GITAM INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT

GITAM DEEMED TO BE UNIVERSITY

BBA (BUSINESS ANALYTICS)

VI SEMESTER

BUSINESS ANALYSIS

UNIT - I

MATERIAL COMPILED

BY

STUDENTS OF BBA (BA) 2017 – 20 BATCH

 List of Contributors
S.No
. Roll No Name of the Student Assignment Topic
Concept of Business Analysis - Business
Adusumilli Jyothirmi
1 121713901001 Change Life Cycle
2 121713901002 Ageer Samhitha Business Analysis Maturity Model
Andaluri V R S Manaswini Role and Responsibilities of Business
3 121713901003 Sumana Analyst
Competencies of Business Analyst -
Beeram Lakshma Reddy
4 121713901004 Behavioural and Personal Qualities
Competencies of Business Analyst -
Bokam Sai Gopal
5 121713901005 Business Knowledge
Competencies of Business Analyst -
Bolisetty Ramrohith
6 121713901006 Techniques
Ch. Venkata Sai Monohar
7 121713901007 Akhil Business Analyst - Skill Analysis Matrix
8 121713901008 Chekuri Srujana Concept of Strategy and Strategy Creation
Strategy Analysis - External
Chitturi Sri Sai Harshith
9 121713901009 Environmental Analysis
Strategy Analysis - Internal Environmental
Gandhi Mahesh Vardhan
10 121713901010 Analysis
11 121713901011 Geethika Alapati Strategy Implementation
12 121713901012 Gembali Srikanth Project Management - Introdcution
13 121713901013 Gembali Vamsi Krishna Project Phases and Deliverables
14 121713901014 Golagana Jai Ambica Project Approaches - Waterfall Model
Project Approaches - Prototype and Spiral
Grandhi Srinivas
15 121713901015 Model
Project Approaches - V and Extended V
Greeshma Baratam
16 121713901016 Model
Project Approaches - Incremental and
Ippili Yugandhar
17 121713901017 Agile Model
18 121713901018 Kothapalli Abhishek Stakeholder Analysis and Management
 UNIT – I

BUSINESS ANALYST

He/ She is a person who has the following characteristics:

 Has knowledge of both business as well as system (IT) and also should have
communication skills.
 They are responsible for bridging the gap between IT and the business
using data analytics
 They helps in guiding businesses in improving processes, products,
services and software through data analysis.

What is Business Analysis?

Business analysis is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to:

1 Determine problems and identify business needs;

2 Identify and recommend viable solutions for meeting those needs;
3 Elicit, document, and manage stakeholder requirements inorder to meet business and
project objectives;
4 Facilitate the successful implementation of the product, service, or end result of the
program or project.
5 It is also known as system analysis.
In short, business analysis is the set of activities performed to identify business needs and
recommend relevant solutions; and to elicit, document, and manage requirements.

Potential range of business analyst role:

STRATEGY ANALYSIS AND

DEFINITIONS

IT SYSTEM
IT SYSTEM ANALYSIS
ANALYSIS

BUSINESS ANALYSIS

 STRATEGY ANALYSIS AND DEFINITIONS:

A Business Analyst helps the top management in making strategic decisions and helps
in chalking out the strategic definition of the organization.

• He should be part of the top level strategic meetings.

• He should be able to give advice on the strategic solution that can be taken.
 • He should know the different elements of strategy.
• He must act as a facilitator to ensure the strategy is implemented.

 IT SYSTEM ANALYSIS:
A Business Analyst acts as a IT system system by suggesting IT solution to a business
problem. He should have knowledge on IT systems and Technology in general to
come up with strategic IT solutions.

 BUSINESS ANALYSIS:
A Business Analyst is a person with both IT and Business Knowledge who can
understand the current business and its function and provide the right IT solution that
solves the business problem.

Factors to look for in business analysis:

While doing Business Analysis, one has to look at different factors that would play a major
role in coming up with IT Business Solution.

 Organization:
• Is the management supportive?
• Are going to accept the solution or not?

 People:
• Do they have skills or whether they need to be trained?

 Process:
• Are the process well defined.

 Technology:
• Do we have required technology
• Whether we are procuring and start using it.
BUSINESS CHANGE LIFE CYCLE:

WHAT IS MEANT BY BUSINESS CHANGE LIFE CYCLE?

The business lifecycle provides a framework for assessing the key stages involved in
understanding a business change project. It provides a framework from which different
process change methodologies can operate .It consists of five stages and it is a cycle that
means if you reached the end of it you start back at the very beginning and repeat this.

BUSINESS CASE:

A business case captures the reasoning for initiating a project or task. It is often presented in
a well-structured written document, but may also come in the form of a short verbal
agreement or presentation.
STAGES OF BUSINESS CHANGE LIFE CYCLE:

 DEFINITION:
• Defining the problem of business.

 DESIGN:
• Searching for the best solution.

 IMPLEMENTATION:
• Putting the best solution into action.

 REALISATIONS:
• Seeing whether the output is beneficial or not.

 ALIGNMENT:
• If it is beneficial, see that changes are done.

BUSINESS ANALYSIS MATURITY MODEL

The Business Analysis Maturity Model represents the evolution of the business analyst's role
along two dimensions:
Scope: 
This represents the breadth of the business analyst's role, varying from a specific focus on
improving individual systems, to a wider examination of business processes and, ultimately,
to considering improvements across an entire area of an organisation.
Authority:
This refers to the degree of influence wielded by the business analyst and the growth of their
ability to influence the thinking of the management of the organisation.

The business analysis maturity model shows three levels of maturity found when business
analysis is developing.
The first of these is where the business analysis work is concerned with defining the
requirement for an IT system improvement. At this level, the scope is likely to be well
defined and the level of authority to be limited to the project on which the business analyst
works.

The next level is where the business analysis work has moved beyond specific area on
project, so that the analyst work cross functionally on business processes that give rise to the
requirements.

The third level is where the scope and authority of the analyst are at their greatest. Here, the
business analysis work is concerned with improving the business and working with senior
management to do this.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF A BUSINESS ANALYST:

Business analysis is the set of tasks and techniques used to work as a liaison among
stakeholders in order to understand the structure, policies, and operations of an organization,
and recommend solutions that enable organizations to achieve its goal.

