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Workbook*
PMI-PBA Exam Prep and
Business Analysis Training
Email: support@gototraining360.com
*To be used as a reference material only. Not an exact duplicate of the video lectures and may not
be in the same sequence as the lecture slides.
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Welcome to this Section on:
Basics and Fundamentals of Business Analysis
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1
What is Business Analysis
The application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to:
ü Identify business problems, needs and opportunities
ü Recommend viable solutions for meeting those needs
ü Elicit, document and manage stakeholder requirements in order to meet business needs and
project objectives
ü Facilitate successful implementation of the product, service or end result of the program or
project.
2
Who Performs Business Analysis
The work of business analysis, often, is not limited to the title of business analyst.
Organizations may find that business analysis, or some form of it, is being done by one or more of
these roles:
q Project team members
q Business architects
q Business intelligence analysts
q Business process analysts
q Business subject matter experts
q Developers
q Data, functional, operational, systems or user experience analysts
q Enterprise business analysts
q Product managers or product owners
q Project managers
q QA analysts
q Requirements, software requirements, systems or value engineers, and
q Requirements managers
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What is a Business Entity
q An organization that is formed and managed to engage in commercial activities (for
profit) or non-commercial activities (not-for-profit / charitable)
q Commercial business entities are organized to sell a product or service
q Organizational structure include: organizational units/departments, business
processes, operations, tasks
q Humans use machines/systems to get the work done faster and more efficiently
q Entities exist with a specific Purpose, Visions, Objectives and Strategies to implement
their visions.
4
What is a Business Ecosystem
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6
ROI Calculation
•
•
•
•
Formula: Profit/Benefit Divided by Cost of Investment
1. Whole Pizza Corp Investment
$1,000
2. Sold investment (or shares) for $1,200
3. Profit ( above: #2 less #1)
$200
ROI = 20% (profit divided by cost of investment, $200/$1000)
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What is a Stakeholder
8
What is a Solution
Key components of a solution can include the following
• Organizational restructuring
• Business process reenginerring (BPR)
• Business process improvement
• initiatives
• IT based business enhancements
When organizations lack in-house expertise to provide end-to-end solutions, experts (consultants)
are hired to design and develop a solution that would solve a business problem or exploit an
opportunity
9
What is a Stakeholder
§
In general, A person with an interest or concern in something, especially a business.
§
From a project standpoint, A stakeholder is either an individual, group or organization who is
impacted by the outcome of a project.
§
They have an interest in the success of the project, and can be within or outside the
organization that is sponsoring the project.
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What is a Project?
•
•
A project is temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product or service.
Projects are different from ongoing operations in an organization, because unlike
operations, projects have a definite beginning and an end - they have a limited duration.
11
What is a Requirement
From a project standpoint, Requirement is a condition or task that must be completed to ensure the
success or completion of the project.
They provide a clear picture of the work that needs to be done. They're meant to align
the project's resources with the objectives of the organization
Needs
vs
Features
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Plan vs
Requirements vs
Tasks vs
Risk
13
NeNeeds (I need to)
Requirements
Build a vacation home by the beach for my growing family
• The house shall be walking distance to the beach (if not by the
beach)
• The beach house shall 4 bedrooms: 1 master bedroom, 2 small
BRs and 1 guest BR.
• The house shall be 3 levels and the master BR shall be on the
top floor and must have a view of the water
Get a BA job
• I should take a BA course
• Without a lot of experience, I should look initially for entry
level BA positions
• I should create a resume
• I should practice mockup job interviews
Needs vs Requirements?
14
Needs Vs Features
In general, a need is a desire that causes a customer to buy a product/service
In project management, need is set of requirements for a solution that can provide the
services/benefit needed by the stakeholders .
q Example: Business stakeholder in account payable system, “ I want to be able to print a report
of all check payments that have not been cashed by vendor payees”
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A feature is a set of related requirements that allows the user to satisfy a business objective or
need.
q Example: This tool will allow the mortgage processors to see the critical path (and delays) of the
loan application’s journey from initiation to approval.
15
Plan Vs Requirement Vs Task Vs Risk
A plan - is a proposal for doing or achieving something. It includes set of events, dependencies among
events, schedule, outcomes, material and resources needed and stakeholders involved.
Requirement - is a usable representation of need. It focuses on understanding what kind of value could
be delivered if a requirement is fulfilled.
Task - is an activity that needs to be accomplished within a defined period of time or by a deadline to
work towards work-related goals
Risk - is the effect of the uncertainty on the value of a change, a solution or the enterprise
16
Why Projects Fail
Why Projects
Fail Because
of Poorly
Defined
Requirements
17
3 Different Types of Business Analysis
Strategic, aka Enterprise Business Analysis
q Study of business visions, goals, objectives and strategies to identify the desired future
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q Analysis of existing organizational structure, policies, politics, problems, opportunities and
application architecture to build a business case for change
q Outputs: Defined prioritized projects and initiatives to create the desired future
Tactical Business Analysis
q Business analysis done on the project and initiative level to flush out details of proposed
solution and to insure it meets the needs of the stakeholders
q Output: Textual or Modeled Set of Business Requirements
Operational (or project implementation) Business Analysis
q Work on specific business applications, members of the development team including the BA
are implementing the requirements for a specific business application.
18
4 Types of Requirements
1. Business requirements
A capability or condition that is required in a product or service or result to satisfy a contract or other
imposed specification
2. Stakeholder requirements
These are the needs of the stakeholders that must be met in other to achieve the business
requirements
3. Solution requirements
Capabilities and qualities of a solution that meets stakeholder requirements. They provide
appropriate level of detail to allow development and implementation of solution
-
Functional requirements – capabilities, including system-level capabilities, that a solution
must have
Non-functional requirements – describe the conditions under which a solution must remain
effective or qualities that solution must have
4. Transition requirements
The capabilities that the solution must have and the conditions the solution must meet to facilitate
transition from the current state to the future state, but which are not needed once the change is
complete.
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Skills Needed To Be a Good BA
•
Analytical skills
•
Problem solving skills / creative thinking
•
Communication skills (verbal and written)
•
Presentation skills
•
Organizational skills
•
Domain knowledge (business/industry)
•
Persuasion skills (ability to influence stakeholders)
•
Political awareness
•
Technical awareness
•
System thinking
•
Behavioral traits (ethics, personal organization, trustworthiness)
•
Ability to use a variety of BA tools
20
What is PMI?
PMI is the most widely-recognized nonprofit project management organization and offers eight
certifications that recognize knowledge and competency within the profession.
One of those eight is PMI-PBA – Professional in Business Analysis
Website: pmi.org
•
•
•
•
•
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
US non-profit professional organization for project management
Founded in 1969
Based in PA
Chapters around the world
Services provided
Develop standards
Research
Education
Networking opportunities in local chapters
Hosts conferences,/training serminars
Provides accreditation
Offers eight certifications that recognize knowledge and competency within the profession – the
8 certifications include PMI-PBA (Professional in Business Analysis), PMP and PMI-ACP (Agile
Certified Professional)
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Key Terms, Concepts, Acronyms
Business
Business entity
• Commercial (for profit)
• Non-commercial (not-for-profit/charitable)
• Organization’s Structure – business units/departments, business processes, operations
and tasks. Humans and machines work cohesively. Vision-goals-strategies
• Stakeholders
• Deliverable
• Project
• Solution
• Requirement
• Product
Need for documentation
•
•
•
22
Additional Study Resources / Reference Materials
•
The candidate is encouraged to acquire from PMI, or other sources e.g. Amazon /Google the
PMI Guide to Business Analysis and Business Analysis Practitioner, A Practice Guide, (both
publications are free to PMI members.)
•
Also to download from pmi.org the PMI-PBA Exam Content Outline and PMI-PBA Handbook
•
The instructor will be available through the Q&A forum to field questions regarding the
course and exam content outline.
•
The Q&A section of the Udemy course will be the ideal Q&A forum and will be utilized to
answer questions.
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24
The 5 Domains of the Business Analysis Work
- 1. Needs Assessment
-
2. Planning
(also referred to as business analysis planning)
-
3. Analysis
(also referred to as requirement elicitation and analysis)
-
4. Traceability and monitoring
-
5. Evaluation
(also referred to as solution evaluation)
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Welcome to Domain 1
Needs Assessment
Domain 1 - Needs Assessment
36 Qs +/-, 18%
q Defining and understanding Needs Assessment
q 5 Domain Tasks (Exam Content Outline)
q Related Needs Assessment Knowledge and Skills (including Tools and Techniques) (Exam
Content Outline)
q Additional review materials including any terminology alignments compiled from PMI Guide
to Business Analysis
q Key Takeaways and Tips
q Sample Practice Questions
q Domain Assessment Quiz
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What is a
Needs
Assessment?
In general, a needs assessment is a systematic process for
•
determining and addressing needs, or "gaps"
•
between current conditions and
•
desired conditions or "wants".
The discrepancy between the current condition and wanted condition must be measured to
appropriately identify the need. The need can be a desire to improve current performance or to
correct a deficiency
Put another way, Needs Assessment describes the work necessary to:
•
define a business need,
•
decide on an approach to address that need,
•
and determine whether the organization should invest in the proposed change.
It includes work that should be done before a project is initiated to make sure the project will bring
sufficient business value to the organization
27
Domain I - Needs Assessment
5 Tasks
Includes the steps/processes used to:
q Analyze a current business problem or opportunity,
q Analyze current and future states to determine an optimal solution that will provide:
§ value and
§ address the business need,
q and assemble the results of the analysis to provide decision makers
§ with relevant information
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to determine if investment in proposed solution is viable.
28
What is Needs Assessment
From a project perspective, Needs Assessment is the process used to
•
analyze a current business problem or opportunity,
•
analyze current and future states to determine an optimal solution that will provide value and
address the business need,
•
and assemble the results of the analysis to provide decision makers with relevant information
to determine whether an investment in the proposed solution is viable.
29
What is Needs Assessment and why we need it?
This refers to the:
•
Work or activities related to understanding
and defining a business need, problem or
opportunity,
•
Deciding on an approach to meet that need,
•
And determining whether the company
should Invest in the proposed change.
•
This includes evaluating various inputs before
a project is initiated to make sure the project
will bring value to the organization
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30 Comic Relief
• Breaking it down:
Needs:
• Describes a lack of something useful.
