiries

Non-functional requirements
P141 ring binder
Performance
Speed of processing
transactions
Backup & recovery
Protection against
loss of data
Availability
Timeframe

Security
Security levels for
protection of data
Archiving and
retention
Duration, methods,
eventual deletion
Usability
Ease of learning
Ease of use

Legal and access

Permissions, who has
access
Maintainability
Servicing, problem
detection and
correction
Capacity
Data volumes
User volumes
Transaction volumes

Requirements Document

Introduction and background

Business process models
Function models
o Context diagram or use case diagram
Data models
o ERD or data class model
Requirements catalogue
Glossary of terms

Types of Requirement
Business
o General
o Technical
Solution
20

o Functional
o Non-functional
For every objective there should be a business requirement
For most business requirements there may be a solution but some
may not be provided through IT, some are performed manually
A sample requirement is on p145 ring binder
Hierarchy of requirements
Prioritising Requirements
MOSCOW
M must have
S should
have
C could have
W want to
have

Mandatory, cannot meet objectives without it

Mandatory but may wait until second increment.
System will have short-term value without it
Beneficial if time allows but not central to project
objectives
Will not be met in this delivery, may be upgraded
in a future delivery

Documenting a requirement

Requirements
elicitation

Requirements
analysis

Requirements
validation

Requirements documentation

Requirements management

Requirements
Identification
Requirements origin and
ownership

Change control

Requirements crossreferencing
Software support
(CASE/CARE)

Configuration
management

21

Day 3, 24 October
Strategic document (Business Case) Defining business
requirements System requirements
Breadth before depth
SWOT analysis provides the information used to create the strategic
document
2 Techniques for internal evaluation
Boston Box
Wild cat
Star
Dog
Cash cow
Resource audit
Tangible resources
o Buildings
o Money
o Staff
Intangible resources
Brand
IP
2 Techniques for external evaluation
PESTLE
Political
Economic
Socio cultural
Technological
Legal
Environmental
Porters five forces left to right is supply chain. Top to bottom are
New entrants and substitute products and services
All this feeds into the MOST
Mission
Objective
Strategy
Tactic
Feeds into the balanced business scorecard (BBS)
Mnemonic CLIF
Customer
22

Learning and Growth

Internal business process
Financial
Central is the vision and strategy
Feeds into Mckinseys 7 ss
Strategy, Structure, Systems
Shared Values
Skills, Staff, Style

Business Analysis Process Model (5%

of Project time)
I Call All Elephants Dumbo
Investigate situation (As-is)
Consider perspectives (To-be)
Analyse needs (Gap analysis)
Evaluate options
Define requirements
Each of these is a process
Input
Terms of
reference
OSCAR
Workshop with
stakeholders
with power to
define the
future
(following
stakeholder
analysis)

Rich picture
(or mind map)
+
Consensus
BAM

Stage
Investigate
Consider
perspectives
using
CATWOE
WTCAOE

The T
(transformation)
is important
here

Analyse needs
As Is process
map

To Be process
map p131
Like a BAM but
defining who,

Outptut
Rich picture (or mind
map)
Business Activity
Models
(Built backwards)
1. Plan
2. Enable
3. Do
(transformation)
4. Monitor
5. Control
Consensus BAM
High Level
Requirements

23

High level
requirements

TOR
OSCAR
Stakeholder
analysis

what, where and

using rectangles
instead of circles
Decides whether
processes are to
be performed by
internal or
external staff
Evaluate options
Feasibility study
Business
Technical
A small number
( 3) of options
plus the Do
nothing option

Business Case
Options that make
sense from a business
and technical
perspective
Then do the financial
feasibility
Risk analysis and
impact analysis.
PRESENT TO BOARD
APPROVAL OF AN OPTION
Define
Atomic requirements
requirements
Take high level
requirements
and turn them
into atomic
requirements
(Object
Orientated
approach)
Requirements
engineering
p136

Modelling requirements
CRUD
Capture
Read
Use
Delete
Use cases are named verb noun, so you could use the ones above,
Create Data, Delete file etc.
Solution requirements
24

Use UML or Entity relationship models

UML = Unified Modelling Language

Use Case diagram (for automated processes)

Record
rental

Record
Return

Business processes can be represented by swimlane diagrams

Manual processes are not represented by use cases so they are
represented by use case.
Represented by swimlane diagrams
Customer
Request drinks

Bar staff

Prepare drinks

Pay for drinks

Ask for payment

Data needs Class diagram

Customer

25

Customer
Number
First Name
Last Name
Age
Gender
Date of Birth
getAge()
setAge()
getDateofBirth()

Customer Class
:Customer Object

Customer
Requests

1
1..
Quote

*Multiplicity min..max
Entity relationship diagrams
Custom
er

Quot
e

Reques
ts

One to many diagram

Dotted line might A customer might ask for a quote
Sub categories of classes
Vehicle

26

Lorry
AxleWeight

Car
Roof

Bus
Floors

Delivering the solution

V model, p171 ring binder

27

Implementing Business Change

Introducing the system
Understand how people respond to change
Reduce negative reactions
Gain acceptance
Emotions and the change process
Kubler-Ross grief curve
Concerns-based Adoption Model (CBAM)

28