2/16/22, 1:01 PM Categories (1) New Messages! Tech Blog 9 essential business analysis models for the BA’s toolbox Reading time: about 7 min Start diagramming Sign up free with Lucidchart today—try it for free! Sign up free Popular now Posted by: Lucid Content Team The role of the business analyst (BA) requires not only sound data analysis but effective data modeling. The right visual model streamlines data and makes it easy for stakeholders at every level to identify and understand project strategies, relationships, and responsibilities. In the past, data modeling meant writing out processes in plain text or sketching out a basic diagram. Fortunately, those days are over. Why you should do an end-of-year process audit How visual collaboration changes the way your team works together Communicating technical information to nontechnical personnel Today, a good BA is armed with a diverse toolbox of strategies and visual modeling techniques to help them drive successful project outcomes. Sign up to As you read more about business analysis models, get the latest remember that Lucidchart helps you create🙌elegant It's free to sign up for a Lucidchart diagrams with intuitive design solutions, readyLucidchart trial. Can we help you updates and get and started today? made shape libraries for consistent notation, 1 tips delivered to https://www.lucidchart.com/blog/business-analysis-models 1/13 2/16/22, 1:01 PM (1) New Messages! clear data linking and formatting for dynamic data modeling and sharing. Categories Tech Blog Choose from a variety of business analysis templates to get a jump on your next project today. (Note that some templates contain advanced features that require a paid Lucidchart subscription.) What is a business analysis model? your inbox once a month. Sign up free Subscribe to our newslette About Lucidchart Simply put, a business analysis model outlines the steps a business takes to complete a specific process, such as ordering a product or onboarding a new hire. Process modeling (or mapping) is key to improving process efficiency, training, and even complying with industry regulations. Lucidchart is the intelligent diagramming application that empowers teams to clarify complexity, Because there are many different kinds of align their processes, organizations, and functions within a insights, and business, BAs employ a variety of visual models to build the future map and analyze data. —faster. With Take a look at these nine essential business analysis this intuitive, models to include in your toolbox. cloud-based solution, 1. Activity diagrams everyone can work visually An activity diagram is a type of UML behavioral and collaborate diagram that describes what needs to happen in a in real time system. They are particularly useful for while building communicating process and procedure to flowcharts, stakeholders from both the business and mockups, UML development teams. diagrams, and 🙌It's free to sign up for a more. A BA might use a UML diagram tool like Lucidchart Lucidchart trial. Can we help you get started to create an activity diagram to map the process oftoday? The most popular online https://www.lucidchart.com/blog/business-analysis-models 1 2/13 2/16/22, 1:01 PM (1) New Messages! logging in to a website or completing a transaction like withdrawing or depositing money. Categories Tech Blog Visio alternative, Lucidchart is utilized Sign in over up free 180 countries by millions of users, from sales managers mapping out target organizations to IT directors visualizing their network infrastructure. Activity Diagram for ATM (Click on image to modify online) 2. Feature mind maps Business diagrams aren’t just for late-stage analysis or documentation. They are also useful during a project’s initial brainstorming phase. Feature mind maps help BAs organize the sometimes messy brainstorm process so that ideas, concerns,🙌and It's free to sign up for a Lucidchart trial. Can we help you requests are clearly captured and categorized. 1 get started today? https://www.lucidchart.com/blog/business-analysis-models 3/13 2/16/22, 1:01 PM (1) New Messages! This visual ensures initial details and ideas don’t fall through the cracks so you can make informed decisions goals, Categoriesabout project direction, Tech Blog and scope down the line. Sign up free Basic Mind Map (Click on image to modify online) 3. Product roadmaps A product (or feature) roadmap outlines the development and launches of a product and its features. They are a focused analysis of a product’s evolution, which helps developers and other stakeholders focus on initiatives that add direct value to the user. The beauty of product roadmaps lies in their flexibility and range of applications. BAs can create different product roadmaps to illustrate different information, including: Maintenance and bug fixes 🙌It's free to sign up for a Feature releases Lucidchart trial. Can we help you get started today? 1 High-level strategic product goals https://www.lucidchart.com/blog/business-analysis-models 4/13 2/16/22, 1:01 PM (1) New Messages! While product roadmaps are commonly used internally by development teams, they are also useful resources for other groups like sales. Categories Tech Blog Sign up free A defined product outline and schedule helps sales stay on the same page as the developers so they can deliver accurate, updated information to their prospects and clients. Because of their versatility and broad applications across teams and organizations, product roadmaps are a core part of an analyst’s toolbox. In Lucidchart, you can link data to and set conditional formatting within your product roadmap to quickly monitor your progress. Check out the template below! Product Roadmap Example (Click on image to view larger in Lucidchart) 4. Organizational charts An organizational chart outlines the hierarchy of a business or one of its departments or teams. They are especially helpful reference charts for employees to quickly understand how the company 🙌It's free to sign up for a is organized and identify key stakeholders and points of contact for projects or queries. Lucidchart trial. Can we help you 1 get started today? https://www.lucidchart.com/blog/business-analysis-models 5/13 2/16/22, 1:01 PM (1) New Messages! Additionally, organizational charts prove useful for stakeholder