• “Missing capabilities” (typical in
organizations)
Assess
• To estimate the importance of
something.
THEREFORE – you are looking at
something the organization is
lacking, and figuring out its
relative value
31
• Why a business need exists in a organization
• 1. Problem exists that
needs to be fixed
• 2. Potential opportunity that
the company can seize upon
• 3. Externally imposed change
As soon as we solve one problem, another one appears. So let’s
keep this problem going for a while.”
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Task 1 of 5
Define or review a business problem or opportunity using problem and opportunity analysis
techniques in order to develop a solution scope statement and/or to provide input to create a
business case
• Purpose
To develop a solution scope statement and/or to provide input to create a business case
• Highlighted Technique
Problem and Opportunity Analysis Techniques
• Output
Solution scope statement
Input to a business case
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Problem Solving and Opportunity Identification Tools and Techniques (# 26)
1. Brainstorming
Performed in a group setting and led by a facilitator to engage stakeholders to quickly identify a list of
ideas for a specific topic in a relatively short period of time.
2. Benchmarking
Comparison of practices against established standards or ”best in class” within its industry
Problem Solving and Opportunity Identification Tools and Techniques (# 26)
3. Value engineering
A systematic method to improve the “value” of goods, product or services by using examination of
function.
4. Scenario analysis
Process of analyzing possible future events by considering alternative possible outcomes (sometimes
called "alternative worlds"). Helps decision makers answer the “what if” queries.
5. User journey Maps
A depiction of the series of steps representing a scenario in which a user might interact with a product
or solution being designed.
Customer journey mapping can help your company improve the customer experience, build brand
loyalty and become a market leader.
34
Example of a Situation / Problem Statement
Consider a software development and hosted data services company that supplies products and
services to wireless carriers. The had issues deploying new software releases into the production
environment.
Deployment in this case is the work necessary for taking a production ready binary and installing,
testing and releasing it into the production environment. The company failed to deploy the releases onschedule over 50% of the time.
Problem Statement
We want all of our software releases to go to production seamlessly, without defects, where everyone
is aware and informed of the outcomes and status (Vision)
Today we have too many release failures that result in too many rollback failures. If we ignore this
problem, resources will need to increase to handle the cascading problems, and we may miss critical
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customer deadlines which could result in lost revenue, SLA penalties, lost business and further damage
to our quality reputation. (Issue Statement)
We will use our Kaizen Blitz methodology in evaluating the last release to help us improve our
processes. (Method)
”Kaizen Blitz” is a focused short term project to improve a process.
35
Sample of a Business Case
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Task 2 of 5
Collect and analyze information from a variety of sources using valuation tools and techniques to
contribute to determining the value proposition of the initiative
• Purpose
To contribute to determining the value proposition of the initiative
•
•
Highlighted Technique
Valuation Tools and Techniques
Valuation Tools and Techniques (# 38)
Cost Benefit Analysis
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Financial analysis tool used to determine the benefits provided by a project (or
portfolio component or program) against its costs.
•
1.1 Payback Period
The time needed to recover the investment in months or years.
38
Valuation Tools and Techniques (# 38)
1. 1.2 Return on Investment (ROI)
Percent return on an initial investment, calculated by taking the projected average of all net benefits
divided by initial cost
Valuation Tools and Techniques
1.3 Net Present Value (NPV)
Future value of expected benefits expressed in the value those benefits have at the time of investment.
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1.4 Internal Rate of Return (IRR)
Projected annual yield of an investment, incorporating both initial and ongoing costs into an estimated
growth rate
2. Kano model
A technique to model and analyze product features by considering the features from the viewpoint of
the customer
40
3. Force field analysis
A decision-making technique used to help teams analyze if there is sufficient support to pursue a
change.
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4. Net promoter score
An index from -100 to 100 that measures the willingness of customers to recommend a company’s
products or services to others.
42
5. Purpose alignment model
This model helps prioritize requirements and guides investment decisions. It rates requirements
(capabilities, processes or tasks) on whether 1) it creates market differentiation or contributes to the
value proposition 2) it is critical for the ongoing operation
The rated requirements are then organized into four quadrants
Differentiating
Requirements that rate highly on both dimensions. They offer the most value
Parity
Requirements that are low in market differentiation but high for organization operations
Partner
Requirements that rate high in market differentiation but lower on organization operations.
Who Cares
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Requirements that are low on both dimensions. They can potentially be removed from scope.
43
As a supplement to Task 2 of 5 of Needs Assessment
This lecture covers:
• Analytic, estimating and process tools and techniques used in Needs Assessment
Analytic Tools and Techniques also used in Needs Assessment
Root Cause Analysis / Opportunity Analysis
A technique used to determine the basic underlying reasons for a variance, defect or risk.
The problem or opportunity can be broken down into either the root causes or opportunity
contributors so that a viable and appropriate solution can be recommended
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Pareto Analysis
This is a statistical technique in decision-making used for the selection of a limited number of tasks that
produce significant overall effect.
It uses the Pareto Principle (also known as the 80/20 rule) the idea that by doing 20% of the work you
can generate 80% of the benefit of doing the entire job
45
Fishbone Diagram
A fishbone diagram, also called a cause and effect diagram or Ishikawa diagram, is a visualization tool
for categorizing the potential causes of a problem in order to identify its root causes.
A fishbone diagram is useful in brainstorming sessions to focus conversation. After the group has
brainstormed all the possible causes for a problem, the facilitator helps the group to rate the potential
causes according to their level of importance and diagram a hierarchy.
The design of the diagram looks much like a skeleton of a fish. Fishbone diagrams are typically worked
right to left, with each large "bone" of the fish branching out to include smaller bones containing more
detail
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Estimating tools and techniques (#15)
Relative estimation
A technique for creating estimates that are derived from performing a comparison against a similar
body of work rather than estimating based on absolute units of cost or time.
It consists of estimating tasks or user stories, not separately and in absolute units of time, but by
comparison or by grouping of items of equivalent difficulty
47
Estimation poker
Consensus based, each estimator holds a deck of Planning Poker cards with values 0, 1, 3, 5, 8, 13, 20,
40 and 100.
The values represent the number of story points, ideal days or other units on which the team
estimates.
After discussing features and other product questions, each estimator privately selects one card to
represent his/her estimate.
All cards are revealed at the same time.
48
Quadrant analysis
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As simple as choosing two criteria and placing them on their respective axis. In the example, effort and
impact is place in the 2x2 quadrant.
49
T-Shirt sizes
Items are categorized into t-shirt sizes: XS, S, M, L, XL. The sizes, if needed, can be given numerical
values. Usually based on open, collaborative discussion.
Organization assessment/readiness (#22)
This technique analyzes the established culture and the indicators of how ready an organization is for
radical changes in the way in does business, now and in the future.
This clearly identifies the perception of the stakeholders toward change and if they are ready to
proceed.
Process Analysis Tools and Techniques (#27)
Process Model
Shows the steps taken in a process by a human user as it interacts with a system.
50
Dependency Graphs
Shows dependent relationships
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Data Flow Diagram
Combines processes, systems, and data to show how data flows through a solution
51
User Stories
A one or two sentence description written from the point of view of the actor that describes a function
that is needed. Format: As an <actor>, I want to <function>, so that I can <benefit>
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Task 3 of 5
Collaborate in the development of project goals and objectives by providing clarification of business
needs and solution scope in order to align the product with the organization’s goals and objectives
• Purpose
Development of project goals and objectives by providing clarification of business needs and solution
scope.
• Highlighted Technique
Collaborate in the development of project goals and objectives
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Relationships Maintained by the Business Analyst
Management
• Functional Managers
• Project Sponsor
• Senior Managers
Product and Project Team
• Portfolio, Program and Project Managers
• Other BAs
• Architects, Designers, and Implementation Team
• Quality Control
Business
• Subject Matter Experts
• Users
• Governance
• Other stakeholders
External
• Customers
• Government
Vendors
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Developing SMART Business Goals
and Objectives
55
Collaboration Tools and Techniques (#5)
This set of tools and techniques is part of the set of tools and techniques applicable to ALL domains and
are discussed towards the end of Domain 5.
Time for Review
DEFINE BUSINESS PROBLEM OR OPPORTUNITY
Task 1. Define or review a business problem or opportunity using problem and opportunity analysis
techniques in order to develop a solution scope statement and/or to provide input to create a
business case
DEFINE VALUE PROPOSITION
Task 2. Collect and analyze information from a variety of sources using valuation tools and
techniques to contribute to determining the value proposition of the initiative
DEVELOP PROJECT GOALS
Task 3. Collaborate in the development of project goals and objectives by providing clarification of
business needs and solution scope in order to align the product with the organization’s goals and
objectives
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Task 4 of 5
Identify stakeholders by reviewing goals, objectives and requirements in order that the appropriate
parties are represented, informed and involved.
•
Purpose
Identify stakeholders to ensure the appropriate parties are represented, informed and
involved.
•
Highlighted Approach
Stakeholder identification by reviewing goals, objectives and requirements.
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So what is a stakeholder?
Individuals, groups or organizations that may impact, are impacted, or are perceived impacted by the
area under assessment.
The interest of the stakeholders should be taken into account throughout the business analysis process
Guide in identifying stakeholders
1. Sponsor who is initiating the project
2. Who will benefit from an improved program or project
3. Who will articulate and support
the financial and other benefits
of the solution
4. Who will use the solution
5. Whose role and/or activities may change as a result of the solution
6. Who may regulated or otherwise constrain part of or all of a potential solution
7. Who will support the solutions
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Stakeholder Analysis (#35)
1. Identify the stakeholder.
Four stakeholder categories using RACI (a responsibility assignment matrix )
R – Responsible. Will perform the needs assessment
A – Accountable. Will approve the needs assessment, including business case when warranted.
C – Consult. To be consulted for input to understand the current problem or opportunity
I – Inform. Will receive the results of the needs assessment
Collaboration Point – PM (project manager) and BA (business analyst) have an interest in
stakeholder identification and RACI analysis.
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2. Personas
An archetype user representing a set of similar end users described with their goals, motivations and
representative personal characteristics.
3. Role definitions
In business analysis, represents a defined function to be performed by a product team member, such as
research, analyze, model, specify, review or update.
