A Simulationist’s Framework for Business Analysis: Round Five

Today I gave this talk at the Project Summit – Business Analyst World conference in Orlando. The slides I used for this presentation are here. The most recent version of the slides, which includes links to detailed discussions of more topics, is at:

http://rpchurchill.com/presentations/SimFrameForBA/index.html

In this version I further developed my concept of the Unified Theory of Business Analysis. I also collected more survey responses, the results of which are reported below.

List at least five steps you take during a typical business analysis effort.

  1. requirements gathering
  2. delivery expectations
  3. user experience work with customer
  4. process mapping
  5. system and user testing
  6. system interaction (upstram and downstream) how does a change affect my process?
  7. understanding stakeholders
  1. stakeholder elicitation
  2. brainstorming
  3. requirements analysis
  4. wireframing
  5. process / flow diagrams
  1. current state analysis
  2. future state
  3. gap analysis
  4. requirements gathering
  5. success metrics
  1. interview users
  2. gather requirements
  3. document business rules
  4. business process flow
  5. mock-ups
  1. UX design review
  2. requirements gathering
  3. vision gathering / understanding
  1. requirements elicitation
  2. gap analysis
  1. shadow users
  2. follow up to verify understanding of business and need
  3. mockups, high-level design concept
  4. present mockup, design concept
  5. create and mintain stories and acceptance criteria
  1. brainstorming
  2. external stakeholder feedback
  3. internal stakeholder feedback
  4. break down epics
  5. user stories
  6. building
  1. stakeholder analysis
  2. elicitation activity plan
  3. requirements tracing
  4. prototyping
  5. document analysis
  1. research
  2. requirements analysis
  3. state chart diagram
  4. execution plan
  5. reporting plan

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

  • data migration
  • did my own user experience testing
  • got to step 6 (building) and started back at step 1 multiiple times
  • mapped a process flow on a meeting room wall and had developers stick up arrows and process boxes like I would create in Visio to get engagement and consensus
  • moved servers from one office to another
  • process development
  • showed customer a competitor’s website to get buy-in for change

Name three software tools you use most.

  • Visio (4)
  • Excel (3)
  • Jira (3)
  • MS Teams (3)
  • PowerPoint (3)
  • Draw.io (2)
  • Word (2)
  • Balsamiq (1)
  • Google Docs (1)
  • iRise (1)
  • Lucid Chart (1)
  • Miro Real-Time Board (1)
  • MS Office (1)
  • Pendo (1)
  • Siebel (1)
  • Slack (1)
  • Visual Studio (1)
  • Visual Studio Team Server (1)
  • Vocera EVA (1)

Name three non-software techniques you use most.

  • brainstorming
  • brainstorming
  • business process modeling
  • charting on whiteboard
  • document analysis
  • interview
  • interviews
  • job shadowing
  • mind mapping
  • note-taking
  • paper easels
  • product vision canvas
  • requirements elicitation
  • requirements workshop
  • SIPOC
  • surveys
  • taking / getting feedback
  • walking through client process
  • whiteboards
  • workshops

Name the goals of a couple of different projects (e.g., automate a manual process, interface to a new client, redesign screens, etc.)

  • adding feature toggles for beta testing
  • automate manual process
  • automate risk and issue requirements
  • enhance current screens
  • new functionality
  • product for new customer
  • prototype mobile app for BI and requirements
  • provide new functionality
  • replace legacy system
  • rewrite / redesign screens
  • system performance improvements
  • system-to-system integration
  • UI optimization
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