The first thing to notice in the above definition is that the business analyst works in the
context of an organization and not necessarily a business. So the better term for the business
analyst would be “Organizational analyst” as analysts are involved in identifying problems,
needs and opportunities for improvement at all levels of an organization.

The second thing to notice in the above definition is that the role of a business analyst is not
just confined to business solutions or IT solutions the BA's task is to define the solution
which helps the organization achieve its goals.

The following is an oversimplified diagram which shows what the business analyst might be
tasks to do:

(a) Roles of a Business Analyst:

 Documenting and translating customer business functions and processes.

 Warranting the system design is perfect as per the needs of the customer.
 Participating in functionality testing and user acceptance testing of the new system
 Helping technically in training and coaching professional and technical staff.
 Developing a training program and conducting formal training sessions covering
designated systems module.
 Acting as a team-lead on assigned projects and assignments; and providing work
direction to the developers and other project stakeholders.

(b) Responsibilities of a Business Analyst:

1. Understanding the requirements of a business -

Understanding the intricacies of a project is very crucial for BAs. A fundamental
responsibility of a Business Analyst is to work in accordance with relevant project
stakeholders to understand their requirements and translate them into details, which the
developers can comprehend.

A business analyst devotes a large chunk of time, asking questions. They may even need to
conduct interviews, read, observe and align the developers with their target goal.They also
need to carry out analysis and look for solutions for both, the organization, as well as the
customer.

2. Analyzing Information –

The analysis phase is the stage during which a BA reviews the elements in detail, asserting
clearly and unambiguously as what the business needs to do in order to achieve its objective.

During this stage, the BA will also require to interact with the development team and the
technical architects, to design the layout and define accurately what the solution should look
like.

A Business Analyst then plots the scope and initial requirement of the project. The
fundamental goal for any BA is to obtain the project concentrated early by converting the
initial high-level goal into a tangible realistic one.

3. Communicating with a wide range of people –

For Businesses, it is of paramount importance to create, as well as deliver quality

presentations on topics like business requirements, application designs, as well as project
status. Good Business Analysts need to dedicate countless hours actively communicating
back and forth. More than just speaking, they need to listen and recognize verbal and non-
verbal information.

Business Analysts are expected to impress the stakeholders and other authorities with their
presentations, which in turn would have a notable effect on the growth of the business.

4. Documenting the findings –

This is where a BA gets into evaluating the needs and ensuring that the implementation team
has gathered comprehensive details they require for creating and implementing the process.
This phase involves collaborating with a wide range of stakeholders and consumers across
the company to guarantee their needs, as well as knowledge, are combined into a detailed
document about what they will actually build.

An effective document is the one that clearly states options for solving particular difficulties
and then helps select the best one. There are oftentimes situations where a BA might miss out
on a few requirements from the document.

It is extremely critical for any BA to effectively document the findings where each
requirement of the client is efficiently mentioned, and nothing is left amiss.

The favored solution is then estimated throughout the layout and planning – to assure that it
meets the business requirements.

5. Evaluating and implementing the finest solution –

The most important job of a business analyst is to ensure that systems’ design is up to the
mark, as per the need of the customer is the next decisive step.

The implementation phase, although, is not the final job of Business Analysts. In fact, it
could turn out to be the riskiest time for things to go awry and for objectives to be
overlooked. It is during this step that a BA should be aware of how clients are utilizing the
framework.

COMPETENCIES OF A BUSINESS ANALYST

Business Analysts play a pivotal role in digital transformation projects carried out by
organizations. BAs are thus expected to have knowledge about key concepts of business
analysis and be skilled in using different tools and techniques for eliciting, analyzing and
managing requirements. In order to facilitate the five core responsibilities of business
analyst and communicating requirements and in evaluating solutions, the BA is expected to
have a set of competencies. 
BEHAVIORAL SKILLS AND PERSONAL QUALITIES:

i)Communication Skills

 Oral Communication: It is important for a BA to be able to verbally express ideas,

information or other matters. In addition to be able to express thoughts in a clear
manner, the BA must also be able to actively listen to ensure that ideas generated by
stakeholders are clearly understood.
 Teaching: Business analysts are expected to communicate requirements to team
members and provide guidance on scope. Thus they must train to be good teachers
who are capable of understanding different learning capabilities of individuals and be
able to adapt and customize learning material and experience accordingly. The BA
must be able to cater to auditory or visual learners with appropriate use of training
material.
 Written Communication: Proper command over language in terms of vocabulary,
grammar and style and use of other terms is essential to ensure that written text is
correctly and adequately understood.
ii)Relationship Building

He should maintain good relationship with everyone in the team and must be good team
player. A key element of a BA job role is to be able to moderate group discussions and be
able to enable participants to effectively articulate their thoughts and ideas. The BA must be
able to define a proper process based on the audience and be able to guide the participants
along the process so that the session leads to attainment of expected outcomes.
iii) Influencing

The BA’s role in defining and communicating requirements places a key leadership role in
any project or group. Hence, the BA is expected to work together with the team in guiding
them in terms of project scope, motivating them to reach shared goals and objectives for the
team as well as the client stakeholders.

iv) Team Working

Business analysts are most often part of a team. It may be a project team, a team of SMEs or
sometimes even as part of a client stakeholder team. The BA is expected to be having good
skills in developing personal relationships, avoid conflicts and be able to work towards a
common end goal.

v)Political Awareness

The BA is not expected to be ‘A master of all trades’. The BA must instead be able to listen,
observe, learn and understand whatever is required to facilitate the process of providing
solutions for problems and opportunities. He should understand the culture and office politics
in order to drive his point and get the solutions to be applicable to everyone.