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Task 5 of 5
Determine stakeholder values regarding the product, using elicitation techniques in order to provide
a baseline for prioritizing requirements
•
Purpose
To provide a baseline for prioritizing
requirements
•
Highlighted Technique
Elicitation techniques
•
Output
Baseline for prioritizing requirements
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Elicitation Techniques (#14)
1. Brainstorming
In business analysis, performed in a group setting and led by a facilitator to engage stakeholders to
quickly identify a list of ideas for a specific topic in a relatively short period of time.
2. Interviewing techniques
Formal or informal approach to elicit information from individuals or groups of stakeholders by asking
questions and documenting responses.
. Focus groups
Brings together prequalified stakeholders and subject matter experts to learn about their expectations
and attitudes about a proposed product, service or result.
4. Observation
Views individuals in their own environment performing their jobs or tasks. It can also be done with
observer performing and experiencing the work.
5. Facilitated workshops
Structured meeting led by
a skilled or neutral facilitator and carefully selected group of stakeholders to collaborate and work
toward a stated
objective.
62
6. Prototyping
Used to obtain early feedback on a requirement by providing a model of the expected solution before
building it. Also known as PofC (proof of concept)
• Storyboarding
Shows sequence or navigation through a series of images or illustrations.
• Wireframes
Diagrams that represent a static blueprint or schematic of a user interface to identify basic functionality
7. Evolutionary
A prototype that is the actual finished solution in process
8. Document analysis
Analyze existing documentation to identify relevant product information.
9. Research
Elicit useful information from relevant sources in a timely and effective manner
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10. Questionnaires and surveys
A written set of questions designed to quickly accumulate information from a large number of
respondents
63
Key Takeaways / Summary
1. Note that Domain 1, Needs Assessment is about:
•Identifying the problem or opportunity
•Identifying the stakeholders,
•Understanding the situation (current state)
•Recommend a viable option (future state)
•Develop business case
2. The key Knowledge And Skills (Tools and Techniques) used in Needs Assessment are:
•Problem and Opportunity Identification,
•Stakeholder Analysis,
•Valuation Tools and Technique
•Elicitation Tools and Techniques
.The key outputs of Domain 1 are
•Situation Scope Statement,
•Value Proposition / Recommend Viable Options,
•Business Case
64
Tips
•Businesses have multiple needs and often must prioritize recommended solutions or options based
on different reasons.
The cost-benefit of a proposed solution and the relative urgency of the need (e.g. the company
cannot afford the rate it is losing customers) or a proposed solution is a “must do” to comply with
government regulation) are prime factors that affect prioritization.
It is important to take the time to investigate the reasons for the need to properly recommend viable
solutions
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Retention and Mastery.
Make sure to go over the video lectures and lecture outline at least one more time or more to get
comfortable or used to the terms and concepts. This is important especially if you are new the BA
profession
“Repetition is the mother of learning, the father of action, which makes it the architect of
accomplishment.” (Zig Ziglar)
65
Terminology Alignment
1.The PMI Guide to Business Analysis (Guide) introduced the following:
Knowledge Areas roughly equivalent to the domains in the Exam Content Outline (ECO)
• As in the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), the Guide introduces the business
analysis process groups and under each process groups are tasks similar to the domain tasks in
ECO.
• Inputs, Tools and Techniques and Output for each of the steps (or tasks) in the the knowledge
areas.
• There are 7 steps (tasks) in Needs Assessment Knowledge Area.
For Inputs, the following are new or the terminologies used in the ECO are not exactly aligned with
the Guide
• Enterprise environment factors (EEFs) . Both external and internal.
• Enterprise and business architecture
• Organizational goals and objectives
For Outputs, the following are new:
• Product roadmap
• Current state assessment
• Feasibility study results
• Charter
• Product scope
• Shared product information
Tools and Techniques,
• Most of the Tools and Techniques are covered in the 40 Knowledge and Skills (Tools and
Techniques) covered in the ECO.
The PMI Guide to Business Analysis on Needs Assessment also introduced:
• Adaptive and Predictive Tailoring for Determining Viable Options
• Collaboration points
• Collaboration with architects, designers, project managers, financial analysts should be sought
as their input would provide valuable insight into the viability of options.
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Practice Questions
Note: PMI-PBA exam questions are multiple choice and situation-based. The test-taker is presented
with realistic, hypothetical scenarios and ask the individual to identify the most appropriate response
or to rank the responses in the order they feel is most effective
. Which of the following statements is the best example of a business problem statement
a. We need to speed up the query search time in the database
b. To increase productivity in the Help Desk, we need to speed up the query search time in the
problem database
c. Speeding up the problem data search time will save the company about $250,000 a year and
prevent increases in staff
d. Help Desk staff wait an average of 40 seconds per query, resulting in an average of 15% longer
calls than the industry average.
2. Which of the following role is responsible for identifying problems or opportunities while
assessing business need
a. Product Manager
b. Project Manager
c. Business Analyst
d. None of the above
3. The BA is using Focus Groups, Interview Techniques, Facilitated Workshops. What is he trying to
do:
a. Create the Requirements Management Plan
b. Develop the WBS
c. Collect Requirements
d. Facilitate Requirements
4. Your sponsor has requested an estimate of the cost it would take to complete a new software
system. You are unsure of the value of the new system to the organization. To explain your concerns,
you should:
a. Draft a solution scope and business case
b. Document the requirements, assumptions and constraints
c. Develop a business analysis plan showing the time required to elicit requirements
d. Determine viable future state solution
5. Your customer has several ideas about how to solve a problem. He has asked you to recommend a
solution. After reviewing each idea, you found 3 feasible options. What should you do next?
a. Recommend the option with longest life expectancy
b. Tell your customer your choice, but let him make the final decision
c. Develop a ranking system to assess how well each option meets the business need.
d. Recommend the option with least cost and shortest time to complete
Answer codes: 1-d, 2c, 3-c, 4-a, 5-c
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Student Assignment
Please complete before taking the Domain 1 Assessment Quiz
1. Replay and re-review the video lectures on Domain 1, Section 4.
2. This will help with your understanding of the material, especially if you are new to business analysis,
and retention of key concepts and principles.
3. The lectures are focused and concentrated lectures with almost no fluff or fillers, so they are
excellent for review and replay.
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Welcome to Domain 2
Business Analysis Planning
Domain II. Planning – 6 Tasks
22%, 44 Questions (+/-)
q 6 Tasks (Exam Content Outline)
q Related Business Analysis Planning Knowledge and Skills (including Tools and Techniques)
(Exam Content Outline)
q Additional review materials including any terminology alignments compiled from PMI Guide
to Business Analysis
q Summary and Some Key Tips
q Practice Questions
q Domain Assessment Quizzes
*Also referred to as Business Analysis Planning
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Overview
The Planning domain focuses on the preparation required to effectively manage the business
analysis activities that will occur within the project.
This includes establishing tools, policies and procedures for:
•
Requirements management plan
•
Requirements traceability
•
Change management
•
Document control
•
Acceptance criteria (agreement with stakeholders)
Note: this domain sets the stage for the work of the remaining 3 domains of Analysis, Traceability
and Monitoring and Evaluation
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Task 1 of 6
Review the business case and the project goals and objectives, in order to provide context for business
analysis activities
•
Review business case and project goals and objectives
•
Task Purpose: Provide context for business analysis activities
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Task 2 of 6
Define strategy for requirements traceability tools and techniques in order to establish the level of
traceability necessary to monitor and validate the requirements.
•
Task Purpose
To establish the level of traceability necessary to monitor and validate requirements.
•
Highlighted Techniques / Approach
q Types of traceability decisions the business analyst should consider:
q Type of requirements to be traced
q Level of detail to trace to
q Relationships that will be established and maintained
q Requirements attributes to be tracked
q Requirement state that drives the requirement life cycle (e.g. approve, defer, reject,
etc.)
q Tools used to perform the traceability
q Process decisions regarding how traceability will be established and maintained.
q Output – Strategy for Requirements Traceability Tools and Techniques
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What is a requirement?
A condition or capability needed by a stakeholder to solve a problem or achieve an objective.
A condition or capability that must be met or possessed by a solution or solution component to satisfy
a contract, standard, specification, or other formally imposed documents.
In software, a requirement explains a feature that is to be met by a product or a software component.
Types of Requirement (#32)
Product Requirements
Business requirements
the critical activities of an enterprise that must be performed to meet the organizational objective(s)
while remaining solution independent.
Stakeholder requirements
represent the views of those at the business or enterprise operations level—that is, of users, acquirers,
customers, and other stakeholders as they relate to the problem (or opportunity), as a set
of requirements for a solution that can provide the services needed
73
Types of Requirement (#32)
Product Requirements (cont’d)
Solution Requirements
describe the characteristics of a solution that meet both the business and stakeholder requirements.
Solution Requirements are functional and qualitative. Therefore they describe behavior and
environmental conditions that a business solution must have to remain effective.
•
Functional Requirements
defines a function of a system or its component. A function is described as a set of inputs, the
behavior, and outputs. ... This should be contrasted with …
•
Non-functional requirements
which specify overall characteristics such as cost and reliability.
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Two other types
•
Project requirements
Focus on aspects of project execution
•
Quality requirements
Acceptability of an attribute based on quality of result
75
Requirement traceability tools and techniques (#31)
•
Traceability Matrix
A grid that allows for the linkage of product requirements from the source to the deliverables
that satisfy them throughout the project life cycle.
•
Requirements management tools
Software, like Jira and others, can be used track requirements. Can increase efficiency of
existing requirements management process
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Feature model
Shows the 1st, 2nd and 3rd level of features involved in a project
76
Requirement traceability tools and techniques (#31)
Traceability and monitoring approach
• Whether and how to trace requirements (based on complexity of the domain)
• Number of views of requirements
• Cost and benefits involved in tracing
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Elements of a requirements management plan (#13)
1. Requirement activities management
Manages how these activities will be planned, tracked and reported
2. Configuration management activities
•
How changes to the product will be initiated
•
How they will be traced, tracked and reported
•
Authorization levels required to approve change
3. Requirements prioritization process
•
If two or more requirements are in conflict, which receives priority
4. Product metrics
•
Why metrics will be used and why
5. Traceability structure
Which requirement attributes will be captured on the traceability matrix
78
Validation tools and techniques (#38)
•
Acceptance Criteria
Condition that need to be met before a solution is accepted
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Given-when-then formula
The Given-When-Then formula is a template intended to guide the writing of acceptance tests
for a User Story:
•
(Given) some context.
