Combined Survey Results, Updated (March 2019)

With the addition of survey data taken at recent meetups in Orlando and Tampa, the combined results are updated here.

List 5-8 steps you take during a typical project.

These vary, but mostly follow a recognizable pattern, in rough keeping with what the BABOK describes.

1. Requirements Gathering
2. Initiation
3. Testing
4. QA
5. Feedback
6. User acceptance

1. Requirement Elicitation
2. UX Design
3. Software Design for Testability

1. Identify Business Goal
2. ID Stakeholders
3. Make sure necessary resources are available
4. Create Project Schedule
5. Conduct regular status meetings

1. Meet with requester to learn needs/wants
2. List details/wants/needs
3. Rough draft of Project/proposed solutions
4. Check in with requester on rough draft
5. Make edits/adjustments | test
6. Regularly schedule touch-point meeting
7. Requirement analysis/design | functional/non-functional
8. Determine stakeholders | user acceptance

1. List the stakeholders
2. Read through all documents available
3. Create list of questions
4. Meet regularly with the stakeholders
5. Meet with developers
6. Develop scenarios
7. Ensure stakeholders endorse requirements
8. other notes
• SMART PM milestones
• know players
• feedback
• analysis steps
• no standard

1. identify stakeholders / Stakeholder Analysis
2. identify business objectives / goals
3. identify use cases
4. specify requirements
5. interview Stakeholders

1. project planning
2. user group sessions
3. individual meetings
4. define business objectives
5. define project scope
6. prototype / wireframes

1. identify audience / stakeholders
2. identify purpose and scope
3. develop plan
4. define problem
5. identify objective
6. analyze problems / identify alternative solutions
7. determine solution to go with
8. design solution
9. test solution

1. gathering requirements
2. assess stakeholder priorities
3. data pull
4. data scrub
5. data analysis
6. create summary presentation

1. define objective
2. research available resources
3. define a solution
4. gather its requirements
5. define requirements
6. validate and verify requirements
7. work with developers
8. coordinate building the solutions

1. requirements elicitation
2. requirements analysis
3. get consensus
4. organizational architecture assessment
5. plan BA activities
6. assist UAT
7. requirements management
8. define problem to be solved

1. understand thhe business need of the request
2. understand why the need is important – what is the benefit/value?
3. identify the stakeholders affected by the request
4. identify system and process impacts of the change (complexity of the change)
5. understand the cost of the change
6. prioritize the request in relation to other requests/needs
7. elicit business requirements
8. obtain signoff on business requests / validate requests

1. understanding requirements
2. writing user stories
3. participating in Scrums
4. testing stories

1. research
2. requirements meetings/elicitation
3. document requirements
4. requirements approvals
5. estimation with developers
6. consult with developers
7. oversee UAT
8. oversee business transition

1. brainstorming
2. interview project owner(s)
3. understand current state
4. understand need / desired state
5. simulate / shadow
6. inquire about effort required from technical team

1. scope, issue determination, planning
2. define issues
3. define assumptions
4. planning
5. ccommunication
6. analysis – business and data modeling

1. gather data
2. sort
3. define
4. organize
5. examples, good and bad

1. document analysis
2. interviews
3. workshops
4. BRD walkthroughs
5. item tracking

1. ask questions
2. gather data
3. clean data
4. run tests
5. interpret results
6. visualize results
7. provide conclusions

1. understand current state
2. understand desired state
3. gap analysis
4. understand end user
5. help customer update desired state/vision
6. deliver prioritized value iteratively

1. define goals and objectives
2. model As-Is
3. identify gaps/requirements
4. model To-Be
5. define business rules
6. conduct impact analysis
7. define scope
8. identify solution / how

1. interview project sponsor
2. interview key stakeholders
3. read relevant information about the issue
4. form business plan
5. communicate and get buy-in
6. goals, objectives, and scope

1. stakeholder analysis
2. requirements gathering
3. requirements analysis
4. requirements management – storage and updates
5. communication – requirements and meetings

1. analyze evidence
2. desiign application
3. develop prototype
4. implement product
5. evaluate product
6. train users
7. upgrade functionality

