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Summary BCS Foundation notes
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Business Analysis Essentials: A Comprehensive Guide for Professionals and Students
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Business Analysis (fourth edition), Debra Paul and James Cadle
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Business analysisRationale for business analysis: The 9 key areas
1. Rationale for business analysis
2. The origins of business analysis
3. The development of business analysis
4. The scope of business analysis work
5. Business analysis
6. Taking a holistic approach
7. The roles and responsibilities for a business analyst
8. Agile systems development
9. Maturity models
Organisations have introduced business analysis to make sure that businesses needs are paramount
when new IT systems are introduced.
Development of business analysis: Three origins
The impact of outsourcing
Organisations have outsourced the IT service, resulting in cost savings.
The supplier gains a new customer, and the organisation believes it getting a high-quality
service.
When new IT systems are required the communicating problems arises between the
customer and suppler
The organisation doesn’t understand IT side and the supplier doesn’t understand the
business side
This is where a business analyst ascertains the business needs and requirement and communicates
these effectively to the IT provider
Competitive advantage of using IT
To get a competitive advantage all three aspects must be considered (business analyst role is critical)
1. The needs of the business must drive the development of the IT system
2. New IT systems must be accompanied by the associated business change
3. The requirements for the IT system must be defined with rigour and accuracy
Within integrated programmes, the roles of the programme managers are recognised, and their
responsibilities are clearly defined.
The role of the business analyst is to consider all aspects of the life cycle and make sure the resulting
system mates the needs of the business.
Business change - lifecycle
Alignment: analysis of the organisation, its business needs, and requirements. (Provides the
information needed to determine new ways of working that will improve the effectiveness
and efficiency of the organisation)
Define
Design
Implementation
realisation
,Business analysis
Scope of business analysis
Strategic analysis & definition undertaken by management including the business analyst which
should be able to advise them on how technology can be useful to drive through business change
where needed.
Analysis: the business analyst may resolve local business issues and recommend actions that would
overcome a problem or achieve business benefits. There maybe a need to investigate a much
broader study which involves extensive and detailed analysis.
IT system analysis: much of the IT work use specific techniques to define the IT requirements,
evaluate software and includes data modelling, functional modelling, and system process definition.
The holistic approach:
Processes:
are they well defined and communicated?
Is there a good IT support?
Do they require us to pass around unnecessary document?
People:
Are the skills to do the jobs available?
Are they motivated?
Do they understand the business objectives?
Organisation:
Is there a supportive management approach
Are the jobs responsibilities well defined
Is there effective cross functional organisation
Technology
Do the systems support the business as required
Do they provide the information needed to run the organisation
Agile system development
RAD – rapid applications development
DSDM – Dynamic systems development method
Agile (waterfall ☹ iterative development 😊)
Agile manifesto.
Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
Working software over comprehensive documentation
Customer collaboration over contract negotiations
Responding to change over following a plan
Roles and responsibility of a business analyst:
To investigate business systems taking a holistic approach
To evaluate actions to improve the operations of a business system
To document the business requirements for the IT system using appropriate documentation.
, Business analysis
Strategy implementation for business analyst:
Writing the business case
Benefits realisation
Specific IT requirements
Business analyst definition: “an internal consultancy role that has the responsibility for investigating
business situations, identifying and evaluating options for improving business systems defining
requirements and ensuring the effective use of information systems in meeting the needs of the
business”
Extra content (not required by the syllabus) module 1 slides 13 – 15 maturity models
Key principles of business analysis:
Root causes, NOT symptoms
Business improvement, NOT IT system change
Options, NOT solution
Feasible, contributing, NOT meeting all request
Entire business change lifecycle, NOT just requirement definition
Negotiation, NOT avoidance
Holistic approach: to consider all functional areas and business and technical aspects together when
focusing on business improvement or the entire business system. POPIT
Agile philosophy: the key principles and concepts including collaborative working, iterative software
development and incremental software delivery.
Types of business analyst:
Business BA/Enterprise business analyst – focus is on understanding the business situation.
Technical business analyst / business systems analyst – focus is on analysing the solution
requirements.
Digital business analyst – is concerned with the opportunity’s technologies offer
organisation.
Project business analyst – focus is on developing the software product
Module 2 Competencies of a business analyst
T-shaped people:
Hold deep skills and broad, generic skills across other disciplines
Can solve problems within their own specialism and communicate effectively with people
from other areas.
Multi-disciplinary breadth of knowledge and skill
Deep knowledge and skills of a specific domain
Business analysts work closely with a range of stakeholders who have different levels of authority.
The business analyst may need to consider issues that relate to different domains both business and
technical. (IT, finance, and marketing)
Business analyst must have:
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