As we conclude the discussion on the information technology perspective, let us take a look at how the techniques in this perspective differ from the techniques in the business analysis knowledge areas.
The techniques used in the information technology (IT) perspective are not very different from the techniques that are used in the BA knowledge areas.
Here is the comparison between the two using the business knowledge areas as our points of reference:
1 Business Analysis Planning and Monitoring: Business analysts use the business analysis approach to identify the resources that are needed for the business analysis work and to ensure that there is sufficient time available to complete the analysis work.
A well-defined business analysis plan can be merged into the general project plan and this would provide the business analysts with the opportunity to define and plan the business analysis activities for the project.
The organization that requesting for the change initiative might have standards and processes in place which can be used to identify the analysis tasks and deliverables.
But if these are not readily available, then the business analyst should identify these tasks and deliverables based on the needs of the specific initiative.
To do this the business analyst would have to understand the initiative context and understanding this context includes understanding the organizational systems and their business processes.
2 Elicitation and Collaboration: changes to the Information technology system in an organization may affect stakeholders who have an interest to the change.
So the business analyst should ensure that they have elicitation sessions with all the stakeholders including members of the information technology team. This allows for collaboration between the technical and business stakeholders.
Business analysts working in an IT environment may use any of the following elicitation and collaboration techniques to perform their elicitation and collaborative tasks:
- Investigation: the business analyst should use the investigative techniques to review the organizational process assets, conduct market research, create functional specifications documents, and observe the stakeholders.
- Simulations: the business analyst can simulate possible scenarios using statistical modelling and mock-ups.
- Experimentation: the business analyst can help decide on the right solution using proofs of concept and prototypes.
3 Requirements Life Cycle Management: The business analysts should explore the solution to identify the impact of the new functionality provided by the solution on the organization.
This discovery would need to be done numerous times throughout the lifecycle of the initiative. This has led to the use of short cycle times , strict change control and externalized information technology e.g. Software as a Service (SaaS) and cloud services.
The business analyst should also work with stakeholders to create a system for reviewing developing requirements to ensure that they align with the organizational objectives.
4 Strategy Analysis: strategy analysis focuses on the systems, technologies, business units, business processes, and business strategies affected by a proposed change.
The business analyst should analyse the current state of the organization to understand it. This analysis should include the manual processes, current technologies, and the business processes that are connected to the system.
Once the current state is understood, the desired future state can be described. The future state might include process changes, the addition of system functionalities or the purchase of a new system.
They usually includes identifying how the current system functionality needs to change in order to support the future vision and meet the objectives of both the individual stakeholders and the enterprise.
Once both the current and future states are understood, the gap between the two can be identified, and it is this gap that the solution should fulfill.
Once the gap analysis is concluded, then the solution options can be explored. Risk and uncertainty assessment can be started.
Uncertainties surrounding the solution can be clarified by:
- Identifying and describing the risks.
- Identifying and defining possible benefits.
- Setting the parameters for variance in known processes and operations, and exploring the unknown.
Business analysts should also investigate other possible risks such as :
- Vendor risks, which includes the stability of their business and product.
- The solution’s effect on the organization’s current technical environment.
- The adaptability of the solution over time to increased transactions and number of users.
- Additional process or system changes based on the change initiated.
5 Requirements Analysis and Design Definition: IT organizations consider design as being only applicable to the design of a software.
But the requirements analysis and design definition knowledge area, defines designs as usable representations that are focused on the solution and its value realization.
Examples of these include process improvement models, user interface layouts and report definitions. Business analysts usually rely on other technical team members such as systems architect, programmer, database manager, or other technical experts to produce technical designs for software solutions.
The requirements analysis and design definition knowledge area usually involves documenting requirements. These documents may be as simple as pictures and text but they may also be as complex as a proof of concept, working software prototypes, or simulations.
Regardless of the complexity level, the business analyst should produce documentation with enough details so that the following can happen:
- The business can verify and validate the requirements.
- The developers can use the requirements to help design the solution.
- The quality assurance testers can use the requirements to assess the solution before it is implemented into a production environment.
6 Solution Evaluation: The solution evaluation knowledge area is focused on the solution components and the value that they provide.
Testing or quality assurance is used to make sure that the solution performs as expected and that it fulfills the needs of the business or
stakeholders.
The business analyst would work with the quality assurance team to ensure that the technical solutions will fulfill the business needs as described by the requirements.
Quality assurance testers would use methodologies to plan, develop, and execute tests. This aspect of solution testing usually focuses on complete process testing to ensure quality.