What is Business Analysis?
What is a Business Analyst?
The business analyst is a change agent. Business analysis is a systematic method of initiating and managing change in organizations, whether for-profit or not-for-profit.
A business analyst practitioner may have various responsibilities, including business analysts, business systems analysts, systems analysts, requirements engineers, requirement analysts, process analysts, product managers, product owners, enterprise analysts, business architects, management consultants, business intelligence analysts, and data scientists.
The demand for business analysis skills is evident in numerous employment roles, such as management, project management, product management, software development, quality assurance, and interaction design.
The business analysis aims to discover the need for organizational change, express that need, and facilitate it. Business analysts identify and create solutions that maximize an organization’s value delivery to its stakeholders.
An organization can find a business analyst at any level. Their roles can encompass everything from strategy development to enterprise architecture creation and serve as a guide in defining the program and project goals, requirements and assisting with technology and process improvements for the organization.
We can act as a guide and steer the business through an uncharted or unmapped region to reach its intended goal.
The value of business analysis can be measured as profitability increased, costs reduced, new opportunities identified, critical competencies identified, and the organization model.
Business analysis can provide these benefits, enhancing the business of an organization.
What is Business Analysis?
Business analysis is a research field that helps identify business requirements and solve business problems.
The solutions can create a software or system component, process improvements, organizational changes, strategic plans, and policy formulation. The business analysis seeks to find ways to improve processes.
Business analysis helps build the initial framework for every project by providing concepts and insights. This document provides a framework for guiding stakeholders in an organized manner in a project’s business modeling process.
Business analysis is defined as a discipline that identifies and proposes solutions to diverse business challenges.
The framework is built around a set of tasks and strategies that integrate stakeholders. They help them understand the organization’s structure, policies, and activities.
The organization can also receive recommendations from them to assist in achieving its goals.
Business analysis is concerned with determining how your organization performs to accomplish its objectives. It comprises establishing the capabilities that the business must possess to supply products to external stakeholders.
You’ll need to comprehend the relationship between corporate goals and specific objectives. Additionally, you will need to create a detailed plan to assist in achieving the goals and objectives.
You will define the interactions between stakeholders and organizational units in your business analysis.
Also, You can do a business analysis to gain an overview of your company’s present situation. You could also utilize it to ascertain your business’s requirements.
The study is generally conducted to identify and validate solutions in line with corporate priorities or goals.
It is the business analyst’s responsibility to examine and synthesize data provided by the vast number of people that engage with the organization.
This information is transmitted by customers, executives, employees, and information technology professionals.
The analysts do not simply focus on the expressed wishes of stakeholders; they elicit their genuine demands. An analyst may facilitate communication between various units of an organization occasionally.
The following are eight steps that business analysts typically follow. Each phase is critical for business analysis.
1. Orient yourself
People want business analysts to contribute to initiatives and have a good influence as soon as possible. They occasionally become involved during the project.
It is critical to provide them time to acclimate. They define the scope, the requirements, and the business goals. Also, they spend some time gathering some basic data.
They are primarily responsible for the following in this step:
- Accurately defining your function as a business analyst.
- Identifying the major stakeholders.
- Having a solid grasp of the project’s history.
- Recognize the current system and procedures.
2. Identify the major business objectives
The majority of business analysts begin by defining the scope of their work. This can create complications. Before defining the project’s scope, it is more beneficial to grasp the business requirements.
Your obligations in this stage are as follows:
- Determining the expectations of important stakeholders.
- Consolidating contradictory expectations. Your business community should approach the project with a common understanding of the objectives.
- Assuring that corporate objectives are defined and attainable.
- Ascertaining that the business objectives are defined lays the groundwork for establishing the scope.
3. Define the Business Analysis’s Scope
Set a concise and complete scope for your statement. The principle will serve as a guide for the team and aid them in determining what is required by the organization.
Bear in mind that scope is not synonymous with execution strategy. It merely guides the business analysis process through each phase.
The business analyst’s primary responsibilities in this step are as follows:
- Defining a solution methodology to ascertain the nature and extent of necessary technical and process improvements.
- Formulating a precise scope declaration. It is being reviewed with stakeholders.
- Verification of the business case
4. Develop a business analysis strategy
The business analysis strategy will help to clarify the business analysis process. The proposal will address various issues.
The following are critical responsibilities while developing a business analysis plan:
- Choosing the most relevant deliverables for business analysis.
- Defining a specified list of business analysis deliverables. It should encompass the entire scope and identify all parties.
- Establishing deadlines for completing business analysis deliverables.
5. Clearly define the requirements
It is critical to have comprehensive requirements that are clear and actionable. Detailed requirements give the implementation team the necessary information to create the solution. The most critical responsibilities are as follows:
- Collecting the necessary data
- Analyze the data and use it to create the first draft
- Conducting a review and validation of deliverables
- By posing questions to fill in the blanks.
6. Technical implementation assistance
On a typical project, the technical implementation team develops, customizes, and delivers software. The business analyst’s primary responsibilities during this process are as follows:
- Conducting the last review of the solution’s design.
- Updating and repackaging documentation on requirements.
- Collaboration with quality assurance professionals to ensure they grasp the critical nature of technological needs.
- Being prepared to answer questions and assist in resolving specific issues.
