The Requirements Experts - Modern Analystmedia.modernanalyst.com/Managing_Operational... · The Requirements Experts © IAG Consulting 2008 Performance changes to on time, on budget,

The Requirements Experts

© IAG Consulting 2008

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Managing Requirements Operational

Excellence

A framework for accelerating

organizational development in

Requirements Definition and Management

Keith EllisVice PresidentIAG Consulting905 842 [email protected]

We’ll be starting shortly…

With Adrian Marchis, Editor of:



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What are we going to Talk About?

• Making change programs that transform requirements

definition and management capability

• The content might be seen as a bit edgy…

• Complex organizations

• Positive actions: Steps that can be taken to effect

outcome



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About IAG: The Requirements Experts

13 Years of living requirements excellence:

– Completed over 1,200 requirements projects

– Worked with over 300 of the Fortune 500 companies in the last 10

years

– Trains over 1,200 business analysts annually

– Somewhat in excess of 700 clients using our methods

– 50 staff members all 100% focused on excellence in business

requirements

– Annually invested 10% of our revenue in developing our methods, processes and techniques to assure that these are harmonized and industry best practices



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IAG Scorecard in Performance Change

Source: IAG Performance Benchmark, 2002

Benchmarking the impact of IAG’s Requirements Discovery Process (RDP) on 36 projects at six clients



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Learning Objectives

• How do you assess the maturity of an

analyst organization?

• Where do you focus for improvement?

• What implementation guidelines should be

used to enhance success?



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Why do you want to make change?

• Our analysts want/need

training.

• We’re getting poor

requirements and need

better templates to make

us more consistent.

• We’re having trouble

getting/keeping

stakeholder participation.

• My analysts respond: “I know

what to do next.”

• I want to reduce

requirements change by 75%

• Stakeholders in our company

would never think of

proceeding on a project

without having great

requirements.



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Key Change Concept

Requirements are a process, not a

document.



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The Evolution of Requirements

Maturity

1. Performed (Ad-hoc)

2. Defined (Individual-centric)

3. Implemented (Consistent)

4. Institutionalized (Part of culture)

5. Continuously optimizing (Adaptive)

Poll – Where are you today?



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Performance changes to on time, on budget, on Function, On Objective

Development, BY MATURITY LEVEL

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4

% of Projects Delivered on TIME

% of Projects Delivered on Budget

% of Projects Delivering All Required Functionality

% of Projects Deemed Successful

Requirements Discovery & Management Maturity of Organization

In % of all

projects

Source: IAG Business Analysis Benchmark, 2009N=436



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ASSESSING YOUR ORGANIZATIONAL MATURITY

Setting effective baselines:



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What is the likely starting point for most

organizations?

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

Excellent automated tools for elicitation

Excellent automated tools to manage requirements/change

Stakeholders feel that the requirements definition and management processes are efficient

Can predict stakeholder time needed for requirements

Defined standards (documentation, quality)

Transitioning requirements from business departments to IT

Formalized approach, consistently followed

Treats business analysis as a profession/trained staff dedicated to this function

Business requirements are traceable, and well integrated into testing at our organization

Source: IAG Business Analysis Benchmark, 2008

We have…

% that would agree with the statement



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Elements in your baseline

Process

Staff Competency

Technology(Tools)

Practices & Techniques

Organization(support & infrastructure)

Deliverables(artifacts & work products)

WhenWhat & When

Resources, Skills & Roles

Focus WhenHow

Control, Manage & Communicate

Value-add



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Mechanics of Assessing Baseline

Maturity

• 360º Survey (Analyst, Project Manager,

Management, Business, Development)

• Skills assessment testing (multiple choice)

• Process definition and expected deliverables review

• Stakeholder executive interviews

• Assess technologies in place

• Review of past project performance*



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Assessing Requirements Discovery and Management Maturity

