Full Business Analysis Study Guide Igor Arkhipov, CBAP 8. BA Governance Photo credit: https://unsplash.com/@danieleriggifotovideo All the activities we have talked about - they should not run ad hoc! They need to be properly planned and monitored. Intro to Business Analysis, chapter 8: governance Igor Arkhipov, CBAP The definition Governance encompasses the system by which an organisation is controlled and operates, and the mechanisms by which it, and its people, are held to account. - Intro to Business Analysis, chapter 8: governance Governance Institute of Australia Igor Arkhipov, CBAP What do you need to plan? There a few things that a BA needs to plan for upfront in order to set oneself up for success. ➔ ➔ ➔ ➔ General BA approach BA activities Decision making process Change control process ➔ ➔ ➔ ➔ Prioritisation process Approval process Information management Stakeholder engagement It is important not to plan a BA approach in isolation. It needs to be aligned with the project management approach and project plan! Intro to Business Analysis, chapter 8: governance Igor Arkhipov, CBAP 8.1 Business analysis approach Igor Arkhipov, CBAP BA approach Business analysis approach describes the overall method for performing business analysis work. It should be designed in a way that supports and complements the general project management methodology in the organisation and helps satisfy the initial need behind the initiative. Intro to Business Analysis, chapter 8: governance Igor Arkhipov, CBAP Agility continuum (repeated) We have previously discussed this in chapter 5. It is the degree to which your organisation prefers to adapt to or predict changes (essentially, how it manages risks). You need to understand the approach in the organisation to plan BA activities properly. predictive Intro to Business Analysis, chapter 8: governance adaptive Igor Arkhipov, CBAP Predictive approach A predictive approach focuses on minimizing upfront uncertainty and ensuring the solution is well defined before the start of implementation. It maximizes control and reduces (predicted) risks. Intro to Business Analysis, chapter 8: governance Igor Arkhipov, CBAP Predictive approach Despite common misconception, “predictive approach” is not a direct synonym to the much criticised “waterfall approach” which is associated with bad project management practices. Let’s not make this mistake. Intro to Business Analysis, chapter 8: governance Igor Arkhipov, CBAP Predictive approach Aspects of the predictive approach: ➔ ➔ ➔ ➔ Intro to Business Analysis, chapter 8: governance Solution is largely defined before the start of implementation Level of formality is comparatively high Activities are planned upfront and divided into tasks Tasks are grouped into defined phases Igor Arkhipov, CBAP Predictive approach When the predictive approach is a preference: ➔ requirements can effectively be defined ahead of implementation ➔ or the risk of an incorrect implementation is unacceptably high ➔ or when engaging stakeholders presents significant challenges Essentially, this approach can work best with the extremes: the most trivial and the most complex projects. Intro to Business Analysis, chapter 8: governance Igor Arkhipov, CBAP Adaptive approach The adaptive approach focuses on rapid delivery of business value in shorter iterations. It welcomes a higher degree of uncertainty regarding the overall delivery of the solution. It maximises the ability to adapt to change and supports the exploratory approach to finding the best solution. Intro to Business Analysis, chapter 8: governance Igor Arkhipov, CBAP Adaptive approach Aspects of the adaptive approach: ➔ Solution is defined in iterations with the ability to collect feedback between them and improve ➔ Level of formality is lower, the information is mostly collected via collaboration and preserved on a “just in time” and “as needed” basis ➔ Deliverables are defined first, activities are planned as needed to deliver the expected outputs ➔ Tasks are performed iteratively Intro to Business Analysis, chapter 8: governance Igor Arkhipov, CBAP Adaptive approach When the adaptive approach is a preference: ➔ When the solution cannot be defined upfront or the context changes faster than the team can deliver in a predictive manner ➔ When early feedback is important to shape the solution ➔ When fast time to market is crucial ➔ When the cost of mistake is not high Essentially, this approach can work best with a commercial environment, allowing the product to get to customers faster and be adapted based on real time feedback. Intro to Business Analysis, chapter 8: governance Igor Arkhipov, CBAP 8.2 Plan activities & Design processes Igor Arkhipov, CBAP Plan BA activities Depending on the delivery approach and the nature of the project, the BA activities will vary. In general, a good practice to plan the