Lesson 4 - Knowledge Areas

Introduction to Business Analysis
Business Analysis Knowledge Areas

Learning Objectives
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
List the knowledge areas of Business Analysis
Outline the tasks included in the knowledge areas
State the purpose of tasks in knowledge areas

Business Analysis Knowledge Areas
Knowledge Areas
Knowledge areas represent areas of specific business analysis expertise that encompass several tasks.
Business Analysis
Planning and Strategy Analysis
Monitoring
Elicitation and Business Analysis Requirements

Collaboration knowledge areas Analysis and
Design Definition
Requirements Life Solution Evaluation

Cycle Management
Business Analysis Planning and Monitoring
Planning and Monitoring
The Business Analyst focuses on laying the foundation for successfully:
Defining the Business Completing the Business

Analysis work Analysis work
Planning the Business

Analysis work
Planning and Monitoring Tasks
Identify Business Analysis

Plan Business Plan Business Performance
Analysis Approach Analysis Governance Improvements
Plan Stakeholder Plan Business

Engagement Analysis Information
Management
Plan Business Analysis Approach
The purpose is to define an appropriate method to conduct Business Analysis activities.
This involves assessing the initiative from a stakeholder, scope, organizational environment,
and expected outcomes perspective.
It is also important for the Business Analyst to understand any existing methodologies or any
previously defined and repeatable standard Business Analysis practices.
The Business Analyst should tailor any such standardized processes to suit the needs of a
particular initiative.
The key considerations for this approach are:
To be aligned and To consider how

coordinated to the approach will
To align with work in harmony cater to tasks to
objectives of the with the overall support any risks
change or initiative changes and that may emerge
deliverables during the
planned for the initiative
initiative
The Business Analyst should repeat the processes, techniques, and tools which
have proven to work well for the organization.
Plan Stakeholder Engagement
The Business Analyst plans for stakeholder engagement by working on an approach for establishing
and maintaining effective working relationships with the stakeholders.
Plan Stakeholder Engagement
When planning the stakeholder engagement, the number of stakeholders will add to stakeholder
complexity.
The Business Analyst must consider the format and engagement models accordingly.
Plan Business Analysis Governance
The purpose is to define how decisions are made about requirements and designs
including reviews, change control, approvals, and prioritization.
Factors that ensure smooth running of governance Business Analysis activities during
the project are:
Planning what the Planning who the decision

processes are makers will be
Planning what information is required

for effective decision making around
requirement and design changes
When planning the Governance approach, the Business Analyst should include the following aspects:
What is the Business Analysis What is the change What type of

Approach and how will work procedure? documentation will be
be prioritized? required for changes?
Plan Business Analysis Information Management
The purpose is to develop an approach on how Business Analysis information will

be stored and accessed.
Business Analysis information includes all the Business Analysis artifacts generated
during different Business Analysis activities in a project.
A plan should be agreed on early in the project to manage, link, and track all types
of Business Analysis information.
A Business Analyst should plan for aspects such as the level of detail of information and
how the information should be organized, accessed, and stored.
The Business Analyst should also plan for any relationships that might exist between
information types and agree on any specific characteristics or attributes.
Identify Business Analysis Performance Improvements
The purpose is to assess Business Analysis work and to plan to improve

processes where required.
Identify Business Analysis Performance Improvements
It is necessary to identify specific performance measures and analyze using those

measures to report the Business Analysis performance results.
A Business Analyst or a Business Analysis team also identifies actions to be taken to

correct, prevent, or improve upon work done.
Elicitation and Collaboration
Elicitation and collaboration can be planned, unplanned, or both.
Planned Activities Unplanned Activities
● Can be structured and organized in ● Can happen in the moment without

advance notice
● Examples: Workshops, experiments, ● Examples: Last-minute or just in time
or surveys collaboration or conversations
Elicitation and collaboration are fundamental Business Analysis activities

and should be thoroughly prepared for.
Elicitation is the drawing forth or receiving of information from

stakeholders or other sources.
Collaboration is the act of two or more people working

together towards a common goal.
The Business Analyst must understand the most appropriate elicitation approach and
what to consider when choosing techniques, logistics, and stakeholder engagement.
Elicitation and Collaboration Tasks
Prepare for elicitation
Manage stakeholder
collaboration
Elicitation
Conduct elicitation
and
collaboration
tasks
Communicate Business
Analysis information
Confirm elicitation results
Prepare for Elicitation
The purpose is to understand the scope of the elicitation activity, select appropriate techniques, and
plan for appropriate supporting materials and resources.
A Business Analyst will define the key outcomes of the elicitation activity sessions.
The definition of the goals for the elicitation includes:
• Defining the deliverables that should be produced as a

