Business Analysis Practice

DELIVERING THE BUSINESS

• Stages of the business change lifecycle

• BA role in the business change lifecycle
STAGES OF THE BUSINESS CHANGE
LIFECYCLE
• This may involve the engagement of
stakeholders in order to ensure their
continued buy-in, and the detailed
design, development and deployment of
the new processes and systems. To do
this successfully requires a great deal of
thought, preparation and planning – and
all of these activities are facilitated by
the involvement of business analysts.
• Alignment is concerned with ensuring the organisation’s objectives and
strategy are aligned with the external business world, and that any
proposed changes are aligned with the internal policies and architectures
• Definition is concerned with taking a closer look at a proposed business
situation in order to uncover root causes of problems, conduct a thorough
analysis, recommend relevant, feasible changes and define the requirements.
• Design is concerned with the detailed specification, development and
testing of the solution, including the business processes and related tasks,
and the software that is needed to support them.
• Implementation is concerned with the planning and preparation for the
deployment of the business changes.
• Realisation is concerned with the review of the predicted business benefits
with a view to identifying those that have been achieved and taking further
action to support the achievement of those still to be realised.
BA ROLE IN THE BUSINESS CHANGE
LIFECYCLE
• Business analysis helps organisations implement change successfully so
it follows that the role of the business analyst is relevant across the
entire change lifecycle.
Design stage
• The design stage encompasses several major tasks: the design of the
solution, and the development and testing of the software to support
the solution.
• POPIT model – useful for gap analysis also helpful to summarize the
different elements to be addressed when designing solution.
• People – skill development : Business analysts
are often involved in capability uplift, delivering
the training and support to business users to
enable them to conduct their new work
practices.
• Organisation – structures, measures and jobs :
the business analyst will be able to produce
these definitions. There may also be a need to
reconsider performance measures, such as CSFs
and KPIs
• Business process design : there is a great deal of
work to be done when a ‘to be’ process is to be
implemented and it is often the case that this
detail is overlooked or postponed.
• Information and technology: It is worthwhile considering the BA role
during the design, development and testing of the software solution.
• Design: business analyst may be required to support the design activity by
clarifying any points, possibly following consultation with the business users.
• Development : business analysts have an overall understanding of the solution,
they can also be of great assistance during this discussion as they are able to
assess the impact of proposals across the solution, identifying where there
may be problems in adopting a particular approach and suggesting
alternatives.
• Testing: the business analysts may support the business staff during user
acceptance testing.
• Use case descriptions – these support a use case diagram and show the system response
to the occurrence of an event.
• Decision tables – these set out clearly the range of conditions for a particular situation
and the actions to be taken given a specific set of conditions.
• State charts (also known as state transition diagrams and state machines) – these show
the different states a particular entity or class may take on during its lifetime in the
system.
Implementation stage
The implementation of a business change programme requires a great
deal of planning and any changes need to be executed with care
• Shock This may be due to a lack of awareness of the need for change. This
may be particularly the case if most of the staff feel the organisation is
doing well.
• Anger: This anger may be directed at the senior managers who have
initiated the change and also at others – for example, the business analysts
or developers – who are involved in bringing it about.
• Rejection. A sense of avoiding the change can develop along with the desire
to be left to continue as normal.
• Acceptance Eventually an acceptance of the change develops. This may not
mean that there is wholehearted support for the change but, as a minimum,
a sense that the change is definitely happening so it is best to accept it.
• Hope Ultimately, people begin to see the positive benefits brought about
by the change.
Realisation stage
• However, it is often the case with change projects that a lot of
thought goes into planning the project to define, develop and deliver
the solution but less into how the expected business benefits are to
be achieved.
• The benefit owner is a named individual who is tasked with ensuring
that the benefit is achieved. To discharge this role effectively, the
person nominated must be in a position to take the actions needed to
secure the benefit, which implies that they are a senior manager with
responsibility for the area in which the benefit will be gained.
Benefits dependency network
• A benefits dependency network (or benefits map) is a diagrammatic
representation of what needs to be done on a project in order to achieve its
expected benefits. It also sets out how the benefits contribute towards the
project’s ultimate (business) objectives.
Managing the business case
• Each time a request for change arises, it is important to review the business
case to ensure that it is still valid and to reflect the impact of the change.
• There may be an effect upon several aspects of the business case, for
example, the solution description, costs, benefits and risks.
• It is also usual to review the business case at key points during the business
change lifecycle.
• This takes into account further detailed work that has taken place up to a
particular stage and may also require changes to the costs, benefits and
risks.
• If these changes are required the case for the investment must be checked
to ensure continuing viability.
Benefits reviews
• Management processes are needed to ensure that the benefits are
reviewed in two circumstances:
• Scheduled reviews - At each of the ‘decision gates’ in the project the
expected benefits should be examined as part of the review. whether the
expected benefits are still available and whether they are still sufficient to
compensate for an increase in the expected costs of the project.
• Unscheduled reviews - Major requests for change are an obvious example
of such a situation as they could cause the project to cost more, take
longer or deliver something different, and all of these might affect the
benefits. Other significant events could include a change in the key
stakeholders (especially the project sponsor), developments in the external
business environment or a change to the organisation’s business strategy.
Benefits Realisation Report
• Ultimately a Benefits Realisation Report should be produced which assesses clearly
whether the hoped-for benefits have been gained or not. This report has four important
uses:
1. Where the hoped-for benefits have not yet been achieved, to identify any additional actions that
could be taken to retrieve them. For instance, if users are not making full use of a new system,
additional training may be required.
2. To reassure the decision-makers, and the wider organisation, that the time, effort and cost of the
project has been justified.
3. To provide input to future business cases and future projects, to help make them more successful.
4. To enable the organisation, over time, to increase the capability for choosing which projects to
undertake.
• The review focuses on the predicted benefits and assesses whether or not they have
been realised. During the review, benefits that have not been fully realised should be
analysed in order to identify where business changes have not taken place or where
additional changes are needed. Where further changes are required to deliver the
benefits, the benefits plan should be updated and a further benefits review should be
scheduled.
Thank You