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Influencing the Requirements Management Discipline in Your Organization

Influencing The Requirements Management Discipline in Your Organization 2

Objectives

• How did we do it?

• What is the value?

• What can you do?

• Why did it work ?


National City - BA Case Study Summary

• Where we started– No methodology or common practices – one line in SDM “Document Requirements”– Inconsistently defined role– Skill set not sufficient to support implementing a requirements management methodology– Project being staffed with external consultants– Unsuccessful attempts in the past

• Where we are today– Robust Requirements Management methodology has become the “way we do business”– BA role is clearly defined and supported through the Requirements Center of Excellence – BAs are demonstrating proficiency in key competencies– Requirements Defects have decreased substantially from the inception of the program– Improved the mix of internal BA’s vs. high-cost consultants

• How we did it– Developed the process: A comprehensive Requirements Management Methodology (RMM) was

developed using industry (Rational Unified Process) and International Institute for Business Analysis (IIBA) standards

– Defined current state: Business analysts competency assessment -- BAs were evaluated on industry standard competencies by management and self. The organization was performing below proficiency on many of the competencies.

– Conducted gap analysis: Prioritized key competencies required to apply requirements management methodology. Requirements elicitation, modeling, etc

– Selected comprehensive development plan – held BAs accountable for demonstrating skills in class and willingness to try

– Created Requirements “Center of Excellence” and Requirements Architect Role - to drive process compliance, provide structured coaching and sustained behavior change

– Established Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and measurement strategy – Process compliance, quality of application, reduction in requirements defects


What’s in it for you?

• Value to you as a Business Analyst:

– BA role recognized as a true profession– Improved competencies = better quality requirements– More consistent role definition means less negotiation on the job– Identifying & leveraging best practices improves personal efficiency – Industry standard skills improve your marketability

• Value to your Organization:

– Quality Requirements Management• Improving BA proficiency can improve application performance by as much as 30% -

Applications Executive Council • Poor requirements attribute directly to 60% – 80% of project failures – Meta Group• Finding and fixing defects outside their phase of injection can cost you 400 times as much -

Reifer Consultants, Inc

– Common understanding of expectations (role, activities, outcomes)– Efficiency – leverage best practices – Scalability & Repeatability


The Requirements Management Process

• What we created:

– A robust Requirements Management Methodology (RMM) based upon industry (Rational Unified Process) and International Institute for Business Analysis (IIBA) standards

– Methodology is supported by standard deliverables, sample templates, guidelines and internal best practices.

– Rational RequisitePro tool is the centralized repository to standardize documentation for future reuse and validates that requirements are met by design and test (traceability)

– Inspection Process identifies potential requirements defects prior to the design phase, reducing rework time and expense.

– Six Sigma tools & techniques are embedded in the methodology.

• What you can do:

– Communicate the value of quality requirements process – Create an informal requirements review process– Identify supporters & change agents within your organization– Share best practices & sample deliverables– Create a repository to store artifacts and share information– Expand your external network


Requirements Management Results

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2006 Q3 2006 Q4 2007 Q1 2007 Q2 2007 Q3 2007 Q4 2008 Q1 2008 Q2 2008 Q3

Defect per 100Reqs

Req per InspectionHour

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

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90%

100%

4Q07 1Q08 2Q08 3Q08 4Q08

RMMCoverage

Goal

Requirements Defects

Process Compliance & Quality

The percentage of projects that applied the RMM at the appropriate level nearly reached compliance goals the first quarter after training was completed and has been maintained. Coverage goal of 90% was achieved by year end 2008.

Requirement defects found in Inspections decreased significantly since the inception of the RMM – while the number of requirements inspected per hour increased.


The Business Analyst Role


– Aligned by and report within the Portfolio structure– BA role defined at three levels to allow for career progression.– A standard set of competency expectations– Goals & Objectives to ensure consistent evaluation standard for all BAs.– Consistent interview and selection process for new contract and

employee BAs.– Standard on-boarding program to accelerate the orientation process.


– Gap assessment against IIBA standards– Define new standards– Communicate to BA community and other stakeholders– Be clear about which “hat” you are wearing


The Development Framework


– Level set entire BA community with a seven course series based upon prior competency assessments and prioritized competency gaps.