- Managing changes in needs.
- When possible, take the lead on user acceptance testing activities.
7. Assist the business in implementing the solution
There are times when a business is unable to utilize the solutions effectively. The initial objectives are therefore challenging to achieve.
Business analysts should be involved in this final step to assist the business. The purpose of this stage is to determine whether all members can accept the changes.
The primary roles of business analysts in this step are as follows:
- Analyzing and documenting interim business processes. These documents specify precisely what modifications should be made to the business process.
- End-user education. They must be aware of all changes to processes and procedures. Additionally, the analyst may assist with training personnel.
- Collaboration with business users
8. Analyze the value provided by the solution.
Numerous steps are included in the business analysis process. The outcomes and specifics of the business are reviewed. Both large and little issues are resolved.
Relationships are developed, and transitions are managed. Take care not to become disoriented amid the steps. Come to a halt and evaluate the value generated by the solution.
This step entails the following critical responsibilities:
- Evaluating the current state of advancement.
- Communicating the findings to the project’s sponsor. In other circumstances, communicating the outcomes to the project team and other company personnel is also necessary.
- Proposing other initiatives.
Why use Business Analysis?
Here are some compelling reasons to employ business analysis techniques:
- It enables you to comprehend the organization’s structure and dynamics.
- Enables you to comprehend the present state of affairs within the target organization.
- It assists you in identifying areas for development and offering solutions that would enable a business to attain its objectives.
- It assists you in identifying and communicating the need for change.
- To maximize the value a company delivers to its stakeholders.
Steps in Business Analysis Process
The following are the steps involved in doing a business analysis:
- Analyses of businesses
- Planning and management of requirements
- Requirement Elicitation
- Analyses and documentation of requirements
- Requirement Evolution and Validation of Communication Solutions.
1. Analyses of businesses
This category encompasses a range of pre-project activities that culminate in a Business Analyst-guided project selection.
The following activities will take place:
- It contributes to the maintenance of the business architecture.
- Permits you to create a business case
- Preparation of the Decision-Making Package
2. Planning and Management of Requirements
This stage requires you to specify the tasks and resources related to requirement planning and management.
It enables you to guarantee that the activities conducted are appropriate for the particular project. Additionally, it is critical to capture changes accurately and consistently.
3. Elicitation of Requirements
The requirement elicitation phase entails conducting research and determining the system’s requirements from users, consumers, and other stakeholders.
4. Analysis & Documentation of Requirements
This stage details how stakeholders should analyze, structure, and specify a solution’s design and implementation. The requirements analysis process assists you in defining the methodologies and tools for structuring the raw data.
5. Communication of Requirements
This phase consists of a set of activities aimed at expressing the requirements analysis’s output. Additionally, each requirement must be packaged, reviewed, and approved before the solution’s implementation.
6. Evaluation and Validation of the Solution
This phase verifies that the proposed solution is capable of meeting the stakeholder objectives.
What is Environmental Analysis?
Techniques of Business Analysis
SWOT
SWOT is the short form for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. This technique assists you in identifying both areas of strength and weakness. Additionally, it enables the optimal allocation of resources.
PESTEL
PESTEL is a short form of Political, Economic, Sociological, Technological, and Environmental Legal. This model enables business analysts to assess all external factors that may affect their firm and identify the best course of action to take.
MOST
The term “most” is an abbreviation for Mission, Objectives, and Strategy. It enables business analysts to conduct in-depth internal analyses of an organization’s objectives and strategies for achieving those objectives.
CATWOE
Customer, Actors, Transformation Process, World View, Owner, and Environmental are all abbreviations for CATWOE. This technique assists you in identifying processes that could be impacted by any business decision.
MoSCoW
Must or Should, Could or Would is a shortened version of MosCow. This technique enables requirement prioritization by establishing a framework within which each requirement should be evaluated concerning the others.
The 5 Whys
Business analysis and Six Sigma both use this technique to their advantage. It is composed of leading inquiries that enable business analysts to ascertain the root cause of an issue by inquiring about why such a circumstance occurs.
Six Thinking Hats
This procedure assists you in considering alternative points of view and thoughts. The’six hats’ method is classified as follows:
- Grass for creative thinking
- Blue discusses the larger picture.
- White for logical, data-driven thinking.
- Yellow for positive thinking, which mainly focused on pros.
- Red for emotion-based reactions
- Black for opposing thinking, which is focused on cons
Final Words
- Business analysis is a type of research that focuses on identifying business requirements and defining solutions to business challenges.
- It enables you to comprehend the organization’s structure and dynamics.
- The business analysis consists of the following steps: 1) Enterprise analysis 2) Requirement planning and management 3) Requirement elicitation 4) Requirement analysis and documentation 5) Requirement communication 6) Solution evolution and validation.
- Several critical business analysis methodologies include the following: 1) MOST 2) PESTLE 3) SWOT 4) MoSCoW 5) CATWOE 6) The Five Whys, and 7) Six Thinking Hats.
- The term “most” is an abbreviation for Mission, Objectives, and Strategies.
- The Must or Should, Could or Would procedure is an abbreviation for MosCow.
- This technique serves as the foundation for both Six Sigma and business analysis.
- This procedure enables you to evaluate alternative points of view and thoughts.