vi)Analytical Skills and Critical Thinking

The BA must be able to understand and decipher requirements elicited and be able to devise
solutions to overcome problems faced by customers. These are fundamental thinking skills
where the individual works on breaking down the large problem into smaller, more
manageable parts. The BA must logically reason and make judgments based on evidence and
assumptions. A BA is expected to look at needs of stakeholders thinking from different
perspectives and suggest unorthodox solutions. Creative thinking may be facilitated through
brainstorming, mind mapping and lateral thinking. It is important for the BA to be a creative
thinker as he is expected to be a change agent who facilitates innovation in an organizational
context.

vii)Attention to Details

BA is expected to consider every element in the context within scope as an interacting system
when determining solution options. Hence, the software system being developed or the
process being studies, stakeholders interested or impacted, interfacing systems, elements in
the environment all form the context. The BA is expected to look at this bigger picture when
performing his or her tasks.

viii)Problem Solving

Often BAs are expected to face many a problem during the lifetime of a project. A BAs role
is to understand customer problems and be able to recommend suitable solutions. Problems
solving requires mental skills that must be analytical as well as creative. Decision-making
ability in the context of business analysis refers to the analyst’s ability to make selection of a
course of action or to be able to facilitate such a thinking process. It is a cognitive process
where the BA must guide key stakeholders in making decisions by providing adequate and
accurate amount of information in a format suitable for making necessary comparison of
options. The BA may need to make decisions on which tools or techniques to use, which
stakeholders to consult, which solution options to take and so on.

ix)Leadership

The BA’s role in defining and communicating requirements places a key leadership role in
any project or group. The BA would be in the best position to be able to discuss sensitive and
pertinent matters with the sponsor, client stakeholders, users as well as the implementation
team and be able to guide them in the decision making process.

x)Self Belief

A BA becomes a powerful individual within a project context, as he or she gains access to

processes and information that may even be highly sensitive to a particular organization or
stakeholders. The BA is thus expected to hold highest regard to the security and safety of
accessing or using such information thus working with the highest level of integrity.

BAs are often deployed to work in high-pressure environments. They are expected to liaise
with multiple stakeholders, facilitating high value workshops to elicit requirements and then
produce documents listing down the findings. In order to produce the requisite deliverables
on time and to the expected level of quality it is imperative that a BA is self-organized and
meticulous in his or her way of work.

Organizations and stakeholders provide access to information, systems and other high value
assets sometimes even placing their entire business at risk. The BA is thus expected to uphold
the trust placed on him by the stakeholders and ensure that due diligence is given in defining
and devising solutions to satisfy customer needs.

He/ She should be a person of high morals, ethics and trustworthy person who has believes in
self and perform the tasks with due diligence.

BUSINESS KNOWLEDGE:

Finance and Economy: Finance plays a key role in any organization. A business analyst
should have a general understanding of financial reports, balance sheets, profit and loss
account and use financial tools.

Business Case Development: A business analyst should prepare the business case in
consultation with the finance expert. He should have basic understanding of the business and
finances to develop the business case.

Domain Knowledge: A business analyst should have the knowledge of the domain in which
his organization falls. This would help in communicating with the business people in their
language as well as gauge well on what are the possible solutions for a business problem.
Subject Matter Expertise: A good understanding of the business area is also required in terms
of business principles and practicesBusiness principles and practices are characteristics that
are common across all organizations with a similar purpose and structure. Functions and
capabilities such as HR, Finance, IT, Marketing & Sales that are needed by any organization
are examples of such practices. Although not mandatory, it is good for a BA to be familiar
with such practices so that they can consult and advise customers with relevant requirements.

Principles of IT: Since most of BA solutions are IT based solution, an understanding of

information technology is necessary.

Organization Structure and Design: Organizational knowledge in terms of understanding

the business architecture of the organization being analyzed. This includes understanding the
business model adapted by the organization, the structure and relationships in place, people,
data, technology and other aspects of the organization in place. Enterprise analysis
frameworks such as ZACHMAN and POLDAT help in this case.
Supplier Management: Many a competitive force shapes industries. BAs are required to
understand these forces such as competitors, suppliers, buyers, substitutes etc. so that they
can identify commonalities and differences that may influence business requirements. A BA
should understand different contractual agreements such as Time and Materials, Fixed Price
Delivery, Risks and Rewards.

TECHNIQUES

i)Project Management:

The practice of initiating, planning, executing, controlling, and closing the work of a team to
achieve specific goals and meet specific success criteria at the specified time.

The primary challenge of project management is to achieve all of the project goals within

the given constraints.

ii)Strategy Analysis:

It is the direction and scope of an organisation over a long-term which achieves advantage for
the organisation through its configuration of resources within the changing, to fulfil
stakeholder expectations.

iii)Stakeholders analysis & Management:

Anyone who has an interest are may be affected by the project (or) in a position to influence the
project is known as stakeholder. Stakeholders could be customers, partners, suppliers,
regulators, employees & competitors. Stakeholder Analysis & Management is critical to the
success of any business analysis project knowing who the stakeholders are and understanding
what they expect from the project is critical by coming up with stakeholder management
strategies.

iv)Investigation Techniques:

For easier understanding, divided the techniques into three smaller groups. The techniques
these are:

 Qualitative – this one deals with the required needs of the project. Intensive look into
the business problem to allow for easy tackling.
 Quantitative – Is all about numbers. So how big is the problem? How many people
are affected or involved? Who is going to benefit or suffer from the outcomes?
 Documentation – here the analyst has to show what he has captured, how they link
and intertwine with each other and what is the best solution moving forward. All these
tools and techniques are very essential to the business analyst because it will allow
them to cover a wide area and to get conclusive information.

v)Requirement Engineering:

The systematic and disciplined approach to the specification and management of

requirements with specific goals.