•
(When) some action is carried out.
•
(Then) a particular set of observable consequences should obtain.
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Task 3 of 6
Develop requirements management plan by identifying stakeholders, roles and responsibilities,
communication protocols, and methods for eliciting, analyzing, documenting, managing, and
approving requirements in order to establish a roadmap for delivering the expected solution.
Develop requirements management plan by:
•
identifying stakeholders,
•
roles and responsibilities,
•
communication protocols,
•
and methods for
ü eliciting,
ü analyzing,
ü documenting,
ü managing, and
ü approving requirements
in order to establish a roadmap for delivering the expected solution.
Output: Requirements
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Requirements Management Plan
describes the requirements artifacts, requirement
types (including attributes), the requirements
management process, and the metrics and tools to
be used for measuring, reporting, and controlling
changes to the requirements.
Summary - Knowledge and Skills (Tools and Techniques)
1. Identify Stakeholders - (#35) (covered as part of Stakeholder Analysis in Domain 1 - Needs
Assessment)
2. Roles and Responsibilities – (#35) (covered as part of Stakeholder Analysis in Domain 1 - Needs
Assessment)
3. Communication skills, techniques and tools (#6)
•
Technical writing
•
Business writing
•
Working with virtual teams
•
Presentation skills
•
Verbal and non-verbal communications
4. Elicitation tools and techniques (#14) (covered in Task #5 of Domain 1 – Needs Assessment)
5. Analytical tools and techniques (#1) – covered in Domain 3 – Analysis (Requirements Elicitation
and Analysis)
6. Measurement tools and techniques (#20)
7. Facilitation Tools and Techniques (#16)
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Measurement tools and techniques (#20)
At various points during the project these 5 points should be evaluated:
•
schedule,
•
quality,
•
cost,
•
stakeholder satisfaction and
•
performance
against the business case.
A formal project evaluation is useful during the end of a phase as it can give you a clear indication of
how the project is performing against the original estimates.
Information is then used to grant (or withhold) approval from moving on with the next chunk of work.
226
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Stand up meetings
The meetings are usually timeboxed to between 5 and 15 minutes, and take place with
participants standing up to remind people to keep the meeting short and to-the-point.
Mind maps
is a diagram used to visually organize information. A mind map is hierarchical and shows relationships
among pieces of the whole.
A mind map is an easy way to brainstorm thoughts organically without worrying about order and
structure. It allows you to visually structure your ideas to help with analysis and recall.
A mind map can turn a long list of monotonous information into a colorful, memorable and highly
organized diagram that works in line with your brain's natural way of doing things
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A mind map can be used as a simplified content management system (CMS). It allows you to store all
your data in a centralized location to stay organized. With the various mind mapping software
programs out today, you can attach files to different branches for even more flexibility. You can also
change to various different views in order to find one that suits you best.
83
Brown Paper Sessions are a common way for many people to contribute to the future strategy of their
business. They are intended to examine a process that exists, document it to an appropriate level of
detail and allow everyone to see the Big Picture providing the momentum for improvement.
The process typically involves lining the walls of a large room in brown paper (or any other paper type as long as it is large), then capturing content by sticking notes to the paper which record peoples
contribution based on their area of expertise.
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Process simulation
A simulation is an imitation of the operation of a real-world process or system. The act of simulating
something first requires that a model be developed; this model represents the key characteristics,
behaviors and functions of the selected physical or abstract system or process.
The model represents the system itself, whereas the simulation represents the operation of the system
over time.
Games - especially when they serve a valuable purpose. is now formally recognized as a common tool
amongst Business Analysis professionals.
This technique includes playing structured games, generally directed by a facilitator, who helps a team
to achieve a goal by encouraging participation and facilitate collaboration among stakeholders.
Benefit
By engaging people in a more tactile and visual way, with a structured set of rules, people are able to
open up and be creative.
They can also help reveal hidden assumptions, encourage normally reserved people to participate
more, and may expose business needs that aren’t being met.
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Role Playing
happens when two or more people act out roles in a particular scenario. It's most useful for helping
you prepare for unfamiliar or difficult situations.
You can also use it to spark brainstorming sessions, improve communication between team members,
and see problems or situations from different perspectives.
To role-play:
• Identify the situation.
• Add details.
• Assign roles.
• Act out the scenario.
• Discuss what you have learned.
Demo
a demonstration of a product or technique. It is a proof or example of something.
A method demonstration is a teaching method used to communicate an idea with the aid of visuals
such as flip charts, posters, power point, etc
In agile software development, a product demonstration (or "demo" for short) is a promotion where
a feature or a set of features of a produce being developed is demonstrated to stakeholders. The goal
of such a demo is to obtain rapid feedback from the stakeholders.
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NOTE: Facilitating a meeting
The purpose is to lead a discovery process by creating a conducive environment and laying
out a path (or process) that will lead to the
desired meeting outcome. This makes it possible for disparate people to align and connect the dots.
Six meeting facilitation techniques
1. Gate Keeping (or gate keeper) - to ensure that the meeting will be conducted orderly and a
conclusion is met on the agenda when possible.
2. Flip Charting and Post-it Notes - Flip charts are both a static display tool (like slides or props)
and a dynamic creation tool (like a whiteboard or the ubiquitous back of the napkin). This
versatility offers many key benefits to speakers,
3. Brainstorming – we covered this.
4. Clustering - is the task of grouping a set of objects in such a way that objects in the same group
are more similar to each other than to those in other groups
5. The ”T”
6. Weighted Voting Technique – a system in which not all voters have the same amount of
influence over the outcome of an election. Instead votes of different voters are given different
weight. This type of electoral system is used in shareholder meetings, where votes are
weighted by the number of shares that each
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SLA (service level agreements)
A contract between a service provider (either internal or external) and the end user that defines the
level of service expected from the service provider.
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Task 4 of 6
Select methods for requirements change control by identifying channels for communicating requests
and processes for managing changes in order establish standard protocols for incorporation into the
change
•
•
Select method for requirements change control by identifying channels for communicating:
•
Requests, and
•
Processes for managing changes
Task Purpose
Establish standard protocols for incorporation into the change management plan
•
Highlighted Technique / Approach
Change Control Tools and Techniques
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Change control tools and techniques (#8) / Also Change Management Plan in PMBOK Guide
• Expert judgment (e.g. consultants, stakeholders, including customers and sponsors,
professional and technical associations, SMEs, PMO
• Meetings – Change control/ Change Control Board
• Role and responsibilities of CCB clearly defined
• Decisions of the CCB documented and communicated to stakeholders
• Cost of Implementing Change – impact to cost and schedule
• Integrated Change Control – includes process approve change requests
•
•
Change log – document changes to
the requirements that occur during the
project
•
Change control tools selection based on
needs of stakeholders
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Task 5 of 6
Select methods for document control by using documentation management tools and techniques in
order to establish a standard for requirements traceability and versioning
•
Select method for document control by using
Documentation management tools and techniques for managing changes
•
Task Purpose
Establish a standard for requirements traceability and versioning
•
Highlighted Technique / Approach
Documentation management tools and techniques
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Documentation management tools and techniques (#12)
A document repository for project documentation can be used to ensure that a project team has one
source of authority for project artifacts like
•
process models,
•
use cases,
•
key presentations,
•
base-lined requirements,
•
project and work plans,
•
defects and change logs, or
•
other documents used in
the project execution.
This type of tool enables project team members and business stakeholders to
•
reference source material for requirements on demand,
•
promoting a diversified review of the resulting project work.
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Task 6 of 6
Define business metrics and acceptance criteria by collaborating with stakeholders for use in
evaluating when the solution meets requirements
•
Define
•
Business metrics
•
Acceptance criteria
By collaborating with stakeholders, for use in evaluating when the solution meets the requirements
•
Task Purpose
Define business metrics and acceptance criteria for use in evaluating when the solution meets
the requirements
•
Highlighted Technique / Approach
Collaborating with stakeholders
1. Collaboration tools and techniques (#5) – we will go ahead and cover shortly collaboration
tools and techniques in this task 6 lecture.
2. Validation tools and techniques on acceptance criteria (#37) – previously covered
3. KPIs and Business metrics (#20)
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Key Performance Indicator (KPI)
is a measurable value that demonstrates how effectively a company is achieving key business
objectives.
Organizations use key performance indicators at multiple levels to evaluate their success at reaching
targets.
Collaboration Tools (Mostly Technology Based Tools)
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Summary / Key Takeaways
PLANNING : this domain is about the BA preparing the business analysis activities that happens in
the project
YOU THE BA need to plan or establish the :
1. Tools, policies and procedures for RMP (Task 3)
2. Requirements traceability (RTM) (Task 2)
3. Change management and control (Task 4)
4. Document control. (Task 5)
5. Acceptance criteria / business metrics (Task 6)
So when do you need to start preparing for the business analysis activities?
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So when do you need to start preparing for the business analysis activities?
The answer is as soon as you are assigned as a business analyst to a project.
During planning, and supplement the BA business analysis activities preparation, the BA must address
and have clarity on the following:
ü Type of elicitation activities will be conducted – workshops,
interviews, focus groups or?
ü How to communicate requirements to stakeholders?
ü Roles and responsibilities of the stakeholders participating
in the requirement activities?
ü Analysis models to produce and document – diagrams,
use case specifications etc?
ü How to prioritize, approve, monitor and maintain requirements?
ü How will requirements be validated and verified?
ü How the acceptance criteria will be determined for the requirements and solution
validation?
94
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Note: Please check the downloadable resource material on BPMN:
Using Excel spreadsheet in
developing your RACI will work
just as well
In addition to RACI, use this
Stakeholder Analysis
Classification Models to develop
your communication plan for
stakeholders
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3 Important Elements of Planning
After the Needs Assessment work is done, the BA builds upon the knowledge gained from that work to
address the 3 important elements of planning:
ü Agreement about the stakeholders’ acceptance criteria
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ü The characteristics of the business need or proposed solution
ü The context or environment within which the solution with exist.
