Faculty Training Institute The Value-Minded Business Analyst How professional Business Analysts Generate Measurable Business Value Steve Erlank MD Faculty Training Institute President: SA Chapter of the IIBA® @steveerlank @facultytraining #bbcconf2013 November 2013 Mandalay Bay Resort Las Vegas
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Las Vegas Business Analyst - Building Business · PDF fileLas Vegas . k Key learnings ! ... Business value is primarily covered under Enterprise Analysis in the BABOK The business
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Faculty Training Institute
The Value-Minded Business Analyst How professional Business Analysts
Business Value Perspective ! Business Value should be described using
the vocabulary of business ! Cost reduction ! Ability to do something more quickly or easily ! Increased revenue ! Better customer service
! Business Goals and Project Objectives should be geared towards achieving Business Value
! Precision is very important ! “Reduce the holding costs of finished inventory by R25m p.a.” ! “Reduce average turnaround time for claims processing to 2
“A business analyst works as a liaison among stakeholders in order to elicit, analyze, communicate and validate requirements for changes to business processes, policies and information systems.
(BABOK v2 2008)
Business value is primarily covered under Enterprise Analysis in the BABOK
The business analyst understands business problems and opportunities in the context of the requirements and recommends solutions that enable the organization to achieve its goals.”
Enterprise Analysis Knowledge Area ! “Enterprise Analysis describes the business analysis
activities that take place for organizations to: ! identify business problems to be solved and opportunities to
pursue to meet business needs and achieve strategic goals, ! determine the most feasible business solution option, ! define the solution scope and develop the business case for the
proposed new project to implement the business solution, ! continue to assess, refine and validate the business need and
solution during the project, ! evaluate the business benefits brought about by the deployed
Does BA work automatically deliver value? ! What value do the following deliver?
! Producing a functional specification? ! Documenting a high level change request? ! Conducting an interview with a user? ! Producing a process model? ! Documenting a user story? ! Implementing a computer system?
! Just blindly carrying out the tasks of a BA does not necessarily add value ! But it is doing your job………………..
Value Approach No. 1 Conduct a full and proper Stakeholder Analysis
! Who, really, are the key stakeholders? ! What are their real goals, needs and desires? ! Are their goals aligned? ! If they achieve their Goals, will this add business value?
! If they get what they ask for, will they really be happy? ! What is the value that will be delivered? ! Can we measure this value when we have delivered? ! Prioritise objectives in terms of value
Value Approach No. 5 Insightful Requirements Elicitation is critical
! Ask questions that identify motive, intent, reasons ! Understand what they hope to achieve, not what they say they
want ! Identify what they have considered (and then offer options) ! Observation is as good as an interview ! Do you have the eye? Are you a good doctor?
Fundamental Skills Need ! Probing and interviewing ! Facilitation ! Business Knowledge ! Systems Thinking ! Conflict resolution ! Problem-solving orientation
A lot of value is to be found in the quality of the questions that you ask
The importance of quantification ! If you can’t quantify it, you can’t measure it. ! If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it? ! So what can you quantify and measure?
! Reduced turnaround time? ! Reduction in an operating cost (e.g. rental)? ! Reduction in inventory?
So, how do I become a value-minded Business Analyst?
• Grow your business domain knowledge • Master the BA techniques that drive out value • Think about solutions in terms of the value targets they hit, not what they do • Change your approach (be a good doctor!) • Start measuring your value contribution