The four main activities to meet the main goals of requirements engineering is as follows:

1. Requirement Elicitation.
2. Requirement Analysis.
3. Requirement Validation.
4. Requirement Documentation.

vi)Business system modelling:

o The process of developing abstract models of a system, with each model presenting a
different view or perspective of that system.
o System modelling helps the analyst to understand the functionality of the system and
models are used to communicate with customers.

vii)Business process modelling:

o The activity of representing processes of an enterprise, so that the current process may be
analyzed, improved, and automated.
o BPM is typically performed by business analysts, who provide expertise in the modelling
discipline, by subject matter experts, who have specialized knowledge of the processes
being modelled, or more commonly by a team comprising both.

ix)Data modelling:
 o The process of creating a data model for the data to be stored in a Database.
o Data modelling helps in the visual representation of data and enforces business rules,
regulatory compliances, and government policies on the data. Data Models ensure
consistency in naming conventions, default values, semantics, security while ensuring
quality of the data.
x)Facilitation Techniques:

o The role of the facilitator is to foster and encourage discussion and depending on the
meeting purpose, idea generation.
o Below are some tips that a facilitator can use to structure the discussion:
 Group or Individual Brainstorming.
 Ask open ended questions to generate ideas.
 Active listening and Paraphrasing.
 Encourage equal group participation.
 Ask for input.
 Use Flip Charts to document information.
xi)Change Management:

The Change Management mainly focuses on Business Model of a company. It involves in

generating better profits, become more socially aware, etc. This type of change usually results
in building new products, entering new markets, improving the business processes, creating
new brand, re-structuring, etc.

SKILL ANALYSIS MATRIX OF A BUSINESS ANALYST

The skill analysis matrix of a Business Analyst talks about how the skills of an analyst
matches with the problem at hand.

Based on the knowledge of the problem (what) and how to solve the problem (how), we can
have four types of situation.

i. Knowledge of Problem is high and Knowledge of Solution is also high: When the
knowledge of problem and the solution is very clear, it is usually given to a novice
analyst to work. It would be like a beginner’s project for a new analyst.
ii. Knowledge of Problem is high and Knowledge of Solution is low: Once the analyst
gets experience, with the knowledge of problem, he can devise the solution to the
problem using his experience and creative skills.
iii.Knowledge of Problem is low and Knowledge of Solution is low: In cases, where the
business may not comprehend their problems, an experienced analyst may know
clearly what to be done.
iv. Knowledge of Problem is low and Knowledge of Solution is also low: In cases, where
the business may not comprehend their problems or the business itself is new one. In
such cases, solutions may not be clear as well. In such cases, a team of experienced
analyst with creative and consulting skills need to come together.

High
 Experienced Analyst New Analyst
What?

Experienced Analyst with Consulting

Skills Experienced Analyst

Low
How? High

Strategy :

The word ‘strategy’ is derived from a Greek word strategia, which means ‘generalship’.

Strategy deals with:

 The goal and mission of the business: It is often referred as direction.

 The timeframe: It depends on type of industries (short term or long term)
 The organisation of resources:Such as finance, skills, assets & technical competence,
so that organisation can compete.
 The environment t: It is within which the organisation will operate & markets.
Definition – Strategy is the direction and scope of an organisation over the long term, which
achieves advantage for the organisation through its configuration of resources within a
changing environment and to fulfil stakeholder expectations.

Levels of strategy :

 Corporate strategy : It is top level & is concerned with the overall purpose and scope
of the business usually influenced by investors, governments and global competition.
 Business unit strategy : It is below the corporate level. These strategies address
choice of products, pricing, customer satisfaction & competitive advantage.
 Operational strategy : It focuses on the delivery of the corporate & SBU strategies
through the effective organisation & developments of resources, people & processes.
Strategy development :
Entrepreneur : It comes through the idea lens. It is the result of an interactive climate or he
introduction of new thinkers, very often new CEOs. These ideas can also come from
environment scanning – identifying new external opportunities, pressure, new customer
demands, competition, technology change etc.

Formal planning : It comes through the design lens. It plans from the positioning of the
organisation through a detailed and comprehensive analysis and a subsequent directive
strategy that is formulated by the top management and pushed down through the organisation.

Intrapreneur (Individual or group ) : It comes through the experience lens. Here, a

collective experience of the organisation and its organisational culture operate on the existing
strategy to give it a new form. Here, the structure of the organisation and all the central
systems can be aligned to report on the performance of the strategy.

STRATEGY ANALYSIS:

External environment analysis:

The external environmental analysis entails assessing the level of threat or opportunity the
factors might present. These evaluations are later translated into the decision-making process.
The analysis helps align strategies with the firm’s environment.

Market is facing changes every day. Many new things develop over time and the whole
scenario can alternate in only a few seconds. There are some factors that are beyond your
control. But, you can control a lot of these things.
Businesses are greatly influenced by their environment. All the situational factors which
determine day to day circumstances impact firms. So, businesses must constantly analyze the
trade environment and the market.

There are many strategic analysis tools that a firm can use, but some are more common.

PESTLE ANALYSIS:
The most used detailed analysis of the environment is the PESTLE analysis. This is a bird’s
eye view of the business conduct. Managers and strategy builders use this analysis to find
where their market currently.  

PESTLE analysis consists of various factors that affect the business environment. Each letter
in the acronym signifies a set of factors. These factors can affect every industry directly or
indirectly.

The letters in PESTLE, also called PESTEL, denote the following things:

 Political factors
 Economic factors
 Social factors
 Technological factors
 Legal factors
 Environmental factor

Often, managers choose to learn about political, economic, social and technological factors
only. In that case, they conduct the PEST analysis. It is a shorter version of PESTLE analysis.
STEP, STEEP, STEEPLE,STEEPLED and LEPEST: All of these are acronyms for the same
set of factors. Some of them gauge additional factors like ethical and demographical factors.
We will discuss the 6 most commonly assessed factors in environmental analysis.
P for Political factors
The political factors take the country’s current political situation. It also reads the global
political condition’s effect on the country and business. When conducting this step, ask
questions like “What kind of government leadership is impacting decisions of the firm?”

Some political factors that you can study are:

 Government policies
 Taxes laws and tariff
 Stability of government
 Entry mode regulations

E for Economic factors

Economic factors involve all the determinants of the economy and its state. These are factors
that can conclude the direction in which the economy might move. So, businesses analyze
this factor based on the environment. It helps to set up strategies in line with changes.

