Author Archives: R.P. Churchill

Discrete-Event Simulations and Monte Carlo Techniques

Posted on April 2, 2019 by R.P. Churchill

“It was smooth sailing” vs. “I hit every stinkin’ red light today!” Think about all the factors that might affect how long it takes you to drive in to work every day. What are the factors that might affect your … Continue reading →

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Combined Survey Results (late March 2019)

Posted on March 26, 2019 by R.P. Churchill

The additional survey results from yesterday are included in the combined results here. List at least five steps you take during a typical business analysis effort. Requirements Gathering Initiation Testing QA Feedback User acceptance Requirement Elicitation UX Design Software Design … Continue reading →

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A Simulationist’s Framework for Business Analysis: Round Five

Posted on March 25, 2019 by R.P. Churchill

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 … Continue reading →

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What Do I Mean By “Solve The Problem Abstractly?”

Posted on March 18, 2019 by R.P. Churchill

Requirements and Design Phases Looking at the phases I’ve described in my business analysis framework, I wanted to describe the major difference between the step for requirements and design. The artifacts created as part of these phases, which usually include … Continue reading →

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Unified Theory of Business Analysis: Part Three

Posted on March 11, 2019 by R.P. Churchill

How The Most Commonly Used Software Tools Apply to the Solution Effort and the Engagement Effort Continuing last week’s discussions I wanted to analyze how business analysts tend to apply their favorite software tools. Excel (24) Microsoft Excel is such … Continue reading →

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Unified Theory of Business Analysis: Part Two

Posted on March 7, 2019 by R.P. Churchill

How The Fifty Business Analysis Techniques Apply to the Solution Effort and the Engagement Effort Yesterday I kicked off this discussion by clarifying the difference between the solution effort and the engagement effort. Again, the solution effort involves the work … Continue reading →

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Unified Theory of Business Analysis: Part One

Posted on March 6, 2019 by R.P. Churchill

Defining and Distinguishing Between the Solution Effort and the Engagement Effort There seems to be a great deal of confusion in describing what business analysts do, since they often seem to be doing such different things. I’ve confirmed this after … Continue reading →

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Components of a Solution

Posted on March 5, 2019 by R.P. Churchill

I wanted to define some terms and provide some context in preparation for the next few posts. Specifically, I’m describing the components of a solution. A process model is a model of a system that either does exist or will … Continue reading →

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Combined Survey Results, Updated (March 2019)

Posted on March 4, 2019 by R.P. Churchill

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 … Continue reading →

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Business Analysis Survey: Round Five

Posted on February 28, 2019 by R.P. Churchill

I collected more survey responses at the recent Tampa IIBA meetup, and the results are posted below. List 5-8 steps you take during a typical project. listen – to stakeholders and customers analyze – documents, data, atc. to understand thhings … Continue reading →

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