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Do you find yourself investing a lot of effort in requirements only to be asked “why is this taking so long”? Maybe you are hearing “let’s skip that and just get the requirements”? Do you feel there is a tension between producing quality deliverables and meeting employer demands? Do your stakeholders skip meetings, bypass reviews, and otherwise make it difficult to do quality work? Business analysis, at its core, is about creating alignment and clarity to drive positive change in our organizations. If you are having the troubles above, it may be that your definition of successful business analysis and your employer’s perception of value are out of sync. After this presentation, you’ll be better prepared to frame your business analyst activities in value terms your stakeholders understand – and will act on. We’ll help you compare your principles of success to those of your employer and stakeholders. We will provide practical ways you can increase your perceived value of common BA practices such as templates, meetings, and reviews. Prepare for the session and leave comments here: http://www.bridging-the-gap.com/iiba-rochester-how-to-increase-your-perceived-value-as-a-ba/ Attendees will learn: • Models for evaluating how your organization and stakeholders perceive value and how to frame business analysis activities within that framework; • Techniques for increasing the value generated from your business analyst activities and, just as importantly, the perception of value by your organization; • Tactics for delivering on the core principles of business analysis when practices are challenged. Meet the speaker: Laura Brandenburg is a business analyst consultant, author, and mentor. She has 9 years of experience across technology leadership, analysis, project management, and QA. She volunteers for IIBA as Career Center Product Manager and VP, Marketing of the Denver Chapter. She hosts Bridging the Gap, a blog about business analyst practices. She authored How to Start a Business Analyst Career and Professional Development for Business Analysts. Visit her blog at http://www.bridging-the-gap.com.
Citation preview
INCREASING THE PERCEIVED VALUE OF BUSINESS ANALYSIS ACTIVITIES Laura Brandenburg
My 2012 Goal
Copyright © 2010 Laura Brandenburg
We build our profession one BA at a time.
Check out our Registry: http://www.bridging-the-gap.com/business-analyst-registry
Key Learning Objectives
1. Models for evaluating how your organization and stakeholders perceive value and how to frame business analysis activities within that framework;
2. Techniques for increasing the actual value generated from your business analyst activities;
3. Tactics for increasing your perceived value.
Copyright © 2010 Laura Brandenburg
Self-Reflect~
Copyright © 2010 Laura Brandenburg
“I deal with the customers!”
¨ The problem Ø Focus is on
“communication” and “spec delivery”
¨ Surviving the dilemma Ø What goes into
creating the spec?
Copyright © 2010 Laura Brandenburg
Read more and view the video at http://www.bridging-the-gap.com/friday-flips-i-deal-with-the-customers-from-office-space/
Self-Reflect~
Copyright © 2010 Laura Brandenburg
Being valued is a two-sided coin
Being Valuable
Being Aware of Our Value
Copyright © 2010 Laura Brandenburg
ROI Model
Reduce Costs
• Reduce Rework • Reduce Scoping
Costs • Find cost-
effective solutions
Increase Benefits
• Discover new needs
• Leverage new solutions
• Prioritize by value
Increased ROI
Copyright © 2010 Laura Brandenburg
Reduce Rework
$45 billion was spent on rework due to poor requirements in the United States in 2008, adding up to $180K each for the 250,000 US business analysts on LinkedIn.
Ø Kathleen Barrett. “Evaluating BA Credibility”. BA
Connection. IIBA. April 2010. p2. http://www.theiiba.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Member_Newsletters&Template=/CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm&ContentID=6618
Copyright © 2010 Laura Brandenburg
Reduce Costs to Scope Solution
Stakeholder Time = $$$
Ineffective meetings
Rehashing old issues
Incomplete understanding
of the problem Forgotten
issues crop up late
Right people not involved
Copyright © 2010 Laura Brandenburg
Discover More Cost-Effective Solutions
“I became a business analyst when I no longer saw technology
as the only solution.”
-Steve Blais, Solutions Architect Copyright © 2010 Laura Brandenburg
Discover new needs or requirements
“There are … unconscious and/or undreamed of requirements, that may remain forgotten, overlooked, or simply unimagined until stakeholders start to use the system and experience the need–unless a skilled business analyst is successful in identifying them during the requirements process.”
Ø Adriana Beal, “Beyond gathering, eliciting and trawling for requirements” § http://www.bridging-the-gap.com/beyond-gathering-eliciting-and-
trawling-for-requirements/
Copyright © 2010 Laura Brandenburg
Focus on the valuable requirements
Most valuable set of requirements
Gotta haves
Real business needs
Wish list features
Copyright © 2010 Laura Brandenburg
ü Do you help the business focus on benefits? ü Do you prioritize early and often?
OR Do you invest time in requirements that are never implemented? (EEK!)
Stop projects that do not achieve ROI
Transform the ambiguous hole of muck • Understand “why” • Discover unknown requirements
Analyze the requirements • Prioritize often • Find alternative solutions
Unexpected project scope • Does the project still have a positive
ROI?
Copyright © 2010 Laura Brandenburg
More fully leverage new solutions
IT buys new solution
IT implements lacking value
Business doesn’t get it
Business does work-arounds
BA understands the possibilities
IT implements valuable project
Business trained on new system
Copyright © 2010 Laura Brandenburg
Positive ROI
Career Habit: Ask WHY?
And then… Is there a better way to accomplish this goal?
Copyright © 2010 Laura Brandenburg
Career Habit: Self-Confidence
“Be your own best friend and believe in yourself. …Cheer yourself on. Write your own pep talk. It works.”
Ø Ken Blanchard, Heart of a Leader (67)
Copyright © 2010 Laura Brandenburg
Career Habit: Toot Your Own Horn
Copyright © 2010 Laura Brandenburg
Q&A
Copyright © 201 Laura Brandenburg
Looking for more? http://www.bridging-the-gap.com/free-resources