Level 1 – Performed (Ad-hoc)Level 2 – Defined (Individual-centric)Level 3 – Implemented (Consistent)Level 4 – Institutionalized (Part of culture)Level 5 – Continuously optimizing (Adaptive)

Metrics ->



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Building Success:

Essential Roadmap Elements

• Holistic impact delivered in all six areas

• “Sufficient Critical Mass”

• Top down AND bottom up enablement

• METRICS – measure and catalyze

benefits

• Use the techniques of great

requirements to perform the task



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Typical (not ideal)

Low-Hanging Fruit

• Act like a 3rd party vendor

• Co-Pilot a project with a requirements

expert

• Have someone redesign your analyst

roles and supporting competency model

• Acquire or overbuild elicitation skills



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GUIDELINES FOR ENHANCING SUCCESS

Key Concepts for Getting ‘Stickiness’ on Change



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Definition of Insanity…

“Doing the same thing over and

over again and expecting different

results”

Albert Einstein

• Training analysts

• Another template

• Another tool

Alternative: Change

enough of the variables that a different result

becomes possible

• Sufficient Critical Mass



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Assessing Organization

Need to assess strength of

organization in 3 domains



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Modeling Roles and Competencies

Roles

• Position/Service Matrix

• RASCI model for key process tasks

Competencies

• Competency/skill matrix

• Competency Model (13 or so elements and

weighting)

• Assessment & Skill Gap

Analysis

Creates your professional development program and BA redesign.

Can use to spawn SLA and performance improvement goals.



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Training & Development

of Practices and Techniques

Knowledge, to Experience,

to “Managed Experience”



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Assessing Process

• Take your current Requirements Process and apply it to the requirements process.

• Would you get:

– Clear definition of what people need to do in the

process to execute successfully

– Clear understanding of the information that must

be shared with others outside the process to make the entire business function properly

– Automation opportunities



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Catalyze Your Benefits1. Set out to MEASURE benefit2. Keep working until the message is SIMPLE3. Tangible, Significant & Relevant to ME



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… and build the metrics into the fabric of

running the enterprise



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Making Effective Change

Tips and Traps• Must address people, process and technology

• See requirements as a process, not a document

• Help your organization ‘internalize’ the meaning of bad and good requirements definition and management

• Never underestimate the complexity



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Closing Thoughts:

Three Critical Concepts

• Determine your organizational baseline

and map your path

• Develop change programs that

internalize and institutionalize

• Catalyze your benefit



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Learning Objectives

• How do you assess the maturity of an

analyst organization?

• Where do you focus for improvement?

• What implementation guidelines should be

used to enhance success?



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Reminder about IAG Consulting

– We are solely focused on business and software requirements discovery and management

– Core Competency: Elicitation

– A deliverable from IAG is:Clear, Accurate and Complete

– Work with clients in 4 modes:• Requirements Discovery and Management

• Analyst Professional Development

• Best Practices Implementation

• Turn-key Center of Excellence



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Thanks

Keith EllisVice President, Marketing & Strategic AlliancesIAG Consulting905 842 [email protected]

Project Management Institute PDU Submission Information

Webinar Name: Managing Requirements Operational Excellence

Total PDU's : 1.0

PDU Program Reference Number: IAG805

PMI Registered Education Provider: IAG Consulting

PMI Registered Education Provider Number: 2858

CDU File InformationCategory 2- Professional Development

Organization Information: Information Architecture Group (IAG)Contact: Keith Ellis, 905-842-0123 x228

Activity: Managing Requirements Operation Excellence

IIBA™ EEP: E003 (Information Architecture Group, Inc.)

Program ID No: Pre-approvedBeginning and ending dates: date of attendance

# of CDU’s Issued: 1

With Adrian Marchis, Editor of:

Documents

The Requirements Experts - Modern Analystmedia.modernanalyst.com/Managing_Operational... · The Requirements Experts © IAG Consulting 2008 Performance changes to on time, on budget,