analysis and modeling new groupings and teams following organizational Categories Techshifts. Blog Sign up free Marketing Org Chart Example (Click on image to modify online) 5. SWOT analysis The SWOT analysis is a fundamental tool in a BA’s arsenal. SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. A SWOT analysis evaluates a business’s strengths and weaknesses and identifies any opportunities or threats to that business. SWOT analysis helps stakeholders make strategic decisions regarding their business. The goal is to capitalize on strengths and opportunities while reducing the impact of internal or external threats and weaknesses. From a visual modeling perspective, SWOT analysis is fairly straightforward. A typical model will have four boxes or quadrants—one for each category— 🙌It's free to sign up for a with bulleted lists outlining the respective results. Lucidchart trial. Can we help you get started today? https://www.lucidchart.com/blog/business-analysis-models 1 6/13 2/16/22, 1:01 PM (1) New Messages! Categories Tech Blog Sign up free SWOT Analysis (Click on image to modify online) 6. User interface wireframe Another essential business diagram is the UI wireframe. Software development teams use wireframes (also called mockups or prototypes) to visually outline and design a layout for a specific screen. In other words, wireframes are the blueprints for a website or software program. They help stakeholders assess navigational needs and experience for a successful practical application. The level of detail in wireframes range from lowfidelity to high-fidelity prototypes. Low-fidelity wireframes are the most basic outlines, showing only the bare-bones layout of the screen. Highfidelity wireframes are typically rendered in the later planning stages and will include specific UI elements (e.g., buttons, drop-down bars, text fields, etc.) and represent how the final implementation should look on the screen. 🙌It's free to sign up for a Lucidchart trial. Can we help you get started today? https://www.lucidchart.com/blog/business-analysis-models 1 7/13 2/16/22, 1:01 PM (1) New Messages! Categories Tech Blog Sign up free Basic Homepage Wireframe (Click on image to modify online) 7. Process flow diagram A process flow diagram (PFD) is typically used in chemical and process engineering to identify the basic flow of plant processes, but it can also be used in other fields to help stakeholders understand how their organization operates. A PFD is best used to: 🙌It's free to sign up for a Lucidchart trial. Can we help you get started today? 1 Document a process. https://www.lucidchart.com/blog/business-analysis-models 8/13 2/16/22, 1:01 PM (1) New Messages! Study a process to make changes or improvements. Improve understanding and Tech communication Categories Blog between stakeholders. Sign up free These diagrams focus on broad, high-level systems rather than annotating minor process details. Business Process Flow Diagram (Click on image to modify online) 8. PESTLE analysis A PESTLE analysis often goes hand-in-hand with a SWOT analysis. PESTLE evaluates external factors that could impact business performance. This acronym stands for six elements affecting business: political, economic, technological, environmental, legal, and sociological. PESTLE analysis assesses the possible factors within each category, as well as their potential 🙌It's free to sign up for a impact, duration of effect, type of impact (i.e., Lucidchart trial. Can we help you negative or positive), and level of importance. get started today? https://www.lucidchart.com/blog/business-analysis-models 1 9/13 2/16/22, 1:01 PM (1) New Messages! This type of business analysis helps stakeholders manage risk, strategically plan and review business goals and performance, and potentially Categories Tech Bloggain an advantage over competitors. Sign up free PESTLE Analysis Diagram (Click on image to modify online) 9. Entity-relationship diagram An entity-relationship diagram (ER diagram) illustrates how entities (e.g., people, objects, or concepts) relate to one another in a system. For example, a logical ER diagram visually shows how the terms in an organization’s business glossary relate to one another. ER diagrams comprise three main parts: Entities Relationships Attributes Attributes apply to the entities, describing further details about the concept. Relationships are where the key insights from ER diagrams arise. In a visual model, the relationships between entities are illustrated either numerically or via crow’s foot 🙌It's free to sign up for a notation. Lucidchart trial. Can we help you get started today? 1 These diagrams are most commonly used to model database structures in software engineering and https://www.lucidchart.com/blog/business-analysis-models 10/13 2/16/22, 1:01 PM (1) New Messages! business information systems and are particularly valuable tools for BAs in those fields. Categories Tech Blog P.S. In Lucidchart, you can automatically generate an ERD when you import your databases and schemas. Follow this guide to try it out or manually build your ERD with the template below! Sign up free Entity-Relationship Diagram Example (UML Notation), (Click on image to modify online) Start visual modeling with Lucidchart There are a variety of choices when it comes to visual modeling. The best BAs will have a diverse toolbox of business analysis diagrams so they can match the right models to each scenario, whether that’s a simple organizational chart for new employees or an in-depth SWOT and PESTLE analysis for executives and high-level stakeholders. 🙌It's free to sign up for a Lucidchart makes your job easier by providing Lucidchart trial. Can we help you flexible, ready-made templates, dynamic design get started today? features, and multiple sharing options so your team can stay in the loop and you don’t have to miss a https://www.lucidchart.com/blog/business-analysis-models 1 11/13 2/16/22, 1:01 PM (1) New Messages! beat. From simple flowcharts to complex visual models with data linking and conditional formatting, resource for Categories Lucidchart is a must-have Tech Blog the savvy business analyst. Sign up free Choose the business analysis model that's right for you, and start diagramming in Lucidchart today! 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