For the PMI-PBA exam, the questions from this domain that you should be prepared for will include
stakeholder analysis, interviewing, document analysis along with the traditional PM planning tools such
as work breakdown structure (WBS) and estimating.
The BA works closely with the PM in the development of the business analysis plan. The PM, when
doing the dual role of PM and BA (i.e. no separate BA), also has to prepare the business analysis plans
along with other project management plans. Thus the presence of a BA is music to the ears of the PM
96
Sample Practice Questions
1. A major stakeholder is requesting a change in the requirements, what’s the first thing the BA
should do?
o Inspect the impact of the change to the requirements baseline
o Agree and make the change as its looks like an easy fix
o Request the change to go through the change control board
o Ask the sponsor to make a decision
2. Within business analysis, planning consists of the activities that are performed in order to ensure
that the optimal business analysis approach is selected for the project . Which of the following
statement is true with respect to the same. (#348)
o Stakeholders are thoroughly identified and analyzed
o Business analysis activities and deliverables are defined and agreed to
o The process of proposing changes to requirements is defined and understood
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o All of the above
3. During planning, this stakeholder will be able to provide information about acceptance criteria
and provide names of the stakeholders who will be involved in providing and approving
requirements. Which stakeholder is responsible for the previous statement (#319)
o Product owner
o Business SME
o End user
o Project Manager
4. Which of the below are classification models used for stakeholder analysis (#440)
o Power / interest grid
o Power / influence grid
o Influence / impact grid
o All of the above
5. Which of the below should be captured in a stakeholder management plan (#443)
o Power and interest of stakeholder
o Current attitude of stakeholder
o Support desired from stakeholder
o All of the above
Answer code1-a, 2-d, 3-a, 4-d, 5-d
97
6. You the BA is working on identifying the stakeholders. Why is it important to you to identify the
stakeholders?
o So that the stakeholder knows who you are
o So you know who to bill for the work
o So that you know who to report to
o So that it helps you with ensuring that the stakeholder receives timely delivery of requirements
and deliverables
7. The BA is using Oral and Written words which are highly structured, what type of communication
tool is the BA using?
o Open ended communications
o Verbal communications
o Non verbal communication
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o Close ended communication
8. Of cultural norms, attitudes and beliefs and value diversity is all part of developing:
o Cultural awareness
o Reforms
o Team diversity
o Team compatibility
9. In this modeling technique, the BA is identifying actors and how they (actors) interact with the
system. What is the BA trying to model here?
o Use case diagram
o User stories
o Data flow diagram
o Dependency graph
10. The BA wants to see which stakeholders are responsible and accountable for certain tasks, what
should the BA refer to
o RACI chart
o Kano chart
o Purposed based alignment chart
o RAM chart
Answer code: 6-d, 7-d. 8-a, 9-a, 10-a
98
The Business Analysis Plan
Once the answers to the previous questions are known, the information is assembled in a business
analysis plan.
All planning decisions should be documented in a clear and easily understood manner so that
stakeholders know what to expect when business analysis activities begin and can review and approve
it in a straightforward manner.
When the
•
business analysis deliverables,
•
tasks and activities,
•
timing,
•
dependencies and
•
required resources
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for completing the work are known, the BA ideally should prepare business analysis work plan.
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Sample: Business Analysis Plan
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Welcome to Domain 3 –
Requirements Elicitation and Analysis
35%, 70 Questions (+/-)
q 8 Tasks (Exam Content Outline)
q Related Requirement Elicitation and Analysis Knowledge and Skills (including Tools and
Techniques) (Exam Content Outline)
q Additional review materials including any terminology alignments compiled from PMI Guide
to Business Analysis
q Key Takeaways and Tips
q Sample Practice Questions
q Domain Assessment Quiz
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This domain centers on requirements management activities. Tasks include the:
•
Elicitation
•
Analysis
•
Decomposition
•
Acceptance
•
Approval
•
Specification
•
Validation
of requirements for a product or service
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Task 1 of 8
Elicit or identify requirement, using individual and group elicitation techniques in order to discover and
capture requirements with supporting details (e.g. origin and rationale)
Task Purpose
To discover and capture requirements with supporting details (e.g. origin and rationale)
Highlighted Technique / Approach
Elicitation tools and techniques, for example:
•
brainstorming,
•
focus groups,
•
interviewing techniques,
•
workshop
•
facilitations,
•
observations,
•
document analysis,
•
research,
•
surveys, and Questionnaires
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101
Task 2 or 8
Analyze, decompose and elaborate requirements using techniques such as dependency analysis,
interface analysis, and data and process modeling in order to collaboratively uncover and clarify
product options and capabilities.
Task Purpose
To uncover and clarify product options and capabilities
Highlighted Technique / Approach
•
Dependency analysis
•
Interface analysis
•
Data and process modeling
Other Analytic tools and techniques
•
Decomposition
•
Progressive elaboration
•
Gap analysis
•
Impact analysis
•
Risk analysis
•
Assessment (covered thoroughly in
needs assessment)
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Highlighted Technique / Approach
•
Dependency analysis – A technique used to analyze the dependencies between
activities. Dependency analysis enables us to describe interdependence between
activities, based on information, materials or other resources in specific states, and to
describe the influence of time events on the execution of activities.
•
This is an activity dependency
diagram to show predecessor and
successor relationships between the steps.
•
Highlighted Technique / Approach
An interface is a shared boundary between two components. ...
Interface Analysis is a business analysis elicitation technique that helps to identify interfaces between
solutions/applications to determine the requirements for ensuring that the components interact with
one another effectively.
Interface Analysis – identifies the interfaces between solutions and/or solution components.
You will find yourself defining many common interface types: user interfaces, interfaces to and from
external applications and interfaces to and from external hardware devices.
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102
Other Analytical tools and techniques
Decomposition
The technique of dividing and subdividing a high-level concept into lower level concepts.
It is typically used during the requirements analysis phase of a project to break either an organizational
unit or the solution scope into its component parts. Each resulting part may have its own set of
requirements.
This is very similar to building a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) for a project where you break down
or decompose the project scope into phases, work packages and deliverable
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Other Analytical tools and techniques
Progressive Elaboration
involves an iterative process of increasing the level of detail in a project management plan as greater
amounts of information and more accurate estimates become available throughout the project life
cycle.
This is a technique in project management where the plan for the particular and designated project is
being continuously and constantly modified, detailed, and improved as newer and more improved (as
well as more highly detailed), sets of information becomes available,
104
Other Analytical tools and techniques
Gap Analysis
Is a technique for comparing two entities, usually the as-is and the to-be state of a business.
The differences between the capabilities of the current state and the required capabilities in the future
state to address the problem – this identified difference is the “gap” or missing capabilities
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Other Analytical tools and techniques
Impact Analysis
Is a technique used to evaluate a change in relation to how it will affect related elements.
When a change to a product information is proposed, an impact analysis is performed to evaluate the
proposed change in relation to how it will affect other components – the portfolio, program, project,
product.
105
Other Analytical tools and techniques
Risk Analysis
Is the process of uncovering and examining assumptions and uncertainties that could positively or
negatively affect success in the definition, development and the expected results of the solution.
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The key benefit of this process are that it supports proactive management of uncertainties in business
analysis activities and proactively addresses areas of potential strengths or weakness in the product.
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106
•
Task 3 thru 5 of 8 – Analysis
Task 3 of 8
Evaluate product options and capabilities by using decision-making and valuation techniques in order
to determine which requirements are accepted, deferred or rejected
Task Purpose
Determine which requirements are accepted, deferred or rejected
Highlighted Technique / Approach
•
Decision-making and valuation
techniques (Covered in Domain 1)
•
Assessment
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107
Decision-making Tools and Techniques
•
Delphi
•
Multi-voting
•
Consensus building
•
Option analysis
•
Valuation Tools and Techniques
•
Cost-benefit analysis
•
Force field analysis
•
KANO model
•
Net promoter score
•
Purpose alignment model
•
SWOT analysis
•
Value-stream map
108
Decision-making Tools and Techniques
•
Delphi
(also called wideband Delphi) - is a consensus-building method that consolidates anonymous
inputs from SMEs (subject matter experts) using rounds of voting.
During Validate Requirements, each SME provides feedback on whether they find the
requirements valid and sufficient.
Benefits:
•
•
Reduces peer pressure or groupthink.
Avoids having the team give in to a voice of authority even if they disagree.
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109
Multi-voting
A method also called dot voting because it can be performed by providing stakeholders with a
prescribed number of colored dots and allow them to vote by placing their dots on the requirements
they feel are the most important.
All votes are aggregated and requirements are ranked by the number of dots/votes received
110
Decision-making Tools and Techniques
Consensus building
Consensus building decision making is a creative and dynamic way of reaching agreement between
all members of a group.
Instead of simply voting for an item and having the majority of the group getting their way, a group
using consensus is committed to finding solutions that everyone actively supports, or at least can
live with.
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Option Analysis
Refers to the practice of evaluating every possible pathway that leads to a desired outcome.
Options analysis is an important aspect of project management because it helps leaders ensure they
have considered all possible routes before choosing the best fit for their project.
For example, in an effort to increase value, legislators in the US Congress approved a program that
would provide incentive money for healthcare facilities to eliminate paper medical records and replace
them with an electronic health record (EHR).
If a provider adopted the electronic health record, they received the incentive; if they failed to do so,
their Medicare reimbursements would be subject to a 1% penalty. So it is like feast or famine – you
adopt you get the incentive, you refuse, you get penalized.
SWOT Analysis
A technique for analyzing the strengths (S) and Weaknesses(W) of an organization, project or option
and the opportunities (O) and threats (T) that exist externally
It is a widely used tool to help understand high-level views surrounding a business need
It can be used to create a structured framework for breaking down a situation into its root causes or
contributors
111
Value Stream Map
is a lean-management method for analyzing the current state and designing a future state (that
eliminates waste) and goes through the series of events that take a product or service from its
beginning through to the customer.
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112
•
MoSCoW – Must have, Should have, Could have, Would like to have in the future
•
Monopoly Money – ask customers to give out (fake) money to individual business features to
compare relative priority
•
Dot voting / Multi-voting – everyone is given a limited number of dots (~20% of the number of
all options) to vote on the options
•
Kano analysis – plot the features on a graph axis as Need Fulfilled, Not Fulfilled vs Satisfied,
Satisfied. Each feature will then be classified as “exciters, satisfiers, dissastifiers, indifferent.”