Some of economic factors are affecting your business below:

 The inflation rate

 The interest rate
 Disposable income of buyers
 Credit accessibility
 Unemployment rates
 The monetary or fiscal policies
 The foreign exchange rate

S for Social factors

Countries vary from each other. Every country has a distinctive mindset. These attitudes have
an impact on the businesses. The social factors might ultimately affect the sales of products
and services.

Some of the social factors you should study are:

 The cultural implications

 The gender and connected demographics
 The social lifestyles
 The domestic structures
 Educational levels
 Distribution of Wealth

T for Technological factors

Technology is advancing continuously. The advancement is greatly influencing businesses.
Performing environmental analysis on these factors will help you stay up to date with the
changes. Technology alters every minute. This is why companies must stay connected all the
time. Firms should integrate when needed. Technological factors will help you know how the
consumers react to various trends.

Firms can use these factors for their benefit:

 New discoveries
 Rate of technological obsolescence
 Rate of technological advances
 Innovative technological platforms

L for Legal factors

Legislative changes take place from time to time. Many of these changes affect the business
environment. If a regulatory body sets up a regulation for industries, for example, that law
would impact industries and business in that economy. So, businesses should also analyze the
legal developments in respective environments.

I have mentioned some legal factors you need to be aware of:

 Product regulations
 Employment regulations
 Competitive regulations
 Patent infringements
 Health and safety regulations

E for Environmental factors

The location influences business trades. Changes in climatic changes can affect the trade. The
consumer reactions to particular offering can also be an issue. This most often affects agri-
businesses.

Some environmental factors you can study are:

 Geographical location
 The climate and weather
 Waste disposal laws
 Energy consumption regulation
 People’s attitude towards the environment
There are many external factors other than the ones mentioned above. None of these factors
are independent. They rely on each other.
FIVE FORCE MODEL:

The five force model was created by Harvard Business School professor Michael Porter, to
analyze an industry's attractiveness and likely profitability. Since its publication in 1979, it
has become one of the most popular and highly regarded business strategy tools.

Porter recognized that organizations likely keep a close watch on their rivals, but he
encouraged them to look beyond the actions of their competitors and examine what other
factors could impact the business environment. He identified five forces that make up the
competitive environment, and which can erode your profitability. These are:

Competitive Rivalry:

 This looks at the number and strength of your competitors. How many rivals do you have?
Who are they, and how does the quality of their products and services compare with yours?

Supplier Power: 

This is determined by how easy it is for your suppliers to increase their prices. How many
potential suppliers do you have? How unique is the product or service that they provide, and
how expensive would it be to switch from one supplier to another?
Buyer Power:

Here, you ask yourself how easy it is for buyers to drive your prices down. How many buyers
are there, and how big are their orders? How much would it cost them to switch from your
products and services to those of a rival? Are your buyers strong enough to dictate terms to
you?

Threat of Substitution:

This refers to the likelihood of your customers finding a different way of doing what you do.
For example, if you supply a unique software product that automates an important process,
people may substitute it by doing the process manually or by outsourcing it. A substitution
that is easy and cheap to make can weaken your position and threaten your profitability.

Threat of New Entry:

 Your position can be affected by people's ability to enter your market. So, think about how
easily this could be done. How easy is it to get a foothold in your industry or market? How
much would it cost, and how tightly is your sector regulated?

INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT ANALYSIS

The internal environment assessment and analysis is conducted after  the external
environment analysis. While the external environment analysis seeks to identify opportunities
and threats in the external environment, the internal environment analysis seeks to identify
the strengths and weakness in your business. Note that it focuses on factors that are internal
to your business, some of which can be easily changed or improved upon.

SWOT ANALYSIS:
SWOT Analysis forms part of the strategic planning process or strategic review of a business.
It primarily involves scanning the internal environment in light of identifying and
understanding the internal Strengths and Weaknesses of a business. This is coupled with a
scan of the external environment – scanning the external environment enables a business to
identify and understand the opportunities and threats. It is important to conduct a SWOT
analysis for your business plan. The SWOT analysis is a summary of the external and internal
environment analysis. You can also consider it to be a corporate appraisal.
Strengths These are the internal strong points about your business – they primarily include your
core skills, competencies and expertise. They reflect the capabilities of your business and
provide a good foundation for your business strategy.

Weaknesses This refers to internal factors that are lacking in your business. Weaknesses need to be
comprehensively assessed in order to correct them or strategically turn them into positive
strengths.

Opportunitie Opportunities are the likely benefits to your business resulting from changes in the
s external environment.

Threats Threats pertain to the possible pitfalls or dangers resulting from changes in the external
environment.   These are likely to have an adverse or detrimental effect to your business.

In essence, the Strengths and Weaknesses are internal factors and the Opportunities and Threats are
external factors.

Conducting a SWOT analysis is beneficial for a start up or existing business as it enables the entrepreneur
to respond as follows:
Basis Response

Strengths Capitalise or build on the identified strengths

Weaknesses Turn weaknesses around

Opportunitie Successfully assess and exploit the opportunities

s

Threats Avoid the threats as you do not have direct control over them

BOSTON BOX ANALYSIS / BCG MATRIX:

The Boston Matrix is a model which helps businesses analyse their portfolio of businesses

and brands. The Boston Matrix is a popular tool used in marketing and business strategy. A
portfolio of products can be analysed using the Boston Group Consulting Matrix. This
categorises the products into one of four different areas, based on:

 Market share – does the product being sold have a low or high market share?
 Market growth – are the numbers of potential customers in the market growing or
not
The four categories can be described as follows:

 Stars are high growth products competing in markets where they are strong

compared with the competition. Often Stars need heavy investment to sustain growth.
Eventually growth will slow and, assuming they keep their market share, Stars will
become Cash Cows

 Cash cows are low-growth products with a high market share. These are mature,

successful products with relatively little need for investment. They need to be
managed for continued profit - so that they continue to generate the strong cash flows
that the company needs for its Stars

 Problem Child: Also known as Wild Cat and Question marks are products with
low market share operating in high growth markets. This suggests that they have
potential, but may need substantial investment to grow market share at the expense of
larger competitors. Management have to think hard about “Question Marks" - which
ones should they invest in? Which ones should they allow to fail or shrink?