activities is to define which BA outcomes are expected by the team, and to plan the steps for each outcome to deliver them. Once this is done, the BA plan should be communicated with stakeholders and integrated with an overall project plan to resolve dependencies. Intro to Business Analysis, chapter 8: governance Igor Arkhipov, CBAP Decision making process Business analysts get involved in decision making a lot. To succeed, you need to define (as much as possible): ➔ ➔ ➔ ➔ Which stakeholders have decision making authority Which subject matter experts can be consulted during decision making Who needs to review the decisions How you maintain a decision registry Intro to Business Analysis, chapter 8: governance Igor Arkhipov, CBAP Change control process We have talked about what you need to do to manage change in chapter 5. Now, let us consider what you need to plan for to enable efficient change control. ➔ ➔ ➔ ➔ Define who can request a change and communicate this to the stakeholders Define the elements of a change request - is there specific information you need to collect for each change? Decide on how the changes will be documented and communicated Agree who authorizes the change Intro to Business Analysis, chapter 8: governance Igor Arkhipov, CBAP Prioritization process The team always needs to understand the relative priorities of things. Help them by: ➔ ➔ ➔ Defining who is involved in prioritisation sessions Defining the level of formality Defining the criteria for prioritisation for different entities: ◆ Initiatives ◆ Requirements ◆ Change requests ◆ Tasks Intro to Business Analysis, chapter 8: governance Igor Arkhipov, CBAP Approval process Obtaining approval on different elements of the solution is vital. Make sure the stakeholders are aligned on: ➔ ➔ ➔ The timing and frequency of approvals Types of requirements and designs that need approval Level of formality Always consider the organisational culture, the type of information being approved, and the organisational context when designing the approval process. Intro to Business Analysis, chapter 8: governance Igor Arkhipov, CBAP Plan information management Regardless of the level of formality, you need to bring structure to the way you store information. ➔ ➔ ➔ ➔ ➔ Defines types of information and appropriate ways to store and access it Define the level of abstraction / detail you need to capture for each type Plan an approach for traceability Define attributes you need to capture Plan for reuse Intro to Business Analysis, chapter 8: governance Igor Arkhipov, CBAP 8.3 Performance improvements Igor Arkhipov, CBAP How do we measure performance? Efficiency is a “relationship between the result achieved and the resources used”, in other words, a measure of profitability from efforts applied. Effectiveness is an “extent to which planned activities are realised, and planned results are achieved”. In other words, this measurement shows us whether the work brings any expected additional value to the business at all. - Intro to Business Analysis, chapter 8: governance Based on ISO 9000 Igor Arkhipov, CBAP Is it quality? A combination of effectiveness and efficiency as a measure of performance should be used when measuring the overall quality. However, the quality of any process cannot be measured separately from the perception a customer has of it. Intro to Business Analysis, chapter 8: governance Igor Arkhipov, CBAP Is it quality? Quality Performance Efficiency Intro to Business Analysis, chapter 8: governance Perception Effectiveness Igor Arkhipov, CBAP What to measure? Efficiency: time spent, people involved, iterations involved, delivered on schedule. - Use business data to collect these. Effectiveness: accuracy and completeness of the outputs, ease of use, benefits, whether business objectives are met. - Use expert judgement and business data to collect these. Perception: is the team supported enough, do the outputs and activities comply with expectations. - Collect feedback to collect these. Intro to Business Analysis, chapter 8: governance Igor Arkhipov, CBAP Recommend actions Based on the analysis of the metrics collected you are expected to recommend actions for further improvement: ➔ ➔ ➔ Preventative: reduces the probability of an event with a negative impact Corrective: establishes ways to reduce the negative impact of an event Improvement: establishes ways to increase the probability or impact of events with a positive impact Intro to Business Analysis, chapter 8: governance Igor Arkhipov, CBAP What to consider? When managing BA performance: ➔ ➔ ➔ All performance metrics will encourage certain behaviours and discourage others. Poorly chosen metrics may drive behaviour that is detrimental to the enterprise as a whole. Choose wisely. Always seek and consider feedback. Intro to Business Analysis, chapter 8: governance Igor Arkhipov, CBAP
