Business Analysis

Business analysis is another significant series of activities affecting project success. We' ve seen a lot a projects failing due to poor business analysis resulting in incomplete requirements, poor stakeholder engagement, wasted resources and dissatisfaction. Business Analysis is defined as "the practice of enabling change in an enterprise by defining needs and recommending solutions that deliver value to stakeholders" (BABOK). Business analysis enables an enterprise to articulate needs and the rationale for change, and to design and describe solutions that can deliver value.

In a nutshell, at WizzSense we perform the below activities in our Business Analysis engagements:

Defining the problem/scoping the project: Before any project begins, there should be a clear understanding of the business problem that the organization will pursue to resolve. The real challenge is to align all stakeholders in a common problem statement.
Identifying stakeholders: This involves identifying all relevant stakeholders (individuals, groups, or organizations) who may affect or be affected by the proposed solution.
Eliciting information: This is where business analysts collect information from stakeholders and other sources about their needs, objectives, and constraints. This often involves workshops, interviews, surveys, and document analysis.
Developing the Business Case: A business case, which justifies the project or initiative, is developed. It typically includes cost-benefit analysis, risk assessment, and feasibility study.
Engineering and Documenting Requirements: This includes the elicitation, documentation, validation, and management of requirements.
Analyzing Business Processes: This involves mapping the current ("as-is") business processes and designing the future ("to-be") processes.
Assessing and validating deliverables/solutions: Here the business analyst evaluates potential solutions against the requirements and the business case to ensure the chosen solution meets the business need.
Managing and communicating requirements: This involves managing changes to the requirements and ensuring that all stakeholders have a shared understanding of the requirements and any changes.
Supporting Solution Implementation: The business analyst helps ensure that the solution is implemented as planned. This might involve tasks like aiding in user training, developing user documentation, and helping to resolve any issues that arise during implementation.
Evaluating the Value Delivered by the Solution: After implementation, the business analyst measures how well the solution has met the business need and identifies any areas for improvement.

Business Analysis is a demanding series of activities, requiring the combination of numerous skills and tools in order to deliver, such as diagramming and modelling, managing requirements, collaborating, analyzing data, asking powerful questions, facilitating discussions, communicating and understanding the project domain. If done properly, it can significantly contribute to project success, providing clear benefits:

Complete and comprehensive requirements
Stakeholder engagement
Adequate risk management
Properly allocated resources
End user usage and adoption
Project success

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