Business Analysis Guidebook

Guidebook Introduction
This Business Analysis Guidebook is designed to facilitate a consistent approach in the use of the tools and techniques contained within the Business Analyst profession. The primary goal is to provide a simple "how to" guide for new and non-Business Analysts for gathering (eliciting) and documenting business requirements--whether they are at the process, project or enterprise level. The material linked below was initially authored by a group of Business Analyst professionals within NYS Government, and it is hoped that the list of contributors (included in later chapters) will grow. We are currently weaving our content together--so please pardon our duplication and inconsistent formatting. It is our intent to have this material be licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License and the GNU Free Documentation License, both included at the end of this document.

Contents

 * 1)  /Introduction/
 * 2) Foreword
 * 3) About this Book
 * 4) /The Business Analyst Role/
 * 5) What is a Business Analyst
 * 6) The Evolution of the Business Analyst Role within NYS
 * 7) Project Manager versus Business Analyst and When You are Both
 * 8) /Keys and Barriers to Business Analyst Success/
 * 9) /Maturity Models for Business Analysis and Self-Assessment/
 * 10) Analyst Maturity
 * 11) Business Analyst Aptitude Questionnaire
 * 12) Organizational Maturity
 * 13) Business Analysis Maturity Model
 * 14) Capability Maturity Model Integration
 * 15) Business Analysis Center of Excellence
 * 16) Further Reading
 * 17) References
 * 18) /Stakeholder Analysis/
 * 19) /Building a Business Case/
 * 20) Why Create a Business Case?
 * 21) Why a Sponsor is Critical for the Project
 * 22) Parts of a Business Case
 * 23) Why the Project is Necessary
 * 24) Options Considered
 * 25) Benefits of Doing the Project
 * 26) Costs
 * 27) Timeframe
 * 28) Cost Benefit Analysis
 * 29) Risks
 * 30) Evaluate the Proposal
 * 31) /Documenting and Managing Requirements/
 * 32) Requirements Development
 * 33) Gather/Elicit Requirements
 * 34) Learn How the Organization Operates
 * 35) Learn How to Speak the Organization's Language
 * 36) Plan to Capture Requirements
 * 37) Requirements Sources
 * 38) Business Rules vs. Project Requirements
 * 39) Business Case/ITIR
 * 40) Constraints (Policies, Standards, Legal)
 * 41) Existing Applications
 * 42) Business Users/Stakeholders
 * 43) Analyze Requirements
 * 44) Categorization
 * 45) Dependencies
 * 46) Impact and Feasibility Analysis
 * 47) Requirements Management
 * 48) Capture Requirements
 * 49) Validate Requirements
 * 50) Manage Requirements
 * 51) Trace Requirements
 * 52) Communications
 * 53) Appropriate
 * 54) Artifacts
 * 55) Delivery Method
 * 56) Communication Changes
 * 57) /Requirement Gathering Tools/
 * 58) What are the Tools?
 * 59) Process Models
 * 60) Use Cases, User Stories, Business Scenarios
 * 61) Graphical Illustration
 * 62) Prototypes and Mockups
 * 63) Data Dictionary
 * 64) Glossary
 * 65) Business Forms
 * 66) Why Use These Tools?