1. read material from previous similar projects
2. talk to sponsors
3. web search on topic
4. play with current system
5. ask questions
6. draw BPMs
7. write use cases

1. document current process
2. identify users
3. meet with users; interview
4. review current documentation
5. present proposed solution or iteration

1. meeting with stakeholders
2. outline scope
3. research
4. write requirements
5. meet and verify with developers
6. test in development and production
7. outreach and maintenance with stakeholders

1. As-In analysis (current state)
2. write lightweight business case
3. negotiate with stakeholders
4. write user stories
5. User Acceptance Testing
6. cry myself to sleep 🙂

1. initiation
2. elicitation
3. discussion
4. design / user stories / use cases
5. sign-off
6. sprints
7. testing / QA
8. user acceptance testing

1. planning
2. elicitation
3. requirements
4. specification writing
5. QA
6. UAT

1. identify the problem

1. studying subject matter
2. planning
3. elicitation
4. functional specification writing
5. documentation

1. identify stakeholders
2. assess working approach (Waterfall, Agile, Hybrid)
3. determine current state of requirements and maturity of project vision
4. interview stakeholders
5. write and validate requirements

1. problem definition
2. value definition
3. decomposition
4. dependency analysis
5. solution assessment

1. process mapping
2. stakeholder interviews
3. write use cases
4. document requirements
5. research

1. listen – to stakeholders and customers
2. analyze – documents, data, atc. to understand thhings further
3. repeat back what I’m hearing to make sure I’m understanding correctly
4. synthesize – the details
5. document – as needed(e.g., Visio diagramsPowerPoint decks, Word, tool, etc.)
6. solution
7. help with implementing
8. assess and improve – if/as needed

1. understand the problem
2. understand the environment
3. gather the requirements
4. align with IT on design
5. test
6. train
7. deploy
8. follow-up

1. watch how it is currently done
2. listen to clients’ pain points
3. define goals of project

1. critical path tasks
2. pros/cons of tasks
3. impacts
4. risks
5. goals

1. discovery – high level
2. analysis / evaluation
3. presentation of options
4. requirements gathering
5. epic / feature / story definition’
6. prioritization

1. who is driving the requirements?
2. focus on what is needed for project
3. who is going to use the product?

1. elicit requirements
2. hold focus groups
3. create mock-ups
4. test
5. write user stories

1. analyze
2. document process
3. identify waste (Lean)
4. communicate
5. document plan / changes

1. meeting
2. documentation
3. strategy
4. execution plan
5. reporting plan

List some steps you took on a weird or non-standard project.

I’m not sure these responses are too out of the ordinary. I think that once BAs become more experienced they see these are just variations on familiar themes. That said, most practitioners won’t understand this until they actually have that experience. This work is an attempt to illuminate the larger picture for them ahead of time. It is also, of course, interesting to hear what people think is unexpected or nonstandard.

• Steps:
1. Why is there a problem? Is there a problem?
2. What can change? How can I change it?
3. How to change the process for lasting results
• A description of “weird” usually goes along with a particular person I am working with rather than a project. Some people like things done a certain way or they need things handed to them or their ego stroked. I accommodate all kinds of idiosyncrasies so that I can get the project done on time.
• adjustments in project resources
• after initial interview, began prototyping and iterated through until agreed upon design
• built a filter
• create mock-ups and gather requirements
• create strategy to hit KPIs
• data dictionary standardization
• describing resource needs to the customer so they better understand how much work actually needs to happen and that there isn’t enough staff
• design sprint
• design thinking
• developers and I create requirements as desired
• document requirements after development work has begun
• documented non-value steps in a process new to me
• explained project structure to stakeholders
• For a client who was unable to clearly explain their business processes and where several SMEs had to be consulted to form the whole picture, I drew workflows to identify inputs/outputs, figure out where the gaps in our understanding existed, and identify the common paths and edge cases.
• guided solutioning
• identified handoffs between different contractors
• identify end results
• interview individuals rather than host meetings
• investigate vendor-provided code for business process flows
• iterative development and delivery
• made timeline promises to customers without stakeholder buy-in/signoff
• make excutive decisions withoutstakeholder back-and-forth
• moved heavy equipment
• observe people doing un-automated process
• personally evaluate how comitted mgt was to what they said they wanted
• phased delivery / subject areas
• physically simulate each step of an operational process
• regular status reports to CEO
• resources and deliverables
• reverse code engineering
• review production incident logs
• simulation
• start with techniques from junior team members
• starting a project without getting agreed funding from various units
• statistical modeling
• surveys
• team up with PM to develop a plan to steer the sponsor in the right diection
• town halls
• track progress in PowerPoint because the sponsor insisted on it
• train the team how to read use case diagrams
• translating training documents into Portuguese
• travel to affiliate sites to understand their processes
• understanding cultural and legal requirements in a foreign country
• use a game
• using a ruler to estimate level of effort to digitize paper contracts in filing cabinets gathered over 40 years
• work around manager who was afraid of change – had to continually demonstrate the product, ease of use, and savings
• worked with a mechanic
• write requirements for what had been developed