result of the elicitation
• Considering and preparing any logistics needed for

each session
• Gaining a good understanding and interpretation of

the circumstances surrounding the elicitation activities
Business Analyst will use a combination of different approaches, techniques, and styles
to obtain and complete the elicitation activities.
Conduct Elicitation
The purpose is to draw out, explore, and identify information relevant to the change.
Conduct Elicitation
Collaborative
Vestibulum congue
Three
common
types of
elicitation
Conduct Elicitation
The Business Analyst is responsible for confirming the elicitation results obtained after
the elicitation activity has concluded.
This involves checking if the information gathered is accurate, complete, and consistent
with previously documented elicitation results.
Confirm Elicitation Results
The purpose is to check the information gathered during an elicitation session for
accuracy and consistency with other information.
The Business Analyst should always check the information obtained during an elicitation
session to uncover any:
• Errors
• Conflicting information
• Missing information
• Potential ambiguity that might need to
be clarified with stakeholders
The Business Analyst should compare the elicitation results against any existing
information and the results of similar sessions to ensure the information is consistent.
The Business Analyst may need to engage stakeholders to clarify or confirm that
the information was correctly captured during the elicitation session.
Depending on the accuracy of the information it might be required to plan additional elicitation
sessions to elaborate or clarify any misinformation or discrepancies with stakeholders.
The Business Analyst may apply the following techniques to communicate the Business
Analysis information gathered during elicitation sessions.
Workshops Interviews Reviews

Communicate Business Analysis Information
The purpose is to ensure stakeholders have a shared understanding of Business Analysis information.
Communicating the information at the right time in understandable formats to the intended
stakeholder is a success factor.
It is important for a Business Analyst to pay attention to the tone, style, and language used when
communicating Business Analysis information to a particular stakeholder audience.
The communication process is iterative and interactive.
Information and feedback flows between the Business Analysts and the stakeholders in a two-
way communication format.
The Business Analyst may deliver the information in different ways such as formal
documentation, informal documentation, or presentations.
The Business Analyst should work with stakeholders to ensure that the information is
accurate and relevant to the purpose of what the delivery is working towards.
Manage Stakeholder Collaboration
The purpose is to encourage stakeholders to work towards a common goal.

The Business Analyst works with many different stakeholders across the
breadth of the Business Analysis work activities.
These stakeholders hold different levels of influence and power in terms of the approvals
and buy-in of the work products or deliverables of the Business Analysis function.
In many cases, the stakeholders are also the primary source of information.
Therefore, it is important for the Business Analyst to confirm the roles of the stakeholders
to ensure that the right stakeholders are involved.
The Business Analyst will be responsible to work with the stakeholders in a

collaborative way.
New stakeholders should be incorporated into the Business Analysis activities in terms of their
role, influence, responsibilities, cultural attitude, and any other authority they may have..
A strong relationship with the stakeholders will help the Business Analyst.
Therefore, efforts must be taken to build sound and trusted relationships with the
stakeholders throughout the initiative.
Requirements Life Cycle Management
Requirements Life Cycle Management
The Business Analyst performs tasks and activities as part of their role to manage the life cycle of
requirements throughout any initiative, from the start to the end.
The goal is to ensure that all the types of requirements and designs are aligned and consistent
with each other and are also maintained and implemented in the initiative's solution.
Requirements Life Cycle Management Tasks
Trace requirements
Approve Maintain
requirements requirements
Tasks
Assess requirements Prioritize

changes requirements
Trace Requirements
The purpose is to ensure that requirements and designs at different levels are aligned to one
another and to manage the effects of the change to one level on related requirements.
Trace Requirements
Tracing identifies and documents the lineage of each requirement, including its:
Backward traceability Forward traceability
Relationship to other
requirements
The purpose of requirements traceability is to trace where each requirement or design originates
from and what its life cycle is throughout the project.
Trace Requirements
Knowing why and where ensures that once the solution is delivered, it solves the original requirement.
Why a requirement Where it originated

exists? from?
The Business Analyst will know who to contact and be able to manage the risk, scope, and any
change associated with that requirement.
Reasons to Trace Requirements
• It will enable quick identification of gaps within the