 Unsurprisingly, the term “dogs" refers to products that have a low market share in

unattractive, low-growth markets. Dogs may generate enough cash to break-even, but
they are rarely, if ever, worth investing in. Dogs are usually sold or closed.

STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION

Strategy implementation is actually putting strategies into action. The strategies formulated at
various levels of the organizations are implemented so as to achieve the objectives taken up
at the corporate level.

A poor control on strategy implementation may result in unexpected situation of

malfunctioning of strategy.
ASPECTS OF IMPLEMENTING STRATEGY:-

1.Time - how quickly does the new strategy need to be implemented? What pace of change is
needed?

2. Scope - how big is the change? Is the new strategy direction transformational or
incremental?

3. Capability-is the organization used to change? Are the experiences of change positive or
negative? Are the change implementers skilled?

5.Readiness - is the whole organisation, or the part of it to be affected, ready to make the
change?

4. Strategicleadership - is there a strategic leader?

TOOLS TO IMPLEMENT STRATEGY:-

1. Mckinsey 7S model:-

The Mckinsey 7S model supposes that all organizations are made up of seven components.
Three are described as ‘hard’ components-strategy, structure and systems-and four as ‘soft’-
shared values,style,staff and skills.

All seven components are interconnected to make progress in one, adjustments in one need to
be made in others also.

The main objective of Mckinsey 7S model is to analyse how well an organization is

positioned to achieve its intended goal.

1. Strategy - The direction and scope of the company over the long term.

Ways to achieve competitive advantage.

2. Structure - Ways in which task and people are specialized and divided, and authority is
distributed.
3. Systems - Formal processes and procedures to manage the organization.

3. Staffing - People, their background and their competencies.

4. Skills - Distinctive competencies in the organization.

5. Style - Leadership style of top management and overall operating style of organization.

6. Shared values - Core values shared in the organization and serve as guiding principles of
what is important.

2. The balanced business score card:-

The balanced business score card is the strategic balance sheet for an organization, since it
captures both the financial and the non-financial components of a strategy. It therefore shows
how implementation process is working and the effectiveness with which the levers for
change are being used. It considers that vision and strategy can be implemented by 4 aspects.

1. Financial - The strategy should be implemented such that the organization can succeed
financially.

2.Customer - The strategy should ensure that customer gets maximum satisfaction.

3. Internal business process - The strategy should improve the way the actual business is
done.

4.Learning and growth: The strategy should help in sustaining the business and be aware of
competition.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

A project is a unique, transient endeavour, undertaken to achieve planned objectives, which

could be defined in terms of outputs, outcomes or benefits. A project is usually deemed to be
a success if it achieves the objectives according to their acceptance criteria, within an agreed
timescale and budget. Time, cost and quality are the building blocks of every project.
Project management is the practice of initiating, planning, executing, controlling, and
closing the work of a team to achieve specific goals and meet specific success criteria at the
specified time. The primary challenge of project management is to achieve all of
the project goals within the given constraints.

Project management, is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project
activities to meet the project requirements.

Project management knowledge draws on ten areas:

1. Integration
2. Scope
3. Time
4. Cost
5. Quality
6. Procurement
7. Human resources
8. Communications
9. Risk management
10. Stakeholder management

All management is concerned with these, of course. But project management brings a unique
focus shaped by the goals, resources and schedule of each project. The value of that focus is
proved by the rapid, worldwide growth of project management.

The objective of project management is to produce a complete project which complies with
the client's objectives. In many cases the objective of project management is also to shape or
reform the client's brief to feasibly address the client's objectives. Once the client's objectives
are clearly established they should influence all decisions made by other people involved in
the project – for example project managers, designers, contractors and sub-contractors. Ill-
defined or too tightly prescribed project management objectives are detrimental to decision
making.

For each type of project management, project managers develop and utilize repeatable
templates that are specific to the industry they're dealing with. This allows project plans to
become very thorough and highly repeatable, with the specific intent to increase quality,
lower delivery costs, and lower time to deliver project results.

PROJECT PHASES
At the starting stage of a project, the amount of planning and work required can seem very
strong. There may be dozens, or even hundreds of tasks that need to be completed at just the
right time and in just the right sequence.

1. Project Initiation

Initiation is the first phase of the project lifecycle. This is where the project’s value and
feasibility are measured. Project managers typically use two evaluation tools to decide
whether or not to pursue a project. They are

 Business case document

 Feasibility report

2. Project Planning

Once the project receives the green light, it needs a solid plan to guide the team, as well as
keep them on time and on budget. A well-written project plan gives guidance for obtaining
resources, acquiring financing and procuring required materials.

3. Project Execution
This is the phase that is most commonly associated with project management. Execution is all
about building deliverables that satisfy the customer. Team leaders make this happen by
allocating resources and keeping team members focused on their assigned tasks.
4. Project Monitoring and Control
Monitoring and control are sometimes combined with execution because they often occur at
the same time. As teams execute their project plan, they must constantly monitor their own
progress.
5. Project Closure
Teams close a project when they deliver the finished project to the customer, communicating
completion to stakeholders and releasing resources to other projects.

Project Deliverables
Projects create deliverables, which are simply the results of the project or the processes in the
project. That means a deliverable can be something as big as the objective of the project itself
or the reporting that is part of the larger project.
The deliverables that clients and stakeholders expect at the end of the project are the product
or service, of course, but there is also paperwork, as noted. These documents, when
completed, are deliverables that clients and stakeholders need in order to evaluate the
progress or completion of the project.
Project Management Approches or Methodologies / Delivery Life Cycles

According to the Project Management Institute (PMI), a methodology is defined as ‘a system

of practices, techniques, procedures, and rules used by those who work in a discipline. They
are essentially processes that aim to assist project managers with guidance throughout the
project, and the steps to take to completing the tasks. Different methodologies have different
strategies that aid in managing issues should they arise during the project’s delivery.

Waterfall model (Traditional approach)

The waterfall model, illustrated in the below diagram, shows the development proceeding
through a series of sequential stages.