Name three software tools you use most.

This is probably the most interesting part of the survey for me. Excel, MS Office products, and collaboration and cummunication products get the most use by BAs, which shouldn’t be surprising. Actual programming tools are almost exclusively the domain of developers, it seems. I’ve done both, but in general there doesn’t seem to be a lot of crossover. The same goes for hardcore use of database tools.

• Excel (24)
• Jira (14)
• Visio (14)
• Word (13)
• Confluence (8)
• Outlook (7)
• SharePoint (6)
• Azure DevOps (5)
• MS Team Foundation Server (4)
• PowerPoint (4)
• email (3)
• Google Docs (3)
• MS Dynamics (2)
• MS Visual Studio (2)
• Notepad (2)
• OneNote (2)
• SQL Server (2)
• Version One (2)
• Adobe Reader (1)
• all MS products (1)
• ARC / Knowledge Center(?) (Client Internal Tests) (1)
• Basecamp (1)
• Blueprint (1)
• Bullhorn (1)
• CRM (1)
• database, spreadsheet, or requirement tool for managing requirements (1)
• Doors (1)
• Enbevu(?) (Mainframe) (1)
• Enterprise Architect (1)
• Gephi (dependency graphing) (1)
• Google Calendar (1)
• Google Drawings (1)
• illustration / design program for diagrams (1)
• Kingsway Soft (1)
• LucidChart (1)
• MS Office (1)
• MS Office tools (1)
• MS Project (1)
• MS Word developer tools (1)
• NUnit (1)
• Power BI (1)
• Process 98 (1)
• Python (1)
• R (1)
• requirements repositories, e.g., RRC, RTC (1)
• RoboHelp (1)
• Scribe (1)
• Scrumhow (?) (1)
• Siebel (1)
• Skype (1)
• Slack (1)
• SnagIt (1)
• SQL (1)
• Tableau (1)
• Visible Analyst (1)

Name three non-software techniques you use most.

These should roughly correspond to the 50 business analysis techniques described in the BABOK, but a lot of creativity and personal interaction is also in evidence. It’s also likely that more of these items could be aggregated, since they are so close, but for now I’m trying to preserve the original language of the survey respondents as much as possible.

