business analysis is about more than software requirements
TRANSCRIPT
Business Analysis is About More Than Software Requirements
by Declan Chellar
Many companies think analysis starts when a software project is launched.
Testing
Technical Solution
Reqs Analy
sis
Problems
And they think analysis is only
about...
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HIGH LEVEL REQUIREMENTSTheir BAs may have produced a set of HLRs to establish the scope of the project.
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Technical Solution
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sis
BUSINESS CASE TO IMPLEMENT NEEDED CHANGES
HIGH LEVEL REQUIREMENTS
Or even have a business case for the needed changes.
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sis
BUSINESS CASE TO IMPLEMENT NEEDED CHANGES
HIGH LEVEL REQUIREMENTS
But what about the analysis that drove out this business case?
?
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Technical Solution
Reqs Analy
sis
WHAT HOW WHEREWHOWHENWHY
AS IS BUSINESS ARCHITECTURE
Any analysis should start with a view of how the business architecture is now.
WHAT HOW WHEREWHOWHENWHY
AS IS BUSINESS ARCHITECTUREStrategy
Competition
Politics
Opportunity
Problems
Legislation
Economics
Environment
Many factors impact how a business operates.
WHAT HOW WHEREWHOWHENWHY
AS IS BUSINESS ARCHITECTUREStrategy
Competition
Politics
Opportunity
Problems
Legislation
Economics
EnvironmentBUSINESS CASE TO ANALYSE PERCEIVED CHANGES
A business case should be written to justify investing in an exercise to model a
To Be Business Architecture that takes those factors into account.
WHAT HOW WHEREWHOWHENWHY
AS IS BUSINESS ARCHITECTURE
WHAT HOW WHEREWHOWHENWHY
TO BE BUSINESS ARCHITECTURE
Strategy
Competition
Politics
Opportunity
Problems
Legislation
Economics
EnvironmentBUSINESS CASE TO ANALYSE PERCEIVED CHANGES
BUSINESS CASE TO IMPLEMENT NEEDED CHANGES
Once that To Be Business Architecture has been modelled, a business case
should be written to justify implementing it.
WHAT HOW WHEREWHOWHENWHY
AS IS BUSINESS ARCHITECTURE
WHAT HOW WHEREWHOWHENWHY
TO BE BUSINESS ARCHITECTURE
Strategy
Competition
Politics
Opportunity
Problems
Legislation
Economics
EnvironmentBUSINESS CASE TO ANALYSE PERCEIVED CHANGES
BUSINESS CASE TO IMPLEMENT NEEDED CHANGES
HIGH LEVEL REQUIREMENTSOnly then should HLRs be defined.
WHAT HOW WHEREWHOWHENWHY
AS IS BUSINESS ARCHITECTURE
WHAT HOW WHEREWHOWHENWHY
TO BE BUSINESS ARCHITECTURE
Strategy
Competition
Politics
Opportunity
Problems
Legislation
Economics
EnvironmentBUSINESS CASE TO ANALYSE PERCEIVED CHANGES
BUSINESS CASE TO IMPLEMENT NEEDED CHANGES
HIGH LEVEL REQUIREMENTS
After which a suitable technology can be selected and an implementation project started.
Testing
Technical Solution
Reqs Analy
sis
WHAT HOW WHEREWHOWHENWHY
AS IS BUSINESS ARCHITECTURE
WHAT HOW WHEREWHOWHENWHY
TO BE BUSINESS ARCHITECTURE
Strategy
Competition
Politics
Opportunity
Problems
Legislation
Economics
EnvironmentBUSINESS CASE TO ANALYSE PERCEIVED CHANGES
BUSINESS CASE TO IMPLEMENT NEEDED CHANGES
HIGH LEVEL REQUIREMENTS
And you don’t have to wait until this point to test process flows and decision logic!
Testing
Technical Solution
Reqs Analy
sis
WHAT HOW WHEREWHOWHENWHY
AS IS BUSINESS ARCHITECTURE
WHAT HOW WHEREWHOWHENWHY
TO BE BUSINESS ARCHITECTURE
Strategy
Competition
Politics
Opportunity
Problems
Legislation
Economics
EnvironmentBUSINESS CASE TO ANALYSE PERCEIVED CHANGES
BUSINESS CASE TO IMPLEMENT NEEDED CHANGES
HIGH LEVEL REQUIREMENTS
You can test process and logic iteratively at this stage.
Testing
Technical Solution
Reqs Analy
sis
WHAT HOW WHEREWHOWHENWHY
AS IS BUSINESS ARCHITECTURE
WHAT HOW WHEREWHOWHENWHY
TO BE BUSINESS ARCHITECTURE
Strategy
Competition
Politics
Opportunity
Problems
Legislation
Economics
EnvironmentBUSINESS CASE TO ANALYSE PERCEIVED CHANGES
BUSINESS CASE TO IMPLEMENT NEEDED CHANGES
HIGH LEVEL REQUIREMENTS
You can test process and logic iteratively at this stage.
And save considerable time and money at this stage.
