| Business Analyst skills are important to have on | | | | many Configuration Management business |
| the project team, and not a bad thing for a | | | | applications out there for requirements. It is |
| Project Manager to have! In either case, the | | | | important to understand the degree of |
| business analysis function is one that needs to be | | | | complexity, the expected level of change or |
| managed with care and the wisdom of | | | | evolution over the course of the project, and the |
| experience. This entails putting the business | | | | risks involved related to requirements change |
| analysis function into perspective. | | | | developments. |
| Consider the roles that business analysts typically | | | | 4. Eliciting Requirements - Drawing requirements |
| play: requirements management, systems | | | | out of various stakeholders is as much an art as |
| analysis, business analysis, requirements analysis, | | | | a science. The science part provides a |
| or consulting. One key concept within the | | | | framework, usually in the form of ways the |
| framework of a project is that the business | | | | structure questions, common pitfalls, and how to |
| analysis process does not just happen once. It is | | | | document. However, it is an art to develop |
| not just executing on a task in the Work | | | | rapport with varying stakeholders and probe |
| Breakdown Schedule. It is a task that takes | | | | deeply to uncover the core needs. |
| continuous monitoring, and it starts at a high level | | | | 5. Requirements Analysis and Models - The |
| near the beginning of the project. | | | | documentation of requirements is important to |
| Here are some key timeframes within the | | | | assuring that everyone is "on the same page". |
| project lifecycle where business analysis comes to | | | | Often this requires developing sophisticated |
| the forefront: | | | | architectures, drawings, mathematical models, and |
| 1. Enterprise Analysis and Making a Business Case | | | | prototypes that consolidate requirements input |
| - Each project must fit into the plans of the | | | | and reflect back to stakeholders the proposed |
| organization as a whole. In depth familiarity with | | | | solution. This provides further subject matter for |
| that plan, and understanding where the subject | | | | conversations around the continuously unfolding |
| project fits into that is a key step in building the | | | | requirements. |
| business case. The business case must align with | | | | 6. Communicating and Implementing Requirements |
| the strategic objectives of the organization. | | | | - With a given set of requirements, the business |
| 2. Requirements Planning - Developing | | | | analysis function must assure stakeholder buy-in, |
| requirements is a challenge in part because of the | | | | but also must ensure that those who will |
| time dimension. Requirements planning needs to | | | | implement the requirements are equally "plugged |
| describe a phased approach that forecasts and | | | | in". One challenge is to ensure that the |
| schedules how the requirements will unfold. It thus | | | | stakeholders are in clear and in agreement with |
| should have, as an output, a schedule for various | | | | what will be implemented, and the implementers |
| time-based requirements gathering and | | | | are clear on what they need to do. Due to the |
| documenting tasks. | | | | detailed and often technical nature of the work, |
| 3. Requirements Management - Managing | | | | work packages at the implementation level are |
| requirements as they evolve is an important task. | | | | well removed from the stakeholder, so the |
| In some organizations there is a formal | | | | business analyst servers to bridge that gap and |
| Configuration Management function. There are | | | | "broker" that relationship. |