• communication (3)
• interviews (3)
• meetings (2)
• process mapping (2)
• prototyping (2)
• relationship building (2)
• wireframing (2)
• “play package” (1)
• 1-on-1 meetings to elicit requirements (1)
• active listening (1)
• analysis (1)
• analyze audience (1)
• apply knowledge of psychology to figure out how to approach the various personalities (1)
• business process analysis (1)
• calculator (1)
• change management (1)
• coffees with customers (1)
• coffees with teams (1)
• collaboration (1)
• conference calls (1)
• conflict resolution and team building (1)
• costing out the requests (1)
• critical questioning (1)
• critical questioning (ask why fiive times), funnel questioning (1)
• data analysis (1)
• data modeling (1)
• decomposition (1)
• design thinking (1)
• develop scenarios (1)
• development efforts (1)
• diagramming/modeling (1)
• documentation (1)
• documenting notes/decisions (1)
• drinking (1)
• elicitation (1)
• expectation level setting (1)
• face-to-face technique (1)
• facilitiation (1)
• fishbone diagram (1)
• Five Whys (1)
• focus groups (1)
• handwritten note-taking (1)
• hermeneutics / interpretation of text (1)
• impact analysis (1)
• individual meetings (1)
• informal planning poker (1)
• initial mockups / sketches (1)
• interview end user (1)
• interview stakeholders (1)
• interview users (1)
• interviewing (1)
• JAD sessions (Joint Application Development Sessions) (1)
• listening (1)
• lists (1)
• meeting facilitation (prepare an agenda, define goals, manage time wisely, ensure notes are taken and action items documented) (1)
• notes (1)
• observation (1)
• organize (1)
• paper (1)
• pen and paper (1)
• phone calls and fate-to-face meetings (1)
• Post-It notes (Any time of planning or breaking down of a subject, I use different colored Post-Its, writing with a Sharpie, on the wall. This allows me to physically see an idea from any distance. I can also move and categorize at will. When done, take a picture.) (1)
• prioritization (MOSCOW) (1)
• process decomposition (1)
• process design (1)
• process flow diagrams (1)
• process modeling (1)
• prototyping (can be on paper) (1)
• recognize what are objects (nouns) and actions (verbs) (1)
• requirements meetings (1)
• requirements verification and validation (1)
• responsibility x collaboration using index cards (1)
• rewards (food, certificates) (1)
• Scrum Ceremonies (1)
• Scrums (1)
• shadowing (1)
• sketching (1)
• spreadsheets (1)
• stakeholder analysis (1)
• stakeholder engagement (1)
• stakeholder engagement – visioning to execution and post-assessment (1)
• stakeholder interviews (1)
• surveys (1)
• swim lanes (1)
• taking notes (1)
• test application (1)
• training needs analysis (1)
• use paper models / process mapping (1)
• user group sessions (1)
• user stories (1)
• visual modeling (1)
• whiteboard diagrams (1)
• whiteboard workflows (1)
• whiteboarding (1)
• workflows (1)
• working out (1)

Name the goals of a couple of different projects.

• add enhancements to work flow app
• adhere to regulatory requirements
• adjusting solution to accommodate the needs of a new/different user base
• automate a manual form with a workflow
• automate a manual login/password generation and dissemination to users
• automate a manual process
• automate a manual process, reduce time and staff to accomplish a standard organizational function
• automate a paper-based contract digitization process
• automate and ease reporting (new tool)
• automate highly administrative, easily repeatable processes which have wide reach
• automate new process
• automate the contract management process
• automate the process of return goods authorizations
• automate workflow
• automate workflows
• automation
• block or restore delivery service to areas affected by disasters
• bring foreign locations into a global system
• build out end user-owned applications into IT managed services
• business process architecture
• clear bottlenecks
• consolidate master data
• create a “how-to” manual for training condo board members
• create a means to store and manage condo documentation
• create a reporting mechanism for healthcare enrollments
• data change/update
• data migration
• design processes
• develop a new process to audit projects in flight
• develop and interface between two systems
• develop data warehouse
• develop effort tracking process
• develop new functionality
• develop new software
• document current inquiry management process
• enhance system performance
• establish standards for DevOps
• establish vision for various automation
• I work for teams impplementing Dynamics CRM worldwide. I specialize in data migration and integration.
• implement data interface wiith two systems
• implement new software solution
• implement software for a new client
• implement vendor software with customizations
• improve a business process
• improve system usability
• improve the usage of internal and external data
• improve user interface
• include new feature on mobile application
• increase revenue and market share
• integrate a new application with current systems/vendors
• maintain the MD Product Evaluation List (online)
• map geographical data
• merge multiple applications
• migrate to a new system
• move manual Excel reports online
• process data faster
• process HR data and store records
• provide business recommendations
• recover fuel-related cost fluctuations
• redesign
• redesign a system process to match current business needs
• reduce technical debt
• re-engineer per actual user requirements
• reimplement solution using newer technology
• replace current analysis tool with new one
• replace manual tools with applications
• replatform legacy system
• simplify / redesign process
• simplify returns for retailer and customer
• standardize / simplify a process or interface
• system integration
• system integration / database syncing
• technical strategy for product
• transform the customer experience (inside and outside)
• update a feature on mobile app
• update the e-commerce portion of a website to accept credit and debit cards