Each stage is reviewed and signed off before the next stage starts. Thus, the analysis should
only begin once the feasibility study has been approved, and design should be based on an
agreed set of requirements from the analysis.

The backward facing arrows in the model indicate the need to check back at each stage to
ensure that the present stage builds logically on its predecessor and that modifications are
made where required.
FEASIBILITY STUDY

Feasibility study is an analysis that takes all of a project's relevant factors into account

including economic, technical, legal, and scheduling considerations to determine whether the
project should go ahead or not.

ANALYSIS

The purpose of the requirements analysis phase is to conduct a detailed analysis of the current
business needs and identify what options are available to achieve those business needs.
During the Analysis Phase, the Business Analyst will create the Business Requirements
Document (BRD).

DESIGN

The purpose of the design phase is to identify and document a solution that will be
constructed including technical and procedural specifications. A design document will be
created that should include but not limited to technical, environmental, data, program,
procedural, testing specifications.

DEVELOPMENT

The construction or development phase is where a resource will take the design document
created during the design phase and translate it into a functional program or system.

TESTING

The purpose of the testing phase is to test the system and related procedures that it meets the
requirements specified by the stakeholders and documented in the BRD, design plan, and
testing plan

IMPLEMENTATION

The purpose of the implementation phase is to release a fully tested and operational product
to an end user or customer. The product should meet all the requirements that were
documented in the BRD and pass the testing phase before it can be released to a production
environment.

 The principal benefit of the waterfall approach is that it provides good control over
the project. The highly structured nature of this cycle can lead to a long drawn – out
development that can leave the business abandoned or incomplete.

 It does not handle change particularly well, since a whole sequence of deliverables
requires adjustments in order to adapt the change.
Example – A change that occurs during development phase would require
adjustments to the analysis phase, design phase and feasibility study as well.
Prototyping Model

The basic idea in Prototype model is that instead of freezing the requirements before a
design or coding can proceed, a throwaway prototype is built to understand the requirements.

This prototype is developed based on the currently known requirements. Prototype model is
a software development model.

By using this prototype, the client can get an actual feel of the system, since the interactions
with prototype can enable the client to better understand the requirements of the desired
system.  Prototyping is an attractive idea for complicated and large systems for which there is
no manual process or existing system to help determining the requirements.

The prototype are usually not complete systems and many of the details are not built in the
prototype. The goal is to provide a system with overall functionality.

Diagram of Prototype model:

Advantages of Prototype model:

 Users are actively involved in the development

 Since in this methodology a working model of the system is provided, the users get a
better understanding of the system being developed.
 Errors can be detected much earlier.
 Quicker user feedback is available leading to better solutions.
 Missing functionality can be identified easily

Disadvantages of Prototype model:

 Leads to implementing and then repairing way of building systems.

 Practically, this methodology may increase the complexity of the system as scope of
the system may expand beyond original plans.
Spiral Model

Spiral model is one of the most important Software Development Life Cycle models, which
provides support for Risk Handling.
In its diagrammatic representation, it looks like a spiral with many loops.
The exact number of loops of the spiral is unknown and can vary from project to project. 
Each loop of the spiral is called a Phase of the software development process. 
The exact number of phases needed to develop the product can be varied by the project
manager depending upon the project risks. As the project manager dynamically determines
the number of phases, so the project manager has an important role to develop a product
using spiral model.
The Radius of the spiral at any point represents the expensesof the project so far, and the
angular dimension represents the progress made so far in the current phase.
Below diagram shows the different phases of the Spiral Model:

Each phase of Spiral Model is divided into four quadrants as shown in the above figure. The
functions of these four quadrants are discussed below-
1. Objectives determination and identify alternative solutions: Requirements are
gathered from the customers and the objectives are identified, elaborated and analyzed
at the start of every phase. Then alternative solutions possible for the phase are
proposed in this quadrant.
2. Identify and resolve Risks: During the second quadrant all the possible solutions are
evaluated to select the best possible solution. Then the risks associated with that
solution is identified and the risks are resolved using the best possible strategy. At the
end of this quadrant, Prototype is built for the best possible solution.
3. Develop next version of the Product: During the third quadrant, the identified
features are developed and verified through testing. At the end of the third quadrant, the
next version of the software is available.
4. Review and plan for the next Phase: In the fourth quadrant, the Customers evaluate
the so far developed version of the software. In the end, planning for the next phase is
started
Advantages of Spiral Model: Below are some of the advantages of the Spiral Model.
  Risk Handling
 Good for large projects
 Flexibility in Requirements
 Customer Satisfaction

Disadvantages of Spiral Model: Below are some of the main disadvantages of the spiral
model.
 Complex
 Expensive
 Too much dependable on Risk Analysis
 Difficulty in time management

V model and Extended V model

The V-model is an SDLC model where execution of processes happens in a sequential

manner in a V-shape. It is also known as Verification and Validation model.
The V-Model is an extension of the waterfall model and is based on the association of a
testing phase for each corresponding development stage. This means that for every single
phase in the development cycle, there is a directly associated testing phase. This is a highly-
disciplined model and the next phase starts only after completion of the previous phase.

V-Model - Design

Under the V-Model, the corresponding testing phase of the development phase is planned in
parallel. So, there are Verification phases on one side of the ‘V’ and Validation phases on
the other side. The Coding Phase joins the two sides of the V-Model.
V-Model - Verification Phases
There are several Verification phases in the V-Model, each of these are explained in detail
below.

Business requirement analysis

This is the first phase in the development cycle where the product requirements are
understood from the customer’s perspective. This phase involves detailed communication
with the customer to understand his expectations and exact requirement. This is a very
important activity and needs to be managed well, as most of the customers are not sure about
what exactly they need. The acceptance test design planning is done at this stage as
business requirements can be used as an input for acceptance testing

System Design/ Define requirements

Once you have the clear and detailed product requirements, it is time to design the complete
system. The system design will have the understanding and detailing the complete hardware
and communication setup for the product under development. The system test plan is
developed based on the system design. Doing this at an earlier stage leaves more time for the
actual test execution later.

