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 BAGuidebook2 Business_Analysis_Guidebook 100% December 10, 2014/Introduction/ Foreword About this Book 90% December 10, 2014/The Business Analyst Role/ What is a Business Analyst The Evolution of the Business Analyst Role within NYS Project Manager versus Business Analyst and When You are Both 00% December 23, 2013/Keys and Barriers to Business Analyst Success/ 75% December 23, 2013/Maturity Models for Business Analysis and Self-Assessment/ Analyst Maturity Business Analyst Aptitude Questionnaire Organizational Maturity Business Analysis Maturity Model Capability Maturity Model Integration Business Analysis Center of Excellence Further Reading References 00% December 23, 2013/Stakeholder Analysis/ 25% December 23, 2013/Building a Business Case/ Why Create a Business Case? Why a Sponsor is Critical for the Project Parts of a Business Case Why the Project is Necessary Options Considered Benefits of Doing the Project Costs Timeframe Cost Benefit Analysis Risks Evaluate the Proposal 75% December 23, 2013/Documenting and Managing Requirements/ Requirements Development Gather/Elicit Requirements Learn How the Organization Operates Learn How to Speak the Organization's Language Plan to Capture Requirements Requirements Sources Business Rules vs. Project Requirements Business Case/ITIR Constraints (Policies, Standards, Legal) Existing Applications Business Users/Stakeholders Analyze Requirements Categorization Dependencies Impact and Feasibility Analysis Requirements Management Capture Requirements Validate Requirements Manage Requirements Trace Requirements Communications Appropriate Artifacts Delivery Method Communication Changes 75% December 23, 2013/Requirement Gathering Tools/ What are the Tools? Process Models Use Cases, User Stories, Business Scenarios Graphical Illustration Prototypes and Mockups Data Dictionary Glossary Business Forms Why Use These Tools? How to Use These Tools Focus for Requirements Facilitation and Elicitation Other Uses for Tools How to Create Some Diagrams Visio - Templates, BPMN Stencil Template Excel - Formatting, Page Setup Microsoft Word General tips 75% December 23, 2013/Business Analysis Within a Typical System Development Life Cycle/ Introduction System Development Lifecycle Methodologies (Workflow Patterns) System Development Lifecycle System Initiation Phase System Requirements Analysis Phase Prepare for System Requirements Analysis Determine Functional and Non-Functional Requirements Functional Requirements Non-Functional Requirements Non-Functional Requirements Deliverables Requirements and SDLC Methodologies Define Process Models Define Logical Data Model Reconcile Functional and Non-Functional Requirements with Models System Design System Construction System Acceptance System Implementation Software Quality Assurance (SQA) Project Roles and Responsibilities SDLC at a Glance References 75% October 8, 2014/Data Modeling and Data Documentation/ Business Data Data Governance and Security Business Ownership Eliminate Redundancy Data Documentation Data Flow Diagrams Data Definitions Common Data Matrix Modeling Data Requirements 75% December 23, 2013/Test Strategy, Test Planning and System Acceptance/ Testing Roles and Responsibilities Test Planning - The Test Strategy Document Developing the Test Plan Priority Testing Regression Testing Positive and Negative Testing Volume and Load Testing Environments Defect Management and Tracking User Acceptance Testing (UAT) System Acceptance 00% December 23, 2013/Implementation and Training/ Implementation Implementation Plan Communication and Coordination Migration Scheduling (Pre- and Post-Migration Testing) Training Planning - Scope, Resources, Webinars, Site Visits, Facilities User Documentation - Manuals, Training Documentation, Release Notes 50% January 2014/User Experience/ Usability vs. User Experience (UX) Why is UX important? Business Analysis and UX Steps for Implementing UX Understand Your Audience Profiles and Scenarios Organize your Content References 00% December 23, 2013/Business Process Improvement Models/ What is Business Process Improvement (BPI) What is Business Process Machine Notation (BPMN) Life Cycle How Does Business Analysis Fit in? Best Practices Performance Metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) 75% December 23, 2013/Root Cause Analysis/ What is Root Cause Analysis and Why is it Important? When is it Used? Questions to Consider Sources of Problems Methods Fishbone Diagram Ask Why 5 Times Check Sheets and Pareto Chart Interrelationship Diagram Rapid Problem Resolution Summary References 50% February 11,2014/Strategic Analysis and Planning/ Strategic vs. Tactical vs. Operational Strategic Planning Components Mission and Vision Values and Behaviors SWOT Analysis and Environmental Scans Goals and Objectives Metrics Strategic Projects Enterprise Analysis - Strategic Alignment of Business and IT Goals Session Planning Guidelines Techniques to Engage Staff Facilitating the Generation/Acceptance of the Plan Writing and Communicating the Plan Implementing the Plan 50% December 23, 2013/LEAN/ LEAN Six Sigma LEAN for Government Value Stream Mapping For More Information 75% December 23, 2013/Facilitation and Elicitation Techniques/ Introduction Facilitation Basics Planning Conducting Follow Up Facilitation Techniques Troubleshooting and Dealing With Difficult Behaviors Requirements Elicitation Techniques Vision Development Techniques Definition Techniques Analysis Techniques Other Techniques 50% February 11, 2014/Prioritization Techniques/ Prioritization and When to Use? Prioritization Techniques Strategic Alignment High-Medium-Low or Small-Medium-Large Weighted Ranking Criteria Matrix Impact Analysis Validating 00% December 23, 2013/BA Software Tools/ Introduction Business Process Management (BPM) and Diagramming Tools Microsoft Visio Open Text - ProVision Global 360 BizAgi Tibco iGrafx IBM Tools Adobe Live Process Management Progress Savvion Modeler Requirements Management Tools Rational Requisite Pro Microsoft Word and Excel PPM Studio Blueprint Accompa Drawing Tools Microsoft Visio SmartDraw 75% December 23, 2013/Communication Skills/ Introduction Communication Types Communication Skills Acquiring Communication Skills 00% December 23, 2013/Building Relationships and Trust/ Why Trust is Important in Organizations What is Trust and what it is Not What Creates a Culture of Mistrust? How to Build Trust over Time 75% December 23, 2013/Analytical Thinking and Problem Solving/ Underlying Competency (Assess, Understand, Make Judgments on a Solution) Creative Thinking Decision Making Problem Solving 75% December 23, 2013/Creativity/ Creativity and Its Role in Business Analysis Importance of Creativity Balancing Left Brain and Right Brain Thinking Creativity Techniques Brainstorming and Brainwriting Checklists What-If Scenarios Reformulating the Problem Role Playing Provocation Techniques Mapping Reverse Engineering 25% February 11, 2014/Procurement, Including RFPs, RFIs and IFBs/ Procurement Guidelines Types of Procurements - Including Pros and Cons Key Steps and Timelines Guidelines for Writing a Statement of Work (SOW) Considerations When Evaluating Proposals 00% December 23, 2013/Business Intelligence and Performance Management/ Information as an Asset Business Intelligence Business Performance Measurement (BPM) Information Management and Architecture Governance Data Warehousing 50% April 30, 2014/Requirements Templates/ SDLC Deliverables System Initiation Phase System Requirements Analysis Phase System Design Phase System Construction Phase System Acceptance Phase System Implementation Phase SDLC Process Deliverable Definitions Description of SDLC Security Activities 75% February 11, 2014/Glossary/ 00% December 23, 2013/Resources/ 100% February 11, 2014/Noted Contributors/ 00% December 23, 2013/Contributors/ 00% December 23, 2013/List of Figures/ 100% February 11, 2014/Licenses/ Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License GNU Free Documentation License Management B 75%