– BAs are held accountable to demonstrate proficiency and a willingness to try the new skills during training to pass

– Key stakeholder training offered and well attended– Structured coaching and mentoring framework ensures the effective application

of new skills on the job – Portfolio level BA forums facilitate two way communication, reinforce key

concepts and introduce new processes and tools.– Feedback framework quickly identifies future competency, process and tool

development needs


– Identify informal mentoring partnerships– Check with HR for online learning resources, e.g. Skill Soft– Divide the BABOK & teach each other– Industry Resources – Free Webinars (IAG, IIBA)– Train the trainer– Build in accountability


Requirements Management Results

0

1

2

3

4

Stak

ehol

der I

dent

ifica

tion

Res

olve

Req

uire

men

ts G

aps

Faci

litat

ion

Cla

rifie

s &

Val

idat

es R

equi

...Q

ualit

y R

equi

rem

ents

Doc

umen

ts R

equi

rem

ents

Elic

its R

equi

rem

ents

Con

sens

us o

f Req

uire

men

..

Plan

s &

Estim

ates

Req

Act

iv...

Mod

elin

g Te

chni

ques

Baseline

Current State

x

2x

Competency demonstration improved from fundamental to proficient in seven out of ten key

competencies.

Expe

rt

Profi

cien

t

Fund

amen

tal

Nov

ice


The Communication Framework


– Requirements Architect participates directly in Portfolio management meetings to share and receive strategic information, and approve changes, if necessary

– CoE meetings and relationships allow information, issues and best practices to be shared across the Portfolios and other disciplines.

– Periodic (monthly or weekly) forums within each portfolio/segment share information between the CoE and community, as well as address specific portfolio needs.

– Monthly Project Delivery Update email consolidates and targets news, tips and changes directed to the BA, yet allows them to view information on other delivery roles (PL, Testing)

– RMM Sharepoint site provides direct access to critical information on the methodology, templates, samples, industry links, training documentation, job aids, key contacts, etc.


– Informal information sharing sessions – Brown Bag, Coffee Club– Identify Corporate Communications resources – Portals, Sharepoints, Blogs– Leverage existing mechanisms – staff meetings, newsletters, town hall meetings


The Requirements Center of Excellence:

Requirements Center ofExcellence

RCoE Lead

LeadBA

Lead BA

LeadBA

BAs

BAs

BAs

Corp AdminRequirements

Architect

CoreRequirements

ArchitectCustomer

Requirements Architect

ChannelRequirements

Architect

LendingRequirements

Architect

AssetRequirements

Architect


The Requirements Center of Excellence


– Drives consistent process and LOB experience across Portfolios– Improves efficiency through identification and sharing best practices – Mentors and coaches BAs to ensure appropriate application of the methods and tools– Monitors the project portfolios for requirements risk and quality– Defines the selection standards for new employee and contractor BAs & provides

onboarding support.– Assists in capacity planning and BA resource selection for projects– Bi-directional feedback between the CoE and the field BAs to ensure continuous

improvement of the Requirements discipline.

• What you can do:– Identify champions across the organization– Identify mentors and coaches to ensure appropriate application of the methods and tools– Negotiate a portion of resources time to improve the practice– Establish regular time for collaboration


Summary

Why did it work?

• Rooted in industry best practices • Defined expectations • Top down support• Support on the ground • Accountability

What can you do?

• Rally your supporters• Divide & conquer• Share knowledge & best practices• Leverage industry resources• Mentor & coach• Communicate successes


Resources

Free Resources• Modern Analyst (www.modernanalyst.com)• Reifer Consultants, Inc. (www.reifer.com)• EBG Consulting (www.ebgconsulting.com/freeresources.php)• IAG Consulting (www.iag.biz/resources/webinars/on-demand-

webinars.html)• IIBA BA Center of Excellence Report (http://

www.theiiba.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Current_Articles1&Template=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=2468)

• Standish Group 2006 Chaos Report -(http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/NCP08083B.pdf)

Potential Corporate Subscriptions – Check with your company• IIBA• Corporate Executive Board • Gartner Group• Meta Group

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