 * 67) How to Use These Tools
 * 68) Focus for Requirements Facilitation and Elicitation
 * 69) Other Uses for Tools
 * 70) How to Create Some Diagrams
 * 71) Visio - Templates, BPMN Stencil Template
 * 72) Excel - Formatting, Page Setup
 * 73) Microsoft Word
 * 74) General tips
 * 75) /Business Analysis Within a Typical System Development Life Cycle/
 * 76) Introduction
 * 77) System Development Lifecycle Methodologies (Workflow Patterns)
 * 78) System Development Lifecycle
 * 79) System Initiation Phase
 * 80) System Requirements Analysis Phase
 * 81) Prepare for System Requirements Analysis
 * 82) Determine Functional and Non-Functional Requirements
 * 83) Functional Requirements
 * 84) Non-Functional Requirements
 * 85) Non-Functional Requirements Deliverables
 * 86) Requirements and SDLC Methodologies
 * 87) Define Process Models
 * 88) Define Logical Data Model
 * 89) Reconcile Functional and Non-Functional Requirements with Models
 * 90) System Design
 * 91) System Construction
 * 92) System Acceptance
 * 93) System Implementation
 * 94) Software Quality Assurance (SQA)
 * 95) Project Roles and Responsibilities
 * 96) SDLC at a Glance
 * 97) References
 * 98) /Data Modeling and Data Documentation/
 * 99) Business Data
 * 100) Data Governance and Security
 * 101) Business Ownership
 * 102) Eliminate Redundancy
 * 103) Data Documentation
 * 104) Data Flow Diagrams
 * 105) Data Definitions
 * 106) Common Data Matrix
 * 107) Modeling Data Requirements
 * 108) /Test Strategy, Test Planning and System Acceptance/
 * 109) Testing Roles and Responsibilities
 * 110) Test Planning - The Test Strategy Document
 * 111) Developing the Test Plan
 * 112) Priority Testing
 * 113) Regression Testing
 * 114) Positive and Negative Testing
 * 115) Volume and Load Testing
 * 116) Environments
 * 117) Defect Management and Tracking
 * 118) User Acceptance Testing (UAT)
 * 119) System Acceptance
 * 120) /Implementation and Training/
 * 121) Implementation
 * 122) Implementation Plan
 * 123) Communication and Coordination
 * 124) Migration Scheduling (Pre- and Post-Migration Testing)
 * 125) Training
 * 126) Planning - Scope, Resources, Webinars, Site Visits, Facilities
 * 127) User Documentation - Manuals, Training Documentation, Release Notes
 * 128) /User Experience/
 * 129) Usability vs. User Experience (UX)
 * 130) Why is UX important?
 * 131) Business Analysis and UX
 * 132) Steps for Implementing UX
 * 133) Understand Your Audience
 * 134) Profiles and Scenarios
 * 135) Organize your Content
 * 136) References
 * 137) /Business Process Improvement Models/
 * 138) What is Business Process Improvement (BPI)
 * 139) What is Business Process Machine Notation (BPMN)
 * 140) Life Cycle
 * 141) How Does Business Analysis Fit in?
 * 142) Best Practices
 * 143) Performance Metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
 * 144) /Root Cause Analysis/
 * 145) What is Root Cause Analysis and Why is it Important?
 * 146) When is it Used?
 * 147) Questions to Consider
 * 148) Sources of Problems
 * 149) Methods
 * 150) Fishbone Diagram
 * 151) Ask Why 5 Times
 * 152) Check Sheets and Pareto Chart
 * 153) Interrelationship Diagram
 * 154) Rapid Problem Resolution
 * 155) Summary
 * 156) References
 * 157) /Strategic Analysis and Planning/
 * 158) Strategic vs. Tactical vs. Operational
 * 159) Strategic Planning Components
 * 160) Mission and Vision
 * 161) Values and Behaviors
 * 162) SWOT Analysis and Environmental Scans
 * 163) Goals and Objectives
 * 164) Metrics
 * 165) Strategic Projects
 * 166) Enterprise Analysis - Strategic Alignment of Business and IT Goals
 * 167) Session Planning Guidelines
 * 168) Techniques to Engage Staff
 * 169) Facilitating the Generation/Acceptance of the Plan
 * 170) Writing and Communicating the Plan
 * 171) Implementing the Plan
 * 172) /LEAN/
 * 173) LEAN
 * 174) Six Sigma
 * 175) LEAN for Government
 * 176) Value Stream Mapping
 * 177) For More Information
 * 178) /Facilitation and Elicitation Techniques/
 * 179) Introduction
 * 180) Facilitation Basics
 * 181) Planning
 * 182) Conducting
 * 183) Follow Up
 * 184) Facilitation Techniques
 * 185) Troubleshooting and Dealing With Difficult Behaviors
 * 186) Requirements Elicitation Techniques
 * 187) Vision Development Techniques
 * 188) Definition Techniques
 * 189) Analysis Techniques
 * 190) Other Techniques
 * 191) /Prioritization Techniques/
 * 192) Prioritization and When to Use?
