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Business Analysis Leading

Organizations to Better Outcomes

Laura Paton, MBA, PMP, PMI-PBA, CBAP, CSM

• 30 year business analyst/project manager professional

• Passionate about helping individuals and organizations excel with business analysis

• Chair and lead author for • The PMI Guide to Business Analysis (2018)• Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice

Guide (PMI 2015)• A Guide to the Business Analysis Body of

Knowledge (BABOK® Guide), v3 (IIBA 2015)

• Project Manager• BABOK® Guide, v2 (2009)

DID YOU KNOW?

“Organizations who demonstrate high business analysis maturity are 3 times more like to be successful implementing their strategies and

2 times more likely to succeed managing projects?”

PMI Pulse of the Profession 2016: Leading Organizations to Better Outcomes through Business Analysis

ALSO…

• Organizations with high business analysis maturity report above average performance across all key organizational success metrics including…• Financial performance (69% versus 45%)

• Strategy implementation (66% versus 21%)

• Organizational agility (40% versus 14%)

• Management of individual projects (62% versus 29%)

PMI Pulse of the Profession 2016: Leading Organizations to Better Outcomes through Business Analysis

WHY?

WHY IS BUSINESS ANAYSIS AN ANOMOLY?

1.Project managers have very low expectations

2.A large % of project managers are NOT well-versed in business analysis

3.Most people think business analysts only ‘Collect Requirements’

4.Business analysts vary in skillset resulting in a wide variation in performance

5.No one understands the business analysis value proposition

MY TOP OBSERVATIONS…

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO IMPROVE?

Project managers have very

low expectations

• Demand more from your BAs

• Use the same rigor you would require from your peer PMs

• Understand the value proposition

Business analysis is equally important to project management…treat it as

such

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO IMPROVE?

A large % of project managers are NOT

well-versed in business analysis

• Look for opportunities to obtain business analysis training

• Invite business analysis speakers to your chapter events

• Connect and follow BA thought leaders

• Consider acquiring your PMI-PBA® credential

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO IMPROVE?

Most people think business analysts only

‘Collect Requirements’

Stop that!

Let’s look at the definition up close

Business Analysis Defined

• The application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to..• Determine problems and opportunities

• Identify business needs and recommend viable solutions to meet those needs

• Support strategic decision making

• Elicit, analyze, specify, communicate, and manage requirements and other product information

• Define benefits and approaches for measuring and realizing value and analyzing those results

Business Analysis

• The application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to..• Determine problems and opportunities• Identify business needs and recommend viable solutions

to meet those needs• Support strategic decision making• Elicit, analyze, specify, communicate, and manage

requirements and other product information• Define benefits and approaches for measuring and

realizing value and analyzing those results

Business Analysis

• The application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to..• Determine problems and opportunities• Identify business needs and recommend viable solutions

to meet those needs• Support strategic decision making• Elicit, analyze, specify, communicate, and manage

requirements and other product information• Define benefits and approaches for measuring and

realizing value and analyzing those results

Business Analysis

• The application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to..• Determine problems and opportunities• Identify business needs and recommend viable solutions

to meet those needs• Support strategic decision making• Elicit, analyze, specify, communicate, and manage

requirements and other product information• Define benefits and approaches for measuring and

realizing value and analyzing those results

Business Analysis

• The application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to..• Determine problems and opportunities• Identify business needs and recommend viable solutions

to meet those needs• Support strategic decision making• Elicit, analyze, specify, communicate, and manage

requirements and other product information• Define benefits and approaches for measuring and

realizing value and analyzing those results

Business Analysis

• The application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to..• Determine problems and opportunities• Identify business needs and recommend viable solutions

to meet those needs• Support strategic decision making• Elicit, analyze, specify, communicate, and manage

requirements and other product information• Define benefits and approaches for measuring and

realizing value and analyzing those results

Business Analysis

• The application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to..• Determine problems and opportunities• Identify business needs and recommend viable solutions

to meet those needs• Support strategic decision making• Elicit, analyze, specify, communicate, and manage

requirements and other product information• Define benefits and approaches for measuring and

realizing value and analyzing those results

More than ‘Collect Requirements’…right?

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO IMPROVE?

Business analysts vary

in skillset resulting in a

wide variation in

performance

•Make requirement practices part of your PMO

•Champion the practice

•Help business analysts gain support enterprise-wide

•Hire only experienced analysts

•Require certification

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO IMPROVE?

No one understands

the value proposition

business analysis provides

A sufficiently run business analysis process results in...

• Development of products/services that meet stakeholder needs

• A more engaged project team

• Higher probability of delivering on time and within scope and budget

• Solutions that deliver higher business value

•A repeatable BA process and

DON’T FORGET

• Organizations with high business analysis maturity report above average performance across all key organizational success metrics including…• Financial performance (69% versus 45%)

• Strategy implementation (66% versus 21%)

• Organizational agility (40% versus 14%)

• Management of individual projects (62% versus 29%)

PMI Pulse of the Profession 2016: Leading Organizations to Better Outcomes through Business Analysis

HERE’S THE COOL PART…

TODAY’S PROJECT ENVIRONMENTS

• Focusing more on required skill competencies than job titles

• Agile approaches utilize a shared team approach to the work

• Business analysis skills are in high-demand

• Business analysts and project managers possess many of the same soft skills

THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT

The business analyst profession is expected to increase at a rate of 19 percent between 2014 and 2024*

* US Bureau of Labor Statistics

PROFESSIONALLY DEVELOP

CONSIDER LEARNING MORE ABOUT AND IMPROVING YOUR BUSINESS ANALYSIS SKILLS!

CONNECT WITH ME!

https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurapatonba/

S

Laura@BA.Academy

Website: BA.Academy

@BAAcademyInc

laura.paton.cbap