supplied solution and the supplied requirements.
• It will aid in the understanding of the size of the
change.
• By tracing a requirement through development, a
testing and implementation track can be kept of the
requirements’ status throughout the life cycle of the
project.
• Traceability also supports requirements allocation
and release planning.
Trace Requirements
Requirements traceability provides a clear view of requirements in a way that allows the team to plan
and allocate which requirements to include into which releases.
Therefore, requirements must be allocated to the same release period and the same resource
group for implementation.
Maintain Requirements
The purpose is to retain requirement accuracy and consistency throughout and beyond the change
during the entire requirements life cycle and to support reuse of requirements in other solutions.
Maintain Requirements
Many factors can influence the requirements regularly when working with requirements on an
initiative.
It is important to keep the requirements accurate and consistent throughout the entire initiative.
Understand the underlying Explore which types of

purpose of maintaining requirements are suitable for
requirements in their entirety reuse on multiple initiatives
Prioritize Requirements
The purpose is to rank requirements in the order of relative importance.
The task is important to the overall life cycle of the requirements as it reflects the level of importance
that stakeholders place on a specific requirement relative to all other requirements.
Each stakeholder has their opinion of the relative importance of each of the requirements.
The Business Analyst has to facilitate a session with all the stakeholders involved to prioritize the
requirements according to an agreed prioritization method.
● It helps document the relative importance to

stakeholders.
● It determines the order in which they will need to be

delivered.
● It will also aid in understanding the value that the

stakeholders attach to each of the requirements.
● Dependencies between requirements can assist

prioritization.
Prioritization of requirements is an ongoing activity. The Business Analyst needs to closely monitor
and actively manage it in close collaboration with all other stakeholders.
Every Business Analyst knows that change is a constant factor that must be managed during any initiative.
Assess Requirements Changes
The purpose is to evaluate the implications of proposed changes to requirements and designs.
The Business Analyst must determine whether a proposed change to a requirement will
increase the value of the overall solution.
If it will increase the value, it is important to then determine what action should be taken to
make this happen.
Consider the following when assessing changes to a requirement:
▪ Does the proposed change align with the overall

strategy?
▪ Will the proposed change affect the value delivered
to the business or stakeholder groups?
▪ Will the proposed change have an impact on the
time to deliver or the resources required to deliver
the value?
▪ Will implementing the proposed change make a
difference to any of the risks, opportunities, or
constraints associated with the overall initiative?
The Business Analyst will reach the stage in the requirements life cycle when the requirements and
designs must be approved for the life cycle to progress to the next stage of an initiative.
Approve Requirements
The purpose is to obtain agreement on and approval of requirements and designs for Business
Analysis work to continue or solution construction to proceed.
The Business Analysts must ensure clear communication of requirements, designs, and other
Business Analysis information to the stakeholders.
The level of formality associated with the approval processes depends on the type of delivery
approach that is being followed.
Predictive Adaptive
Predictive Adaptive
The approvals are often performed The requirements are often approved
during the end of phase meetings or on a just-in-time basis prior to build and
change control meetings. implementation activities.
Involve all the impacted stakeholder groups during the assessment of the proposed change
Ensure they receive the relevant communication about providing their responsibility to
approve the change
Strategy Analysis
Strategy Analysis
It describes the business analysis work that must be performed to collaborate with the
stakeholders to identify a business need.
Business needs include the work that:

● Enables the enterprise to address that need
● Aligns the resulting strategy for the change
with higher- and lower-level strategies
Strategy Analysis Tasks
Define Future State
Define Change Strategy
Analyze Current State
Assess Risks
Work begins by defining and analyzing the current state of the organization or
business area under consideration.
The purpose of analyzing the current state is to understand:
BABOK®
Why an enterprise Guide V3
What would be directly
needs to change some
or indirectly affected by
aspect of how it
the change
operates
When analyzing the current state, gain a good understanding of why the change is needed.
A potential change is needed when business problems or opportunities cannot be

addressed without changing the current state.
It is important to understand that the current state is analyzed and explored in just enough
detail to validate and confirm the need for a change in a particular situation.
As part of analyzing the current state, it is important to identify:
What measure or method

What and where the change
can be used to assess
would be needed to achieve
whether the implemented
the desired future state
change is effective
The current state can be described at different levels, ranging from the entire
organization to small parts of a solution.
Internal and external influencers and other changes can affect the current state in ways
that force changes in the:
Desired future state Change strategy Requirements and designs