Exciters have the highest value.
•
Wideband Delphi and Planning Poker
•
This is another one inspired from Toyota’s lean manufacturing techniques
•
Principles of Systems Thinking
•
Allows you to see the “whole” rather that the “pieces”
•
In Agile, you see the business as a large ecosystem and development process as one
component
•
Binary Thinking is the opposite of Systems Thinking
•
Binary thinkers see Agile values as “black & white” absolute terms.
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113
This lecture covers:
•
Tasks 4 thru 8 of 8 – Analysis Domain
Task 4 of 8
Allocate accepted or deferred requirements by balancing scope schedule, budget and resource
constraints with the value proposition using prioritization, dependency analysis, and decision-making
tools and techniques in order to create a requirement baseline
Task Purpose
Create a requirement baseline
Highlighted Technique / Approach
•
Decision-making and valuation techniques
Highlighted Technique / Approach
•
Prioritization tools and techniques
ü Multi-voting
ü Weighted criteria
ü MoSCoW
•
Dependency analysis,
•
Decision-making tools and
techniques
ü Delphi
ü Multi-voting
ü Consensus building
ü Option analysis
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Decision-making Tools and Techniques
MoSCoW
A technique that categorizes each requirement into one of the following groups:
Must have – fundamental to solution success
Should have – important, but the solution’s success does not rely on the requirement
Could have – can easily be left out without impacting the solution
Won’t have – not delivered this time around.
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115
Decision-making Tools and Techniques
Weighted Criteria
An approach for making decisions using decision criteria identified by and assigned relative weights by
those involved in making the decision.
Each option involved in the decision is rated by scoring how well the option meets the criteria
independent of other options
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Task 5 of 8
Obtain sign-off on requirements baseline using decision-making techniques in order to facilitate
stakeholder consensus and achieve stakeholder approval
Task Purpose
Facilitate stakeholder consensus and
achieve stakeholder approval
Highlighted Technique /
Approach
Decision-making tools and
techniques
•
Delphi
•
Multi-voting
•
Consensus building
•
Option analysis
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117
Task 6 of 8
Write requirements specifications using process (such as use cases, user stories) data, and interface
details in order to communicate requirements that are measurable and actionable (i.e. suitable for
development)
Task Purpose
Communicate requirements that are measurable
and actionable
Highlighted Technique / Approach
•
Process analysis tools and techniques
•
User stories
•
Use cases
•
Data and Process model
•
Data flow diagrams
•
Dependency graphs
•
Interfaces
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118
Task 7 of 8
Validate requirements using tools and techniques such as documentation review, prototypes, demos,
and other validation methods in order to ensure requirements are complete, accurate and aligned with
goals, objectives and value proposition.
Task Purpose
Ensure requirements are complete, accurate and aligned with goals, objectives and value proposition
Highlighted Technique / Approach
Validation tools and techniques
•
Documentation review
•
Prototypes
•
Demos
•
Acceptance criteria
•
Given-when-then
•
User acceptance testing
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Task 8 of 8
Elaborate and specify detailed metrics and acceptance criteria using measurement tools and
techniques for use in evaluating whether the solution meets the requirements.
Task Purpose
Evaluate whether the solution
meets the requirements
Technique / Approach
•
Measurement tools and
techniques - acceptance
criteria, metrics
Great
Progress!
• This is the end of the lecture on Tasks 4 thru 8 of 8 - Analysis Domain)
…steady as she goes
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120
Summary / Key Takeaways / Tips
The actual needs of the customer are found through the magic of elicitation and analysis.
As a BA, these are your two key tasks in this domain. Not to marginalize the other tasks of course.
Properly eliciting those needs through the use of elicitation techniques, documenting them and
analyzing will go a long way and cannot be over emphasized.
Tip :
We covered a lot of tools and techniques.
It is best to go over them again at least once.
In the following slide we prepared a table that
should help you quickly determine what tool to
use for what task.
121
Knowledge and Skills (Tools and Techniques) Applicable to ALL (5) Domains
Needs Assessment, Planning, Analysis, Traceability and Monitoring and Evaluation
1. Leadership principles and skills (#18)
2. Lessons learned and retrospectives (#19)
3. Negotiation Skills (#21)
4. Political and cultural awareness (#24)
5. Project methodologies (#28)
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6. Reporting tools and techniques (#30)
7. Systems thinking (#36)
8. Collaboration tools and communication tools and techniques (#6)
9. Conflict management and resolution tools and techniques (#7)
10. Contingency planning (#8)
122
Practice Questions
1. Requirements must be:
o Formally documented
3. Which elicitation technique would be most appropriate for a large stakeholder
group?
o Completely detailed
o Survey or questionnaire
o Fully analyzed
o Requirements workshop
o Communicated verbally to save time
o Focus groups
2. What group decision making result is considered the
best?
o Consensus
Section 6, Domain 3 - Analysis
o Weighted ranking
4. Why should a business analyst present the requirements back to the business
stakeholder for approval
o The stakeholder may change their mind after seeing the requirements in writing
o Majority rules
o The requirements may be impossible to implement
o Unanimous
o Most methodologies require this approval
o Sponsor decides
o The BA may not have clearly understood the requirements
REMEMBER THAT IN MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS YOU
ARE LOOKING FOR THE BEST ANSWER OR IN SOME CASES
THE LEAST INCORRECT BECAUSE SOME ANSWERS ARE
PARTIALLY CORRECT OR ALL SEEM INCORRECT BUT ONE
SEEMS THE LEAST INCORRECT.
5. Context diagrams and use case diagrams are used to
o Demonstrate the users expectations of a system’s features and how it will perform
o Break down the processes and interfaces within a solution
o Depict how the solution will interact with the organization and the areas impacted
o Prioritize the most important requirements as described by the domain stakeholders
Answer code1-c, 2-a, 3-a, 4-d, 5-c
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Practice Questions
6. What is another term for workflow diagramming?
o Flowcharting
Section 6, Domain 3 - Analysis
8. During passive observation, the business analyst:
o Observes the worker at work without interrupting, asking questions or seeking
clarification
o Interrupts the process or activity, asks questions about what the worker is doing, seeks
clarification, and asks for opinions etc.
o Takes part in performing the activities being observed
o Simulates the activities, operations, or processes of the work using a tool that recreates
the work of a process worker in a simulation
o Benchmarking
o Storyboarding
o Model charting
7. Storyboarding is:
o A diagram representing a static blueprint or schematic
of a user interface and is used to identify basic
functionality
o Written sets of questions designed to quickly
accumulate information from a large number of
respondents
o A prototyping technique showing sequence or
navigation through a series of images or illustrations
o Is a formal or informal approach to elicit information
by asking prepared or spontaneous questions and
documenting responses
9. Which of the following is a chief characteristic of the Delphi Technique
o Extrapolation from historical records from previous projects
o Expert opinion
o Analytical hierarchy process
o Bottom-up approach
10. Although there are various tools and techniques to consider as you collect
requirements on your project, one approach that supports the concept of
progressive elaboration is:
o Idea/mind mapping
o Affinity diagram
o Prototypes
o Joint application design sessions
Answer code: 6-a, 7-c, 8-a, 9-b, 10-c
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125
The Next Segment is Domain 4 –
Traceability and Monitoring
Domain IV Traceability and Monitoring – 5 Tasks
15%, 30 Questions (+/-)
q 5 Tasks (Exam Content Outline)
q Related Traceability and Monitoring Knowledge and Skills (including Tools and
Techniques) (Exam Content Outline)
q Additional review materials including any terminology alignments compiled from PMI
Guide to Business Analysis
q Summary, Key Takeaways, Tips
q Domain Assessment Quiz
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126
This domain includes the activities related to managing the life cycle of requirements. The tasks
within this domain comprise the
• continuous monitoring and
• documenting of
requirements as well
as the communication
of the requirements
status
to the stakeholders.
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Task 1 of 5
Track requirements using a traceability artifact or tools, capturing requirements’ status, sources and
relationships (including dependencies), in order to provide evidence that the requirements are
delivered as stated.
Purpose
•
Capture requirements’ status
•
Sources
•
Relationships (including dependencies)
To provide evidence requirements are delivered as stated
Highlighted Technique
•
Requirements traceability tools and techniques (covered in Domain 2)
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Task 2 of
Monitor requirements throughout their lifecycles using a traceability artifact or tool in order to ensure
the appropriate supporting requirements artifacts (such as models, documentation, and test cases) are
produced, reviewed and approved at each point in the lifecycle.
Highlighted Technique
•
Requirements traceability tools and techniques
Purpose
•
Ensure appropriate supporting requirements
artifacts (models, documentation, test cases)
are:
ü Produced
ü Reviewed
ü Approved
At each point in the lifecycle
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Task 3 of 5
Update requirement’s status as it moves through its lifecycle states by communicating with
appropriate stakeholders and recording changes in the traceability artifact or tool in order to track
requirements towards closure.
Highlighted Technique
•
Communication tools and techniques
•
Requirements traceability tools and techniques
Purpose
•
Track requirements towards closure
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Task 4 of 5
Communicate requirements status to project managers and other stakeholders using communication
methods in order to keep them informed of requirements issues, conflicts, changes, risks, and overall
status.
Highlighted Technique
•
Communication tools and techniques
•
Requirements traceability tools and techniques
Purpose
•
Keep the PM and stakeholders informed of
requirements issues, conflicts, changes, risks and
overall status
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Task 5 of 5
Communicate requirements status to project managers and other stakeholders using communication
methods in order to keep them informed of requirements issues, conflicts, changes, risks, and overall
status.
Highlighted Technique
•
Communication tools and techniques
•
Requirements traceability tools and techniques
Purpose
•
Keep the PM and stakeholders informed of
requirements issues, conflicts, changes, risks and
overall status
•
This is the end of the lecture on Tasks 1 thru 5 of 5 – Traceability and Monitoring
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Welcome to Section 8, Domain 5 –
Evaluation
Domain V Solution Evaluation – 4 Tasks
10%, 20 Questions (+/-)
q 4 Tasks (Exam Content Outline)
q Related Business Analysis Planning Knowledge and Skills (including Tools and Techniques)
(Exam Content Outline)
q Summary and Some Key Tips
q Practice Questions
q Domain Assessment Quiz
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Overview
Overview
This domain includes activities that relate to the assessment of how well the delivered solution
fulfills the requirements and meets the business need.