Testing
Technical Solution
Reqs Analy
sis
WHAT HOW WHEREWHOWHENWHY
AS IS BUSINESS ARCHITECTURE
WHAT HOW WHEREWHOWHENWHY
TO BE BUSINESS ARCHITECTURE
Strategy
Competition
Politics
Opportunity
Problems
Legislation
Economics
EnvironmentBUSINESS CASE TO ANALYSE PERCEIVED CHANGES
BUSINESS CASE TO IMPLEMENT NEEDED CHANGES
HIGH LEVEL REQUIREMENTS
Testing
Technical Solution
Reqs Analy
sis
Many BAs think analysis is only about this.
WHAT HOW WHEREWHOWHENWHY
AS IS BUSINESS ARCHITECTURE
WHAT HOW WHEREWHOWHENWHY
TO BE BUSINESS ARCHITECTURE
Strategy
Competition
Politics
Opportunity
Problems
Legislation
Economics
EnvironmentBUSINESS CASE TO ANALYSE PERCEIVED CHANGES
BUSINESS CASE TO IMPLEMENT NEEDED CHANGES
HIGH LEVEL REQUIREMENTS
If fact, analysis encompasses all of this.
Testing
Technical Solution
Reqs Analy
sis
WHAT HOW WHEREWHOWHENWHY
AS IS BUSINESS ARCHITECTURE
WHAT HOW WHEREWHOWHENWHY
TO BE BUSINESS ARCHITECTURE
Strategy
Competition
Politics
Opportunity
Problems
Legislation
Economics
EnvironmentBUSINESS CASE TO ANALYSE PERCEIVED CHANGES
BUSINESS CASE TO IMPLEMENT NEEDED CHANGES
HIGH LEVEL REQUIREMENTS
Testing
Technical Solution
Reqs Analy
sis
Ultimately working in collaboration with testers and solutions developers.
WHAT HOW WHEREWHOWHENWHY
AS IS BUSINESS ARCHITECTURE
WHAT HOW WHEREWHOWHENWHY
TO BE BUSINESS ARCHITECTURE
Strategy
Competition
Politics
Opportunity
Problems
Legislation
Economics
EnvironmentBUSINESS CASE TO ANALYSE PERCEIVED CHANGES
BUSINESS CASE TO IMPLEMENT NEEDED CHANGES
HIGH LEVEL REQUIREMENTSFocusing BAs only on this means the real business needs have not been explored.
Testing
Technical Solution
Reqs Analy
sis
WHAT HOW WHEREWHOWHENWHY
AS IS BUSINESS ARCHITECTURE
WHAT HOW WHEREWHOWHENWHY
TO BE BUSINESS ARCHITECTURE
Strategy
Competition
Politics
Opportunity
Problems
Legislation
Economics
EnvironmentBUSINESS CASE TO ANALYSE PERCEIVED CHANGES
BUSINESS CASE TO IMPLEMENT NEEDED CHANGES
HIGH LEVEL REQUIREMENTS
Testing
Technical Solution
Reqs Analy
sis
Resulting in costly and avoidable iterations of the software development lifecycle and delivery delay.
WHAT HOW WHEREWHOWHENWHY
AS IS BUSINESS ARCHITECTURE
WHAT HOW WHEREWHOWHENWHY
TO BE BUSINESS ARCHITECTURE
Strategy
Competition
Politics
Opportunity
Problems
Legislation
Economics
EnvironmentBUSINESS CASE TO ANALYSE PERCEIVED CHANGES
BUSINESS CASE TO IMPLEMENT NEEDED CHANGES
HIGH LEVEL REQUIREMENTS
Testing
Technical Solution
Reqs Analy
sis
Software integration companies often address the issue of poor business analysis by throwing more software developers at the project until they get it right, or at least until they produce something minimally acceptable to the business.
WHAT HOW WHEREWHOWHENWHY
AS IS BUSINESS ARCHITECTURE
WHAT HOW WHEREWHOWHENWHY
TO BE BUSINESS ARCHITECTURE
Strategy
Competition
Politics
Opportunity
Problems
Legislation
Economics
EnvironmentBUSINESS CASE TO ANALYSE PERCEIVED CHANGES
BUSINESS CASE TO IMPLEMENT NEEDED CHANGES
HIGH LEVEL REQUIREMENTS
Testing
Technical Solution
Reqs Analy
sis
When business analysis is limited to (or centred around) the software development lifecycle, it ceases to be about defining the needs of the business and instead supports the main need of the solution provider: deliver software to schedule, which should be a means and not an end in itself.
WHAT HOW WHEREWHOWHENWHY
AS IS BUSINESS ARCHITECTURE
WHAT HOW WHEREWHOWHENWHY
TO BE BUSINESS ARCHITECTURE
Strategy
Competition
Politics
Opportunity
Problems
Legislation
Economics
EnvironmentBUSINESS CASE TO ANALYSE PERCEIVED CHANGES
BUSINESS CASE TO IMPLEMENT NEEDED CHANGES
HIGH LEVEL REQUIREMENTS
Testing
Technical Solution
Reqs Analy
sis
Thinking about business analysis in these holistic terms means your solutions (whether technological or otherwise) are more likely to fulfil the business need, saving time, money and a lot of frustration.
Care to discuss further?
www.chellar.com/AnalysisFu/
LinkedIn: es.linkedin.com/in/declanchellar/
Twitter: @AnalysisFu
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