Analyze Current State: Elements
The elements that a business analyst should consider to analyze the current state include:
Business needs Organizational Capabilities and Technology and

structure and culture processes infrastructure
Policies Business architecture Internal assets External influencers

Analyze Current State: Business Need
Business needs are the problems and opportunities of strategic importance experienced by
the enterprise. They can come from different levels within the organization:
From the top- From the From middle From external

down bottom-up management drivers
Analyze Current State: Scenario
An organization has been using a legacy accounting software package for more than five years.
• There have been recent regulatory changes

announced to the taxation system.
• The vendor of the existing software package is

out of business.
• This has eventually rendered the accounting

function inefficient and redundant.
From the top-down:
This is a strategic goal that has been identified and needs to be achieved.
In this scenario, the executives of the organization have identified a need to

enhance the efficiency of their accounting functions.
From the bottom-up:
This is when a problem is identified with the current state of a process,

function, or system.
In this scenario, since the existing software vendor is out of business, the
issues or problems identified and raised by the organization’s employees
using the software package are not resolved.
This is causing ongoing operational issues and increased inefficiencies.

From middle management:
This is when a manager or group of managers need further

information to make sound decisions or have to perform
additional functions to meet business goals and objectives.
In this scenario, the business managers of the organization are

unable to generate reports for analysis and decision-making
in new formats.
From external drivers:
This is a business need identified as a result of a challenge that

came from outside the organization.
In this scenario, regulatory compliance is forcing the organization

to consider replacing the accounting software package with
a suitable one.
Define Future State
The purpose is to determine the set of necessary conditions to meet the business need.
The Business Analyst considers the assumptions and constraints to ensure that:
• The correct problem is being addressed
• The most optimal range of alternative

solutions is being considered as part of the
change
Define Future State
It is an important task in Business Analysis activity that supports the business in their journey to
define the future vision for the solution to their business needs.
● It is about defining and expressing what the stakeholders

are expecting in terms of the future outcomes and
results once the change has been realized.
● It is important to ensure that the future state is well

defined and achievable when considering the available
resources.
Define Future State
The Business Analyst considers these elements to define the future state:
• Business goals and objectives

• Scope of solution space
• Constraints
• Organizational structure and culture
• Capabilities and processes
• Technology and infrastructure
• Policies
• Business architecture
• Internal assets
• Assumptions
• Potential value
Assess Risk
The purpose is to understand the undesirable consequences of internal and external

forces on the enterprise during a transition to, or once in, the future state.
Assess Risk
Assessing risks is about analyzing the risks and actively managing their potential impact on the
solution.
The Business Analyst identifies risks associated with the current state, the desired future state,
a specific change or change strategy, or any other area within the enterprise.
Assess Risk
The risks are analyzed for the:

• Possible consequences if the risk
occurs
• Impact of those consequences
• Likelihood of the risk
• Potential time frame when the risk
might occur
The purpose is to develop and assess alternative approaches to the change and then
select the recommended approach.
It is a key task in Business Analysis as it supports the transition of the enterprise from the
current state to the desired future state in a planned and systematic manner.
While developing the change strategy, describe the change by answering the key questions:
▪ What is the context of the change?

▪ What are the identified alternative change strategies?
▪ Why a particular change strategy is the best approach?
▪ What investment and resources would be required to
work toward the future state?
▪ How will the organization be able to realize value after
the solution is delivered?
▪ Who are the key stakeholders involved in the change?
▪ What would be the transition states along the way?
Defining a change strategy involves identifying several strategies and selecting the
strategy that is most appropriate for the situation such as:
● Contract the upgrade and support related activities to

another vendor
● Replace the existing accounting software package
● Deploy new accounting software as a SAAS solution
● Contract the accounting operations of the organization
to a BPO unit
Change strategies can involve achieving only some parts of a future state initially.
Therefore, they include only some components of a complete solution.
The change strategy should clarify which parts of the solution are complete and
which parts of the value can be realized.
Requirements Analysis and Design Definition
Requirements Analysis and Design Definition
It describes the tasks that the business analysts perform to:
● Structure and organize requirements

discovered during elicitation activities
● Specify and model requirements and designs
● Validate and verify information
● Identify solution options that meet business
needs
● Estimate the potential value that could be
realized for each solution option
Requirements Analysis and Design Definition Tasks
Specify and Model Validate Define Solution