Architectural Design/Design solution

Architectural specifications are understood and designed in this phase. Usually more than
one technical approach is proposed and based on the technical and financial feasibility the
final decision is taken. The system design is broken down further into modules taking up
different functionality. This is also referred to as High Level Design (HLD).
The data transfer and communication between the internal modules and with the outside
world (other systems) is clearly understood and defined in this stage. With this information,
integration tests can be designed and documented during this stage.

Module Design/ Develop solution

In this phase, the detailed internal design for all the system modules is specified, referred to
as Low Level Design (LLD). It is important that the design is compatible with the other
modules in the system architecture and the other external systems. The unit tests are an
essential part of any development process and helps eliminate the maximum faults and
errors at a very early stage. These unit tests can be designed at this stage based on the
internal module designs.
Coding Phase
The actual coding of the system modules designed in the design phase is taken up in the
Coding phase. The best suitable programming language is decided based on the system and
architectural requirements.
The coding is performed based on the coding guidelines and standards. The code goes
through numerous code reviews and is optimized for best performance before the final build
is checked into the repository.
Validation Phases
The different Validation Phases in a V-Model are explained in detail below.

Unit Testing

Unit tests designed in the module design phase are executed on the code during this
validation phase. Unit testing is the testing at code level and helps eliminate bugs at an early
stage, though all defects cannot be uncovered by unit testing.

Integration Testing

Integration testing is associated with the architectural design phase. Integration tests are
performed to test the coexistence and communication of the internal modules within the
system.

System Testing

System testing is directly associated with the system design phase. System tests check the
entire system functionality and the communication of the system under development with
external systems. Most of the software and hardware compatibility issues can be uncovered
during this system test execution.
Acceptance Testing

Acceptance testing is associated with the business requirement analysis phase and involves
testing the product in user environment. Acceptance tests uncover the compatibility issues
with the other systems available in the user environment. It also discovers the non-functional
issues such as load and performance defects in the actual user environment.

In extended V model, an extension of forming the basis for writing Business Case, from the
beginning of project initiation to benefits realization becomes the part of the model.

INCREMENTAL MODEL:

Incremental-model:
The incremental build model is a method of software development where the model is
designed, implemented and tested incrementally (a little more is added each time) until the
product is finished. It involves both development and maintenance. The product is defined as
finished when it satisfies all of its requirements. This model combines the elements of the
waterfall model with the iterative philosophy of prototyping.

The product is decomposed into a number of components, each of which are designed and
built separately (termed as builds). Each component is delivered to the client when it is
complete. This allows partial utilisation of product and avoids a long development time. It
also creates a large initial capital outlay with the subsequent long wait avoided. This model of
development also helps ease the traumatic effect of introducing completely new system all at
once.

There are some problems with this model. One is that each new build must be integrated with
previous builds and any existing systems. The task of decomposing product into builds not
trivial either. If there are too few few builds and each build degenerates this turns into Build-
And-Fix model. However, if there are too many builds then there is little added utility from
each build.
Advantages of Incremental Model

 Generates working software quickly and early during the software life cycle.
 More flexible – less costly to change scope and requirements.
 Easier to test and debug during a smaller iteration.
 Easier to manage risk because risky pieces are identified and handled during its
iteration.
 Each iteration is an easily managed milestone.

Disadvantages of Incremental Model

 Each phase of an iteration is rigid and do not overlap each other.

 Problems may arise pertaining to system architecture because not all requirements are
gathered up front for the entire software life cycle.
AGILE MODEL:

Agile methodology is a practice that helps continuous iteration of development and testing in
the software development process. In this model, development and testing activities are
concurrent, unlike the Waterfall model. This process allows more communication between
customers, developers, managers, and testers.

Advantages of the Agile Model:

 It is focused client process. So, it makes sure that the client is continuously involved
during every stage.
 Agile teams are extremely motivated and self-organized so it likely to provide a better
result from the development projects.
 Agile software development method assures that quality of the development is
maintained
 The process is completely based on the incremental progress. Therefore, the client and
team know exactly what is complete and what is not. This reduces risk in the
development process.
Limitations of Agile Model

 It is not useful method for small development projects.

 It requires an expert to take important decisions in the meeting.
 Cost of implementing an agile method is little more compared to other development
methodologies.
 The project can easily go off track if the project manager is not clear what outcome
he/she wants.

STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS AND MANAGEMENT

Stakeholder: A stakeholder is a party that has an interest in a company and can either affect
or be affected by the business. The primary stakeholders in a typical corporation are
its investors, employees, customers and suppliers. However, the modern theory of the idea
goes beyond this original notion to include additional stakeholders such as a community,
government or trade association.

Stakeholder analysis and management is critical to the success of any business analysis
project knowing who the stakeholders are and understanding what they expect from the
project in critical by coming up with stakeholder management strategies.

Analyzing stakeholder and management strategies:

 High power, no interest: Stakeholders who have great power or influence but may
not have any interest in the project. It is better to keep a watch on these people. Since
they may change their interest level and one should be prepared and see that it goes in
the positive direction.
 High power, some interest: these people are highly powerful but have some interest
in the project. Strategy should be to keep them satisfied.
 High power, high interest: Constant efforts and strategic management needs to be
done to handle such stakeholders.
 Some power, and no / some / high interest: Based on the stakeholder type and his
interest towards the business or organization, these people are to kept aside and to be
carefully watched how they move in the matrix.
 No power ,no interest: It is safe to ignore the stakeholders who have no power and
interest in the project.
 No power, some / high interest: With stakeholders who may not have influence but
are interested in the project, these stakeholders should be kept informed. They would
be useful whenever their influence or power increases.

A stakeholder position on the grid may not necessarily stay in the same place during the
lifetime of the project and hence stakeholder analysis is a continuous activity throughout
the project. It may be continued even after the completion of the project to get the
stakeholders feedback. For each stakeholder an assessment sheet must be prepared with
the following columns.

1. Name of the stakeholder

2. Current power/influence
3. Current interest
4. Issues and interests
5. Current attitude (champion/supporter/neutral/opponent/blocker)
6. Desired support
7. Desired role
8. Desire action
9. Messages to convey
10. Actions to be taken