The tasks in this domain include:
•
Testing the solution
•
Determining if there are gaps
•
Obtaining sign-off
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Task 1 of 4
Obtain stakeholder sign-off on the developed solution using decision-making techniques in order to
proceed with deployment
Highlighted Technique
•
Decision-making tools and techniques
Purpose
•
To proceed with deployment of developed solution.
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Task 2 of 4
Analyze and communicate the solution’s identified gaps and deltas using quality assurance tools and
methods in order to enable stakeholders to resolve discrepancies between solution scope,
requirements and developed solution.
Highlighted Technique
•
Quality assurance tools and methods
Purpose
•
Enable stockholders to resolve differences between:
ü Solution scope
ü Requirements , and
ü Developed solution
Highlighted Technique / Approach
Quality Assurance Tools and Techniques
•
Quality Assurance – the process of examining the effectiveness of quality control
•
Quality Control – the process of determining whether or not a delivered product meets
or exceeds acceptance criteria.
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QA Tools and Techniques
•
Cost-Benefit Analysis (covered)
•
Cost of Quality
the cost associated with providing poor quality products and services
•
Control Charts
A graph used to study how a process changes over time. Data are plotted in time order. It has a central
line for the average, an upper line for the upper control limit and a lower line for the lower control
limit.
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Benchmarking (covered)
Flowcharting
Shows the steps as boxes of various kinds, and their order by connecting the boxes with arrow. It
illustrates a solution model to a given problem
Cause and effect diagrams (covered)
Pareto chart (covered)
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Scatter diagram
A graph in which the values of two variables are plotted along two axis, the pattern of the resulting
points revealing any correlation present.
The scatter diagram gives a visual understanding about the relationship between (or among) variables
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Task 3 of 4
Obtain stakeholder sign-off on the developed solution using decision-making techniques in order to
proceed with deployment
Highlighted Technique
•
Decision-making tools and techniques
Purpose
•
To proceed with deployment of developed solution.
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Task 4 of 4
Evaluate the deployed solutions using valuation techniques in order to determine how well the
solution meets the business case and value proposition.
Highlighted Technique
•
Valuation tools and techniques
Purpose
•
To determine how well the solution meets the business case and value proposition.
•
This is the end of the lecture on Tasks 1 thru 4 of 4, Domain 5
Solution Evaluation
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Summary / Key Takeaways / Tips
Solution Evaluation
Solution evaluation includes the processes to validate
•
a full solution or
•
a segment of a solution that is about to be or has already been implemented.
Evaluation determines how well a solution
•
meets the business needs of the stakeholders,
•
delivers value to the customer.
Processes:
•
Evaluate solution performance
•
Determine solution evaluation approach
•
Evaluate acceptance results and address
defects
•
Obtain solution acceptance for release
Solution Evaluation
Early and Often
Evaluating a solution or a segment should be done – early and often.
The evaluation results provide:
•
comparison between the planned and actual values,
•
facilitates go/ no go decision and
•
may lead to solution refinement or new solutions.
The BA should plan for what needs to be evaluated and how it will be performed.
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For example - let’s say you have to implement a new warehousing solution that needs to reduce the
time it takes to accommodate goods from trucks, into different storage locations to their final
destination.
Elapsed time may be sufficient evaluation metric, but what if you need another metric: a further
breakdown of the time spent in each location?
In this case you need to plan what additional data must be captured and include this as requirement in
the scope early enough, so it is incorporated on time (as opposed to re-doing part of the code to
include this functionality at a later
Solution Evaluation
Testing defects (problems or gaps)
The BA should be prepared to resolve testing defects. There will always be defects – this is a given.
How many defects will largely depend on how well the team has
•
Planned
•
Elicited
•
Analyzed and
•
Managed the requirements
Test Plans
The BA/team should ensure the test plans satisfy the acceptance criteria.
In case of problems or gaps, the BA/team should decide on the best corrective action or, if
unavoidable due to timing constraints, a work around.
Post implementation evaluation
Especially after a warranty has expired or after it has been rolled out to users for a little while, the
solution must be evaluated to see if it continues to provide the value it was intended to deliver.
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Practice Questions
1. What kind of analysis is used to ensure that the underlying
reason for a defect has been identified?
o Problem tracking
o Defect tracking
o Root cause analysis
o Business analyst performance metrics
2. What are the validation tools and techniques you can use in
evaluation
o DITL testing, UAT, exploratory testing
Note: DITL means Day In The Life
o Inspection, peer review, desk checking
o Control charts, scatter diagram, histogram
o Force field analysis, net promoter score, planguage
3. The solution was delivered a month prior when you receive a phone call
from a stakeholder who showed little interest in the project. She states tha
the product is of poor quality as a number of the features she was expecting
were not included. You review the scope and baseline requirements and
find that her requirements were determined out of scope. What is her real
complaint?
Domain 5 – Solution Evaluation
o The project delivered a low quality product.
o Poor communication and stakeholder engagement throughout the project
o You have an unreasonable stakeholder
o The project meets quality requirements. Her issue is with the grade of the
product based on the approved scope.
(Note: Grade refers to the richness of the product scope. Think of a 1-star hotel
that has zero amenities but is clean and well maintained.)
4. Evaluation includes the business analysis activities done to validate
what?
o The team’s performance
o The hardware components of a solution
o A full solution or a solution segment
o The requirement documentation
Answer code. 1-c, 2-A , 3-d, 4-c,
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Practice Questions
5. Which requirements can be used to develop test cases?
o Use case diagrams, requirement attributes, business analysis
work plan
o Situation statement, scope models, backlog items
o MoSCow requirements, baselines, fishbone diagrams
o User stories, non-functional requirements, display action
response tables
6. Which of the following is an accurate description of validating
the solution
o Reviewing test results to confirm that the solution
accomplished what it was designed to do
o Determining that the solution maps to the organizations
strategic objectives
o Confirming that the solution was completed within time and
budget constraints
o Confirming that this solution components function as they
were intended to
Domain 5 – Solution Evaluation
7. Which of the following metrics can be used to assess solution viability
o The number of change requests
o Total actual project costs
o A calculation of the return on investment
o The variance between expected and actual earned value
8. The last phase of software testing which is done to ensure the
product complies with the business requirements is called:
o User acceptance testing
o Regression testing
o QA testing
o Unit testing
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Answer code. 5-e, 6-a, 7-c, 8-a
Practice Questions
9. Your project manager requires a formal signoff on the solution
but your customer tells you during the conference call that
everything is ready to go. You should:
o Get the customer’s signature when you arrive to conduct the
post implementation assessment
o Tell you project manager that the customer has verbally
approved the delivery
o Make arrangements to meet the customer at a convenient
location to have him sign the document
o Access the conference call system to see if the conversation
was recorded and save the recording
Domain 5 – Solution Evaluation
10. The evaluation criteria should have the following characteristics
o Include a measurement which can be used to evaluate long term performance
of the solution
o Link to the project or organization goal it supports
o Only use built in measurement capabilities within the product
o Provide a way to test the solution works as designed
Answer code. 9-c, 10-b
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Section 4 – Addendum to Needs Assessment
Part 1 of 2
Knowledge, Skills and Techniques Applicable to All Domains
1. Leadership principles and skills (#18)
2. Lessons learned and retrospectives (#19)
3. Negotiation Skills (#21)
4. Political and cultural awareness (#24)
5. Project methodologies (#28)
6. Reporting and analysis tools and techniques (#30)
7. Systems thinking (#36)
8. Collaboration tools and communication tools and techniques (#6)
9. Conflict management and resolution tools and techniques (#7)
10. Contingency planning (#8)
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1. Leadership Principles and Skills
BAs can strengthen their leadership abilities by building trust and demonstrating honesty, integrity and
transparency with those they interact with.
Leadership involves
1. focusing the efforts of a group of people toward a common goal and
2. enabling them to work as a team.
BAs leverage these skills:
1. to lead disparate groups of stakeholders through various forms of elicitation,
2. to sort through stakeholder differences,
3. to help the business reach decisions on requirements and priorities, and ultimately
4. to gain buy-in to transition a solution into the business environment.
The leadership category is comprised of
5. change agent skills,
6. negotiation skills,
7. personal development skills, and
8. skills to enable the BA to become a trusted advisor.
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6. 1 Analytical Skills
Creative thinking - Ability to resolve a problem or set of problems by exploring multiple and different
solutions to arrive an improved result.
Conceptual and detailed thinking - Is the ability to move between high-level and detailed thinking, for
example analyzing holistically and then analyzing a specific detail of a whole
Decision making - Ability to weigh the benefits and drawbacks associated with a set of options and
articulate, choose an option and articulate the rationale for the choice.
Design thinking - An approach that uses solution-based thinking as its focus rather than problem-based
thinking. Teams determine an end goal to achieve, rather that a problem to solve.
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6. 1 Analytical Skills (cont’d)
Numeracy or mathematical literacy. - Being able to reason with numbers and other mathematical
concepts and to apply these to solve a variety of problems.
Problem solving - Understand the problem, identify potential solutions, selecting and implementing a
solution to address the problem and monitoring the outcome to ensure that the problem was
addressed satisfactorily.
Research skills - The ability to elicit useful information in a timely and effective manner. For example,
in-person interviews, observation, document analysis, or conventional methods like internet searches,
user groups, and books.
Resourcefulness - Using alternative or creating means to elicit information and solve problems
especially when a clear or conventional solution is not available.
Systems thinking
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7. Systems Thinking
It is the ability to analyze information from both a holistic and detailed viewpoint.
Applying systems thinking at the organizational level requires skills to recognize and analyze the
organization as a system made up of component parts in the form of people, processes, and tools.
Recognizing the organization by the
1. components and
2. the relationships between them
is necessary to ensure proposed organizational changes are analyzed to understand how a change to
one component can impact related items.
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8. Communication and Collaboration Tools
They help BAs disseminate critical information to stakeholders, work with project participants
regardless of location, keep track of versioning, and coordinate information among different groups.