Requirements Requirements Options
Verify Requirements Define Requirements Analyze Potential

Architecture Value and
Recommend Solution
Specify and Model Requirements
The purpose is to analyze, synthesize, and refine elicitation results into requirements and designs.
The Business Analyst analyzes and creates representations of this information in a format
that is understandable by other stakeholder groups who need the information.
The term requirements is used when the focus of the specifying and modeling activity is on
understanding the business need.
The outputs generated from these types of analysis activities are referred to as requirements.
The term designs is used when the focus of the specifying and modeling activity is on
understanding the solution.
The outputs generated from these types of analysis activities are referred to as designs.
It is important to verify the requirements for Business Analysts to ensure that quality standards
have been met and that requirements are fit for purpose.
A good requirement should always have important and critical characteristics fulfilled.
Verify Requirements
The purpose is to ensure that requirements and design specifications and models meet
quality standards and are usable for the purpose they serve.
The verifying requirements task ensures that the requirements and designs have been
defined correctly by the Business Analyst.
Verify Requirements
A good quality requirements A good quality model follows the

specification is well written and easily formal or informal notation standards
understood by its intended audience. and effectively represents reality.
Requirements and designs must be prepared in a way that is effective and relevant for the
intended purpose and meets the needs of the stakeholder.
Validate Requirements
The purpose is to ensure that all requirements and designs align with the business
requirements and support the delivery of needed value.
Requirements validation is performed throughout the life cycle of the requirements and designs
and ensures that these are aligned with business needs.
The purpose of implementing requirements and designs is to achieve the business

stakeholder’s desired future state.
It is also performed to ensure that all stakeholders remain in alignment with what is required.
It helps identify any requirements conflicts that might exist.

Define Requirements Architecture
The purpose is to ensure that the requirements collectively support one another to fully
achieve the objectives.
It is about establishing the structure of all the requirements to form cohesive requirements
that support the business objectives for the change.
The requirements architecture is the way that the requirements are put together to get a
holistic view of the requirements.
● It describes how different requirements artifacts

relate to each other to form an overall
requirements view for an initiative or change.
● It ensures that the requirements are in

alignment with the overall objectives of the
initiative or planned change.
A Business Analyst would use requirements

architecture for the following reasons:
▪ It defines which models are appropriate for

the domain, context, and solution scope.
▪ It also organizes requirements into structures

relevant to different stakeholders.
Define Design Options
The purpose is to:
● Define the solution approach

● Identify opportunities to improve the business
● Allocate requirements across solution
components
● Represent design options that achieve the
desired future state
Define Design Options
The Business Analyst performs activities in terms of implementing the requirements prepared
to achieve the business value. This is referred to as identifying the design options.
They are not the

They refer to the
specific solution
steps that will be
functionality but the
taken to ensure
approach that will
the solution is
be taken to deliver
delivered.
the solution.
Analyze Potential Value and Recommend Solution
The purpose is to estimate the potential value for each design option and to establish which
one is most appropriate to meet the enterprise’s requirements.
Consider which option will be

Work out the potential value most appropriate to meet the
of each of the design options organization's requirements
Analyze Potential Value and Recommend Solution
Different types of value can be identified and considered.
Value can be described in terms of finance, reputation, or even impact on the marketplace.
It is required to build a prototype or proof of concept first to determine the best design option.
Solution Evaluation
Solution Evaluation
The Business Analyst performs tasks:
To assess the performance and To recommend removal of barriers

value delivered by a solution in or constraints that prevent the full
use by the enterprise realization of the value
Solution Evaluation
Solution Evaluation tasks can be performed on solution components in varying stages of

development such as:
Prototypes or Pilot or beta Operational

proof of concept releases releases
Prototypes or Proof of Concept
Prototypes or proof of concept are working but limited versions of a solution that
demonstrates value.
Prototypes can be anyone of these:

● A working model
● A representational model
● A miniature or a scale model
● A video or photo demonstration
Pilot or Beta Releases
Pilot or beta releases are limited versions of a solution used to work through problems to
understand how well it delivers value before the full release.
Pilot release Beta release
● It is meant for a group of ● It is meant for testing the

end-users to try the system product in user
and provide feedback prior to environment.
the full deployment in pilot
release. ● It is tested by all users.
● It is tested by a selected
group of users.
Operational Releases
Operational releases are full versions of a partial or complete solution used to:
Achieve business objectives Fulfil a desired outcome
Execute a process
Solution Evaluation
Solution evaluation:
● Describes these tasks that analyze the actual
value being delivered
● Identifies the limitations which prevent the value
from being realized
● Makes recommendations to increase the value of
the solution
● Includes any combination of performance
assessments, tests, and experiments
● May combine both objective and subjective
assessments of value
Solution Evaluation Tasks
Analyze performance Assess enterprise

measures limitations
Measure solution Assess solution Recommend actions to

performance limitations increase solution value
Measure Solution Performance
The purpose is to define performance measures and use the data collected to evaluate the
effectiveness of a solution in relation to the value it brings.
● Performance measures determine

the value of a newly deployed or
existing solution.
● The measures depend on the solution

itself, the context, and how the
organization defines value.
When solutions do not have built-in performance measures, the Business Analyst works with the
stakeholders to measure the solution’s effectiveness.
Performance may be assessed through key performance indicators (KPIs) aligned with:
Enterprise Process performance

measures targets
Project goals and Tests for a software

objectives application
Analyze Performance Measures
The purpose is to provide insights into the performance of a solution in relation to the value it brings.
● The measures collected often require

interpretation and synthesis to derive
meaning and to be actionable.
● Performance measures themselves rarely

trigger a decision about the value of a
solution.
Analyze Performance Measures
Business Analysts require a thorough understanding of the potential value that

stakeholders hope to achieve with the solution.
To assist in the analysis, consider the variables

such as:
● The goals and objectives of the enterprise
● Key performance indicators
● The level of risk of the solution
● The risk tolerance of both stakeholders and
the enterprise
● Other stated targets are considered
Assess Solution Limitations
The purpose is to determine the factors internal to the solution that restrict the full realization of value.
● It identifies the root causes for underperforming

and ineffective solutions and solution
components.
● If the solution does not meet its potential value,

the Business Analysts determine which internal
and external factors are limiting value.
Assess Solution Limitations
The assessment of limitations of the solutions may be performed at any point

during the solution’s life cycle.
It may occur on:

● A solution component during its
development
● A completed solution prior to full
implementation
● An existing solution that is currently
working within an organization
The assessment activities are similar and involve the same considerations.
Assess Enterprise Limitations
The purpose is to determine how factors external to the solution are restricting value realization.
● Solutions may operate across various

organizations within an enterprise and, therefore,
have many interactions and interdependencies.
● Solutions may also depend on environmental

factors that are external to the enterprise.
Enterprise limitations may include factors such as:
Technical Reporting
Culture
components structures
Operations Stakeholder
interests
Assessing enterprise limitations identifies root causes and describes how enterprise
factors limit value realization.
This assessment may be performed at any point during the solution’s life cycle.
It may occur on:

● A solution component during its
development
● A completed solution prior to full
implementation
● An existing solution that is currently
working within an organization
The assessment activities are similar and require the same skills.
Recommend Actions to Increase Solution Value
The purpose is to understand the factors that create differences between potential value and
actual value and to recommend a course of action to align them.
The various tasks help to measure, analyze, and determine the causes of unacceptable
solution performance.
The Business Analyst focuses on:
Understanding the Identifying alternatives and

aggregate of the actions to improve solution
performed assessments performance and increase
value realization
Recommendations identify how a solution should be replaced, retired, or enhanced.
It may also consider long-term effects and contribution of solutions to the stakeholders.
This task may include recommendations to adjust the organization maximum solution
performance and value realization.
Knowledge Check
Knowledge
Check The purpose of __________ is to draw out, explore, and identify information relevant to
1 the change.
A. Plan stakeholder engagement
B. Trace requirements
C. Conduct elicitation
D. Define change strategy

Knowledge
Check The purpose of __________ is to draw out, explore, and identify information relevant to
1 the change.
A. Plan stakeholder engagement
B. Trace requirements
C. Conduct elicitation
D. Define change strategy
The correct answer is C
The purpose of the conduct elicitation task is to draw out, explore, and identify information relevant to the change.
Knowledge
Check Which of the following Business Analysis knowledge areas has the define requirements
2 architecture task?
A. Elicitation and collaboration
B. Requirements life cycle management
C. Strategy analysis
D. Requirements analysis and design definition

