Business Analyst Blog with tips, techniques and resources for every BA.
One question that has been on my mind is whether analysts are better off attached to business units or the IT unit. While there are many benefits to working closely with the IT unit, it is pretty clear that business analysts who spend most of their time in IT would not have many opportunities to get a full grasp of how the business works.
Read MoreHere's a list of the most popular posts of 2013, as determined by BAL readers. This list is based on the number of page views received by each post and has been sorted by popularity. A special thanks goes to all BAL readers for making 2013 worthwhile.
Here it goes...
Read MoreThere’s been an ongoing debate on the usefulness (or otherwise) of current state or as-is analysis. I would say there’s no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. It depends.
Read MoreThis post was inspired by Donald Firesmith’s piece on Requirements Mistakes where he discussed the common mistakes that occur in requirements engineering. Keeping these mistakes in mind can help business analysts (regardless of their domain) develop improved requirements management processes that ensure the delivery of high quality requirements.
Read MoreThis post is based on Daniel Pink’s bestseller, “A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future”, which contains interesting insights on how to achieve professional and personal success. According to Pink, we are living in a new age termed the conceptual age, where those who think differently (right-brain thinkers) will be valued above others. He describes the conceptual age as one in which innovators, big-picture thinkers, artists, empathizers, pattern recognizers and “meaning makers” will be the lead agents in society.
Read MoreYou've probably heard the saying: “Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder”; software developers should always keep this in mind. Once an application or solution is released, it is used by millions of customers. Therefore, its beauty should appeal to the needs of the “beholders”. The challenge often lies in the fact that everyone has different expectations and tastes. Consequently, if a system fails to satisfy the majority of users, all the time, money and effort spent on its development would have been in vain. The onus is therefore on testers and analysts who validate solutions, to ensure that the solution satisfies the needs and desires of the targeted users - Guest Post By Prashant Chambakara.
Read MoreNon-functional requirements are easy to overlook. This is most likely because stakeholders often assume that these requirements are given and go without saying. Missing requirements are harder to spot during requirements evaluation than poorly specified requirements and are usually detected further down the line when the system is in the testing phase or has already been deployed to thousands of users. They become even more expensive to fix if they are architecturally significant. For example, It is often difficult to include performance, safety and security features to an existing architecture - Donald Firesmith, Software Engineering Institute, U.S.A.
Read MoreSolving business problems, a main function of business analysts, is similar to managing a business. There are many qualities that can be transferred from managing a business to business analysis.This post discusses some of these qualities - Guest Post By Joana Armie
Read MoreI was once part of a project team that employed use cases to identify which developer was working on the different software modules. We had different colour codes for each developer, so we could easily see at a glance who was working on what functionality and what level they had reached. Most analysts see the use case as a communication tool in holding discussions with stakeholders and for validating requirements. Here are the 3 major steps to applying the use case technique to your project.
Read More“Don't use words too big for the subject. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very", or you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite.” ― C.S. Lewis
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I once came across a trainer who equated process specialists to purple squirrels because of how hard they are to come by. Process specialists have the ability to interview stakeholders effectively, analyze feedback and have a deep understanding of at least one improvement methodology. Another course I attended recently on strategic business process improvement struck a cord so I’ve compiled some fundamental nuggets analysts should be aware of in improving business processes.
Read MoreSomeone once asked me, “How do you handle a difficult stakeholder?”. It’s never a pretty situation managing a stakeholder who is obviously opposed to your project for whatever reason. It’s even worse when the stakeholder goes the extra mile to ensure your project doesn’t succeed. Managing stakeholders is no different from managing personal relationships with people.
Read MoreI once worked on a project that involved a series of discussions and consultations on whether to build or buy software. After extensive analysis, the decision was made to build the system in-house. To get started however, we had to prove that it could be done. We did this through a proof of concept (POC).
Read MoreBecause stakeholders make decisions both at conscious and unconscious levels, they are unable to express everything they want in a solution. The Kano Model is a technique that allows the analyst elicit and categorize requirements along two axes: How well requirements are executed and the level of customer satisfaction.
Read MoreI came across the H-method a number of years ago while researching analysis techniques. It’s one of those methods that stay with you because of its practicality. it’s particularly useful in framing interview questions.
Read MoreTesting is a crucial part of software development projects as it reveals the true quality of software products. If there are any bugs or coding errors in the system, software testing can reveal those flaws and help to deliver effective applications. However, deciding whether to take the manual or automated testing route is usually the challenge - Guest Post By Prashant Chambakara.
Read MoreThere’s a world of information available on how to write “good” requirements. Good requirement writing must be learnt and continually practised in order to deliver good solutions. You can use the ideas in this post as a checklist for verifying your Requirements Specification Documents.
Read MoreInterviews are a popular technique with analysts. Unfortunately, they’re not that simple. Great interviews do not just happen. They have to be carefully planned with every minor detail ironed out before the day. Without further ado, this post outlines the basic but crucial factors that analysts should be aware of before, during and after an interview session.
Read MoreOne of the 48 Laws of Power, as stated by Robert Greene, an American Author, is to always know who you're dealing with. You cannot assume that different people will react the same way to your strategy or plans. That's why it's important to gather as much information about a person that either support or contradict your beliefs about them when dealing with them.
Read MoreTo meet the demands of quick product delivery, companies want to perform testing at a faster pace. At present, recruiters are torn between demanding for testers with good coding knowledge and those without. It is obvious that a tester who has to spend time writing automated test codes will take a longer time. So, the question is - Can a tester without coding skills perform testing? Guest Post By Prashant Chambakara
Read MoreThis business analyst blog contains practical insights into business analysis, software testing and business process management. I will be sharing business analyst tips, CBAP Certification tips, lessons learnt and insights into all the things I've learnt during my BA career.
