According to the various top-ranking business informational sources, business analysis is a research disciple that entails include identifying the commercial needs of a firm while solving its problems.
While the idea is quite simple, it can be tedious and time-consuming and often incorporate lots of techniques and expertise to be completed within the pre-set parameters.
One single most important idea of Business analysis is getting a clearer picture of how an organization works to meet its objectives. As a business analyst, you will be expected to be impeccably perfect in the mastery of the entire disciple.
That said; you can have a comprehensive explanation of the whole process therein.
The understanding business analysis process
Naturally, before the commencement of a project, the analysis ought to have been completely and satisfactorily finished. The study is divided into sections and stages to ease the finishing process albeit the steps must be agnostic to the SDLC cycle. Consequently, the frequency of the occurrence of the order might be bound to changes. In fact, the length of the steps might be shorter or longer, depending on some unforeseeable parameters.
Step 1: Gather all the vital Background Information
From identifying the project’s scope, domain, financial level, and appropriateness among other factors, all background data are critical in the project’s foundation. Remember that this stage is mandatory irrespective of if it’s a new project or an ongoing one. Besides gathering the information, studying all the severe factors exposed to the project falls into this category as well.
The PESTLE (Political, Economic, Socio-cultural, Technological, Legal, and Ethical) analysis can be used here. Similarly, Porter’s Five Forces framework can be included as an external technique. Some equally important but optional documents that a business analyst can recall at this stage include Glossary of Terms and System and Process Records.
Step 2: Identify Stakeholders
You won’t proceed unless the project's stakeholders grant you a go-ahead. You must identify and acknowledge each of them pretty early as they are the core figures of the project. Some of them can include the project’s owners, managers, employees, suppliers, partners and even competitors.
Step 3: Discover Objectives
Strategizing and stating the business objectives beforehand is as good as fuelling the entire project. The objectives will act as the hidden driving force, pushing you to meet the targets while laying the scope clearer to the eyes. Some of the techniques to bring on board include:
• Benchmarking
• SWOT Analysis
• Grouping and brainstorming
• Setting ‘SMART’ objectives
Step 4: Evaluate Options
To hit the project’s targets, accurately understanding the project and its guidelines is the key. You must evaluate all the options and come up with a proper framework to tackle each of them. You can choose to consider such options as customizing an existing solution, purchasing a brand-new one, building from scratch or collecting and assembling many to come up with one.
Step 5: Scope Definition
From the objectives and goals, you can quickly create the scope of the project. The range can incorporate the following.
• Development modules
• Development items
• Integrations in and out of scope
Step 6: The Delivery Plan
As a business analyst, you will be expected to provide a detailed Delivery Plan to the development team. The plan will be created basing on the available stakeholders, the scope, and all the relevant methodologies.
Step 7: Project Requirements
By this point, what the business analyst requires is just an “ok” from the business owner and deliver the project requirements to the development team. While non-functional requirements are typically business requirement documents that include performance, scalability, and security, the functional ones include use cases, storyboards, prototypes, and wireframes. Requirements can be submitted upfront or as the project is up and running.
Step 8: Support Implementation and Evaluate Value Added by the Project
Through SDLC, the business analyst will oversee everything to ensure that everything is seamless. Such questions as ‘Are we on track?’ are typical of this stage. Evidently, the importance of business analysis can’t be overstressed as this phase sets the pace for the commencement of the entire project. The guide is essential and can’t be ignored.
Summary:
Business Analysis is all about gathering the requirements from the customer & eliciting them in a way that the performing organization & customers can understand in an easy way. Identifying the various stakeholders is key to gathering correct requirements which will help the client organization meet its business objectives. Planning forms the core part of the business analysis alongside defining the scope of project work to be completed as part of the project. The demand for business analysts is increasing at a rapid pace and is becoming a pivot for the success of all projects across the globe.
Author bio :
Kishore provides Business Analytics Certification Training with an Online course, he also handles business operations and content writing.