Knowledge
Check Which of the following Business Analysis knowledge areas has the define requirements
2 architecture task?
A. Elicitation and collaboration
B. Requirements life cycle management
C. Strategy analysis
D. Requirements analysis and design definition
The correct answer is D
The requirements analysis and design definition knowledge area includes the define requirements architecture task.
Knowledge
Check
What is the purpose of the assess solution limitations task?
3
A. Determine the factors internal to the solution that restrict the full realization of value
B. Determine how factors external to the solution are restricting value realization
C. Allocate requirements across solution components
D. Evaluate the implications of proposed changes to requirements and designs

Knowledge
Check
What is the purpose of the assess solution limitations task?
3
A. Determine the factors internal to the solution that restrict the full realization of value
B. Determine how factors external to the solution are restricting value realization
C. Allocate requirements across solution components
D. Evaluate the implications of proposed changes to requirements and designs
The correct answer is A
The purpose of assessing solution limitations is to determine the factors internal to the solution that restrict the full
realization of value.
Key Takeaways
The knowledge areas of Business Analysis are:

1. Business Analysis planning and monitoring
2. Elicitation and collaboration
3. Requirements life cycle management
4. Strategy analysis
5. Requirements analysis and design definition
6. Solution evaluation
The Business Analyst focuses on laying the foundation for

successfully defining, planning, and completing the Business
Analysis work for the other tasks throughout the project life
cycle.
Key Takeaways
Requirements life cycle management ensures that all the

types of requirements and designs are aligned and
consistent with each other and are also maintained and
implemented in the initiative's solution.
The Strategy Analysis knowledge area describes the

business analysis work that must be performed to
collaborate with the stakeholders to identify a need for
strategic or tactical importance or the business need.
The Business Analyst performs tasks to assess the

performance and value delivered by a solution in use by the
enterprise and to recommend removal of barriers or
constraints that prevent the full realization of the value.

Lesson 4 - Knowledge Areas

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Lesson 4 - Knowledge Areas

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Introduction to Business Analysis

Business Analysis Knowledge Areas

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

List the knowledge areas of Business Analysis

Outline the tasks included in the knowledge areas

State the purpose of tasks in knowledge areas

Elicitation and Business Analysis Requirements

Requirements Life Solution Evaluation

The Business Analyst focuses on laying the foundation for successfully:

Defining the Business Completing the Business

Planning the Business

Identify Business Analysis

Plan Stakeholder Plan Business

The purpose is to define an appropriate method to conduct Business Analysis activities.

The key considerations for this approach are:

To be aligned and To consider how

Planning what the Planning who the decision

Planning what information is required

What is the Business Analysis What is the change What type of

The purpose is to develop an approach on how Business Analysis information will

The purpose is to assess Business Analysis work and to plan to improve

It is necessary to identify specific performance measures and analyze using those

A Business Analyst or a Business Analysis team also identifies actions to be taken to

Elicitation and collaboration can be planned, unplanned, or both.

Planned Activities Unplanned Activities

● Can be structured and organized in ● Can happen in the moment without

Elicitation and collaboration are fundamental Business Analysis activities

Elicitation is the drawing forth or receiving of information from

Collaboration is the act of two or more people working

Prepare for elicitation

The definition of the goals for the elicitation includes:

• Defining the deliverables that should be produced as a

• Considering and preparing any logistics needed for

• Gaining a good understanding and interpretation of

Workshops Interviews Reviews

The communication process is iterative and interactive.

The purpose is to encourage stakeholders to work towards a common goal.

The Business Analyst will be responsible to work with the stakeholders in a

Assess requirements Prioritize

Backward traceability Forward traceability

Why a requirement Where it originated

• It will enable quick identification of gaps within the

Understand the underlying Explore which types of

The purpose is to rank requirements in the order of relative importance.

● It helps document the relative importance to

● It determines the order in which they will need to be

● It will also aid in understanding the value that the

● Dependencies between requirements can assist

Consider the following when assessing changes to a requirement:

▪ Does the proposed change align with the overall

Business needs include the work that:

Define Future State

Define Change Strategy

Analyze Current State

The purpose of analyzing the current state is to understand:

A potential change is needed when business problems or opportunities cannot be

As part of analyzing the current state, it is important to identify:

What measure or method

Desired future state Change strategy Requirements and designs

Business needs Organizational Capabilities and Technology and

Policies Business architecture Internal assets External influencers

From the top- From the From middle From external

• There have been recent regulatory changes

• The vendor of the existing software package is