Business analysis

303 Pages·2010·3.404 MB·English

by  James Cadle, Debra Paul, Donald Yeates

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International Institute of
Business Analysis
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Business Analysis Second Edition_Layout 1 6/25/10 4:37 PM Page i
BUSINESS ANALYSIS
Second Edition
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BUSINESS ANALYSIS
Second Edition
EDITED BY
Debra Paul, Donald Yeates and James Cadle
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© 2010 British Informatics Society Limited
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ISBN 978-1-906124-61-8
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CONTENTS
List of figures and tables ix
Contributors xii
Foreword xiii
Abbreviations xiv
Glossary xvi
Preface xxvii
1 WHAT IS BUSINESS ANALYSIS? 1
Introduction 1
The origins of business analysis 2
The development of business analysis 2
The scope of business analysis work 5
The role and responsibilities of a business analyst 10
The business analysis maturity model 12
The future of business analysis 14
References 15
Further reading 15
Useful websites 15
2 THE COMPETENCIES OF A BUSINESS ANALYST 16
Introduction 16

Behavioural skills and personal qualities 17
Business knowledge 20
Techniques 23
The right competencies for the right situation 25
How can I develop my competencies? 26
Industry skills frameworks 27
Industry qualifications 31
Summary 32
References 33
Further reading 33
Useful websites 34
3 STRATEGY ANALYSIS 35
Introduction 35
The context for strategy 35
What is strategy? 37
Strategy development 38
External environment analysis 41
Internal environment analysis 46
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CONTENTS
SWOT analysis 48
Implementing strategy 50
Summary 53
References 53
Further reading 53
4 THE BUSINESS ANALYSIS PROCESS MODEL 55
Introduction 55
An approach to problem-solving 55
The process model 57
Investigating the situation 58
Considering perspectives 60
Analysing needs 62
Evaluating options 64
Defining requirements 65
Delivering changes 67
Summary 69
References 69
Further reading 70
5 INVESTIGATION TECHNIQUES 71
Introduction 71
Prior research 71
Investigation techniques 73
Quantitative approaches 88
Documenting the current business situation 91
Summary 97
References 97
Further reading 97
6 STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS AND MANAGEMENT 99
Introduction 99

Stakeholder categories and identification 100
Analysing stakeholders 102
Stakeholder management strategies 103
Managing stakeholders 106
Stakeholder views 108
Defining stakeholder involvement – RACI and RASCI charts 108
Summary 111
Further reading 111
7 MODELLING BUSINESS SYSTEMS 112
Introduction 112
Soft systems methodology 113
Business perspectives 115
Business activity models 117
Business events and business rules 122
Critical success factors and key performance indicators 124
Validating a business activity model 124
Use of the business activity model in gap analysis 124
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CONTENTS
Summary 125
References 125
Further reading 125
8 MODELLING BUSINESS PROCESSES 127
Introduction 127
Organisational context 127
An alternative view of an organisation 129
The organisational view of business processes 130
Value propositions 133
Business process models 136
Analysing the business process model 140
Improving business processes 141
Process measurement 143
Six Sigma 146
Summary 147
References 147
Further reading 147
Useful websites 148
9 GATHERING THE REQUIREMENTS 149
Introduction 149
The problems with requirements 149
A process for requirements engineering 152
Actors 153
Requirements elicitation 156
Building the requirements list 161
Requirements analysis 162
Validating requirements 165
Summary 166
References 167
Further reading 167

10 DOCUMENTING AND MANAGING REQUIREMENTS 168
Introduction 168
The importance of documentation 168
The requirements document 168
The requirements catalogue 170
Managing requirements 179
Conclusion 185
Further reading 185
11 MODELLING REQUIREMENTS 186
Introduction 186
Modelling system functions 186
Modelling system data 190
Class models 199
Summary 204
References 205
Further reading 205
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CONTENTS
12 DELIVERING THE REQUIREMENTS 206
Introduction 206
Delivering the solution 206
Context 207
Delivery lifecycles 208
Approach 215
Roles in delivering requirements 219
Deliverables 220
Techniques 220
Conclusion 221
References 221
Further reading 221
13 MAKING A BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL CASE 223
Introduction 223
The business case in the project lifecycle 223
Identifying options 224
Assessing project feasibility 226
Structure of a business case 229
Investment appraisal 237
Presentation of a business case 239
Benefits management and realisation 240
Summary 243
Further reading 243
14 IMPLEMENTING BUSINESS CHANGE 244
Introduction 244
Introducing a new business system 244
The nature of change 245
The environment for change 246
Alignment 252
Definition 256

Design 258
Implementation 259
Realisation 264
Conclusion 267
References 267
Further reading 268
Index 269
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