Business Analysis

Before a project commences, it is important to begin with the business

analysis phase.

The process is generally divided into multiple steps with each step involving
specific tasks to perform, principles to follow and documents to produce.

Each step within the business analysis phase may be longer or shorter
depending on the type of project.
 Step 1: Gather Background Information

This first step is where much of the ground work for a project is covered.

Whether a project is brand new or existing, its crucial for the business analyst to
gather a significant amount of background information on the project.

He identifies the high-level business needs and translates them into use cases.
These needs are then prioritized in order to develop a "project scope" that meets
budget and time constraints.

Step 2: Identify Stakeholders

The stakeholders on a project are the ones who make decisions and sign off on
requirements and priorities.
Owners shareholders, trustees or anyone who is sponsoring the project

Managers senior or middle managers responsible for communication and

monitoring the progress
Employees developers, analysts or testers responsible for delivering the project
Regulators any regulators involved that monitor adherence to rules e.g. a
regulator that monitors HIPAA compliance
Suppliers any API provider or other supplier service needed that the project might
need

Partners individuals responsible for working alongside the project that provide
complementary or supplementary products or services
Customers the end users of the product
Competitors a potential section of users of competitive products or inputs from the
competitors themselves
 Step 3: Discover Business Objectives

Establishing the business strategy and objectives and putting them on paper will help
the business analyst and project managers stay focused on the vision.

Some of the techniques to assist in establishing business objectives

Benchmarking understanding competitors and peers who work on the same level
SWOT Analysis determine the strengths and weakness
Focus groups and brain storming

Step 4: Evaluate Options

To achieve the objective, its important to determine the critical path among the
various options available.
 Step 5: Scope Definition
Based on the objective of the project and a team discussion, this step is when
the scope is defined.

The scope definition document can include:

Development items in scope
Development items out of scope
Integrations in scope
Integrations out of scope

Step 6: Business Analyst Delivery Plan

The business analyst and project owner will provide a detailed timeline for
delivering the requirements to the development team. Time line may depend on

1. Stakeholders and their availability 2. Project scope

3. Project methodology
 Step 7: Define Project Requirements

This step requires the business analyst to clarify requirements to the business
owner and get the OK to deliver them to the development team.

Requirements can be divided into functional and non-functional.

 Step 8: Support Implementation Through SDLC

A business analyst is involved through the technical implementation of requirements

to ensure that everything aligns.

There are a few steps during this phase:

Reviewing the technical deliverables to align with requirements

Based on feedback from the development team, update or repackage

requirements to facilitate implementation

Engage with quality analysts to ensure requirements are tested and requirements
are understood

Manage changes from the business owner that are requested once the initial
requirements are delivered and implemented

Facilitate user acceptance once the requirement implementation is done

 Step 9: Evaluate Value Added By Project

To maintain the business objective through the implementation, a constant

evaluation on business outcomes needs to be maintained.

Are we on track?
Is the solution delivering the value initially anticipated?

Key actions include:

Evaluate the actual progress across the timeline and business objectives, and provide
stakeholders updates and answer questions.

Based on the progress and feedback, suggest any modifications or initiatives required to
realign the implementation phase with business objectives.