 * 193) Prioritization Techniques
 * 194) Strategic Alignment
 * 195) High-Medium-Low or Small-Medium-Large
 * 196) Weighted
 * 197) Ranking
 * 198) Criteria
 * 199) Matrix
 * 200) Impact Analysis
 * 201) Validating
 * 202) /BA Software Tools/
 * 203) Introduction
 * 204) Business Process Management (BPM) and Diagramming Tools
 * 205) Microsoft Visio
 * 206) Open Text - ProVision
 * 207) Global 360
 * 208) BizAgi
 * 209) Tibco
 * 210) iGrafx
 * 211) IBM Tools
 * 212) Adobe Live Process Management
 * 213) Progress Savvion Modeler
 * 214) Requirements Management Tools
 * 215) Rational Requisite Pro
 * 216) Microsoft Word and Excel
 * 217) PPM Studio
 * 218) Blueprint
 * 219) Accompa
 * 220) Drawing Tools
 * 221) Microsoft Visio
 * 222) SmartDraw
 * 223) /Communication Skills/
 * 224) Introduction
 * 225) Communication Types
 * 226) Communication Skills
 * 227) Acquiring Communication Skills
 * 228) /Building Relationships and Trust/
 * 229) Why Trust is Important in Organizations
 * 230) What is Trust and what it is Not
 * 231) What Creates a Culture of Mistrust?
 * 232) How to Build Trust over Time
 * 233) /Analytical Thinking and Problem Solving/
 * 234) Underlying Competency (Assess, Understand, Make Judgments on a Solution)
 * 235) Creative Thinking
 * 236) Decision Making
 * 237) Problem Solving
 * 238) /Creativity/
 * 239) Creativity and Its Role in Business Analysis
 * 240) Importance of Creativity
 * 241) Balancing Left Brain and Right Brain Thinking
 * 242) Creativity Techniques
 * 243) Brainstorming and Brainwriting
 * 244) Checklists
 * 245) What-If Scenarios
 * 246) Reformulating the Problem
 * 247) Role Playing
 * 248) Provocation Techniques
 * 249) Mapping
 * 250) Reverse Engineering
 * 251) /Procurement, Including RFPs, RFIs and IFBs/
 * 252) Procurement Guidelines
 * 253) Types of Procurements - Including Pros and Cons
 * 254) Key Steps and Timelines
 * 255) Guidelines for Writing a Statement of Work (SOW)
 * 256) Considerations When Evaluating Proposals
 * 257) /Business Intelligence and Performance Management/
 * 258) Information as an Asset
 * 259) Business Intelligence
 * 260) Business Performance Measurement (BPM)
 * 261) Information Management and Architecture
 * 262) Governance
 * 263) Data Warehousing
 * 264) /Requirements Templates/
 * 265) SDLC Deliverables
 * 266) System Initiation Phase
 * 267) System Requirements Analysis Phase
 * 268) System Design Phase
 * 269) System Construction Phase
 * 270) System Acceptance Phase
 * 271) System Implementation Phase
 * 272) SDLC Process Deliverable Definitions
 * 273) Description of SDLC Security Activities
 * 274) /Glossary/
 * 275) /Resources/
 * 276) /Noted Contributors/
 * 277) /Contributors/
 * 278) /List of Figures/
 * 279) /Licenses/
 * 280) Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License
 * 281) GNU Free Documentation License