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Business Analysis Guidebook

Guidebook Introduction

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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

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