Common examples include email, instant messaging, screen sharing, videoconferencing and file
sharing tools.
8.1 Collaborative Games
A collection of elicitation techniques that foster collaboration, innovation and creativity to achieve the
goal of the elicitation activity.
8.2 Communication Skills of a Good BA
Active listening
Communication tailoring
Facilitation
Nonverbal and verbal communication
Visual communication skills
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Professional writing, and
Relationship building
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9. Conflict management and resolution
The practice of being able to identify and handle conflicts sensibly, fairly and efficiently. Since conflicts
in a business are a natural part of the workplace, it is important that there are people who understand
conflicts and know how to resolve them.
Five Conflict Management Strategies
Accommodating - Entails give the opposing side what it wants. Often occurs when one of the parties
wishes to keep the peace or perceives the issue as minor.
Avoiding - Avoidance strategy seeks to put off conflict indefinitely. By delaying or ignoring the
conflict, the avoider hopes the problem resolves itself without confrontation.
Collaborating – This works by integrating ideas set out by multiple people. The object is to find a
creative solution acceptable to everyone.
Compromising – this typically calls for both sides of a conflict to give up elements of their position in
order to establish an acceptable, if not agreeable, solution.
Competing - This operates as a zero-sum game in which one side wins and the other loses. This
strategy works best in limited number of conflicts such as emergency situations. In general, business
management benefits from holding the competitive strategy in reserve for crisis situations and
decisions that generate ill-will.
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10. Contingency Planning
This is a plan devised for an outcome other than in the usual (expected) plan.
It is often used for risk management for an exceptional risk that, though unlikely, would have
catastrophic consequences.
The purpose is to allow an organization to return to is daily operations as quickly as possible after an
unforeseen event.
It protects resources, minimizes customer inconvenience and identifies key staff, assigning specific
responsibilities in the context of the recovery.
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BA Competencies
•
Analytical skills
•
Expert Judgment
•
Communication skills
•
Personal skills
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o Adaptability
o Ethics
o Learning
o Multitasking
o Objectivity
o Self-awareness
o Time management
o Work ethic
o Leadership skills
o Tool knowledge
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Terminology Alignment
The PMI-PBA certification exam was recently updated to harmonize with terminology in the the PMI
Guide to Business Analysis (Guide).
Released in December 2017, the guide is a foundational standard or practice guide that is used as a
reference for the exam.
Note: the current PMI-PBA exam content outline (ECO), per PMI, will remain unchanged at this time.
Process-based Guide
This is a process-based standard, aligned with A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge
(PMBOK Guide) 6h Edition.
Business Analysis for Practitioners – A Practice Guide.
PMI recommends use of this Practice Guide in conjunction with the PMI Guide to Business Analysis to
receive the most value.
What vs How To
Where the guide describes the “what”, the practice guide describes the “how to”.
Terminology Alignment (Cont’d)
The terminologies that stand out in the Guide are:
1. Knowledge areas – in place of what used to be referred to as domains
2. The six knowledge areas are:
•
2.1 Needs Assessment (same)
•
2.2 Stakeholder Engagement (replaces Planning)
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•
2.3. Elicitation (Analysis has been split into two: Elicitation and Analysis)
•
2.4 Analysis
•
2.5 Traceability and monitoring (same)
•
2.6 Solution Evaluation (used to be Evaluation)
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3. Business Analysis Process Groups.
A business analysis process group is a logical grouping of business analysis processes.
-
Each process group is independent of the application area or industry in which it is performed.
-
They are not life cycles phases; sequence and timing are not prescribed.
-
One or more processes within the Process Group can be repeated on an ongoing basis
throughout the project life cycle.
-
Example: the processes for elicitation are ongoing and are performed for each iteration in an
adaptive life cycle.
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4. Six Business Analysis Process Groups
4.1 Defining and Aligning
4.2 Initiating
4.3 Planning
4.4 Executing
4.5 Monitoring and Controlling
4.6 Closing process or release
5. Collaboration Point
Other roles or areas that the BA need to work with collaboratively.
6. Tailoring Considerations
Adapting a process, methods, requirements or specifications to the current life cycle being used
without deviating from the norm.
7. Inputs, Tools and Techniques and Outputs (ITTOs)
It is a standardized means of systematically using the same method of developing and executing
processes and projects.
On reverse, decomposing a project to its ITTO, reduces each to its most fundamental and basic
component.
End of lecture on
Terminology Alignment
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Review and Test-Taking Strategies and Resources
1. Know what is covered in the exam
1.1 The PMI-PBA certification exam is based on the Exam Content Outline (ECO), the PMI Guide to
Business Analysis (Guide) and the Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide (Practice Guide).
1.2 Another review resource is the PMBOK Guide – 6th Edition. This is also available for download for
free at the PMI website if you are a PMI member.
1.3 Read, study and understand (don’t try to memorize) these 3 main reference materials where the
questions would come from.
1.4 The Guide and the Practice Guide are available for download at a small fee (unless you are a PMI
member) at the PMI website.
2. Know and use your review resources/tools
2.1 Replay the video lectures, and retake the assessment quizzes until you get 100% correct answers,
2.2 Retake the final exam until you get at least 80% correct answers (or more).
2,3 Know and use additional review resources easily available to you.
2.4 Acquire, for a small fee, additional practice /mock tests. The internet is replete with them. And
employ the same strategy – take and retake the practice tests until you get at least 80% (or more)
correct answers.
3.Simulate actual exam test taking conditions.
3.1 Note and this is important. You have 4 hours to finish 200 questions, or 1.2 minutes per questions.
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3.2. Note and this important: Do not linger excessively on a question, mark it so you can come back to
it later, then move on.
4. During your 1st week of review devote 2 2-hour review sessions a day to bone up on the concepts,
principles and techniques
4.1 Research in cognitive psychology has shown that studying for shorter periods across several days
promotes learning and test performance.
4.2 Continue this onto the 2nd week (and so on) until you get into a consistent pattern or habit.
4.3 The key is disciplined consistency and repetition.
5. Know how to study for the PMI-PBA exam.
5.1 Studying is more than just reading the references materials we enumerated for you.
5.2. It is important that you understand what type of a “learner” you are.
5.3 And It takes dedication and perseverance.
5.4 For example – do you learn best through reading (books, online), visually (graphics, video), listening
(podcasts, books on CD?) or a combination of all three.
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5. Whatever style of learning works best for you, there are lots of resources online tailored to your
learning styles. Check them out first before subscribing.
6. Baselining your knowledge on business analysis against the Guide and the Practice Guide is the 1st
step to develop a study/preparation plan.
6.1 Know your strengths and weaknesses. Taking and retaking the assessment quizzes and the final
exam will help you determine your baseline knowledge.
7. Prepare a PMI-PBA exam schedule
7.1 What can be measured, can be managed
7.2 That which is scheduled, gets done
7.3 Make studying a priority and stick to it.
7.4 Treat studying for PMI-PBA like a project – plan the work, and work the plan
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7.5 This means developing meaningful milestones and realistic schedule to implement your study plan.
7.6 Identify what you will study, when and for how long
7.7 Be aware that you study schedule, like any other project, can be affected by unforeseen events
that will require to manage the change, revise your schedule and move on.
7.8 Many candidates for PMI-PBA exam find creative ways to uncover “extra time” in their days to
prepare for the exam. Listening to Podcasts or video lecture over the internet during your work
commute and during lunch periods.
7.9 Be honest with yourself about your ability to maintain the schedule and close the knowledge gap.
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8. Studying for the PMI-PBA also means vocabulary drills
8.1 One of the attributes of the PMI-PBA certification that gives cachet and value across borders,
technical disciplines and industries is a foundational lexicon that provides common vocabulary shared
by business analysts worldwide.
8.2 A lack of understanding of the PMI Guide to Business Analysis (Guide) vocabulary is one of the
common causes of candidates not passing the exam on their first try.
8,3 Therefore it is important for the candidate to go through the glossary of the Guide and be familiar
with the meaning of about 500 business analysis words and phrases in the glossary.
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9. Tracking, Monitoring and Lessons Learned
9.1 The principles we learned in business analysis to help insure the organization’s project success, like
traceability and monitoring, apply to our own personal projects as well.
9.2 We need to track our progress.
9.3 A good way to do that is through study templates
9.4 We have attached, as an additional resource, a sample study template for you. Fee free to modify
or tailor to your needs and unique situation.
9.4 Be sure to capture your Lessons Learned. Most if not all plans need to be adjusted as soon as they
are implemented. Yours will most likely need to be adjusted too.
9.5 Yes, identify early on those gaps – and plug them!
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Identify
skills/knowledge
gaps and plug
them!
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Develop SMART Goals
9.1 We covered SMART in Needs Assessment – Domain 1.
9.2. Whether you are studying for the exam or changing career and taking a fast track training in
business analysis, developing SMART goals will benefit you
9.3 Remember SMART stands for S – Specific, M-Measurable, A-Achievable, R-Relevant and T-Timebound
9.4 If you are reviewing to take the exam, your SMART goal might be pass the exam on your first try in
2-3 months of dedicated and focused review and study.
9.5 If you are new to the BA profession and want to be ready to interview for entry level BA jobs in two
months, then your SMART goal might be to master the material, the knowledge areas, the processes,
tasks and vocabulary and pass the assessment quizzes and final exams in 30-60 days of disciplined
review and preparation.
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10. Get enough sleep
10.1 It is important for this marathon of 2-3 months project
-
to pass the PMI-PBA exam or
-
to just acquire a solid foundational knowledge and training on business analysis
to have a well-rested mind and body.
10.2 Getting enough sleep will allow good recall and retrieval of the knowledge and information you
stored through your studies.
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11. Repetition, Repetition - Practice, Practice
11.1 We can’t say this enough – for the mind to retain and process the information you’re providing it,
it needs to hear and practice it more than a few times. Yes – this is in tandem with having enough
sleep.
How many days does it take to form a habit? You’ve heard
people say 21 days, right? Actually research says it is more than
that. But regardless, forming a good study habit starts with Day
1 to get to, let’s say, Day 60.
So start the consistent daily pattern and maintain it!
End of the Workbook on
PMI-PBA Exam Prep and Business Analysis Training
Hope this has been helpful as you prepare for the PMI-PBA exam.
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