List of commonly used Business Analysis

terminologies explained with examples

Diwakar Singh
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Acceptance Criteria: Predefined standards or

conditions that must be met for a solution to be
considered acceptable by stakeholders.

Example: In a software project, the acceptance

criteria for a login feature might include "User must be
able to log in with a valid email and password" and
"System must display an error message for invalid
credentials."

Agile: An iterative approach to project management

and software development that emphasizes
collaboration, flexibility, and customer satisfaction.

Example: A software development team using Agile

might break down a project into smaller, manageable
sprints and deliver working software at the end of each
sprint.

Benchmarking: Comparing an organization's

processes, products, or services against industry best
practices or competitors.
Example: A retail company might benchmark its
customer service metrics against those of its top
competitor to identify areas for improvement.

Business Case: A document that outlines the

justification for a proposed project or initiative,
including its costs, benefits, and risks.

Example: A business case for a new e-commerce

platform might include a financial analysis of the
expected return on investment and a description of
the potential risks associated with the project.

Business Process: A series of steps or activities

designed to achieve a specific business goal.

Example: The order-to-cash process, which includes

activities like receiving customer orders, fulfilling
them, and invoicing customers.

Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA): A systematic approach

to evaluating the costs and benefits of a proposed
project or decision.
Example: A CBA for a new marketing campaign might
compare the costs of the campaign (advertising, staff
time, etc.) to the expected benefits (increased sales,
brand awareness, etc.).

Critical Path Method (CPM): A project management

technique used to identify the longest sequence of
activities that must be completed on time for a project
to finish on schedule.

Example: In a construction project, the critical path

might include activities like obtaining permits, laying
the foundation, and framing the structure.

Data Modeling: The process of creating a visual

representation of an organization's data, including its
structure and relationships.

Example: A data model for a customer relationship

management (CRM) system might include entities like
customers, contacts, and opportunities, and their
relationships (e.g., a customer can have multiple
contacts).
Deliverable: A tangible or intangible product or result
produced as part of a project.

Example: Deliverables for a software project might

include design documents, code, test plans, and user
manuals.

Elicitation: The process of gathering information

about requirements from stakeholders.

Example: A business analyst might use interviews,

workshops, or surveys to elicit requirements from
users, customers, and other stakeholders.

Enterprise Analysis: The practice of analyzing an

organization's business needs to identify
opportunities for improvement.

Example: An enterprise analysis might involve

assessing an organization's current business
processes, technology infrastructure, and
organizational structure to identify areas where
changes could improve efficiency or effectiveness.

F
Feasibility Study: An assessment of the practicality
and viability of a proposed project or initiative.

Example: A feasibility study for a new product launch

might consider factors like market demand,
production costs, and regulatory requirements.

Functional Requirement: A statement that describes

what a product, system, or process must do.

Example: A functional requirement for a banking app

might be "User must be able to transfer funds
between accounts."

Gap Analysis: A technique used to compare the

current state of a system or process to the desired
state, and identify the differences (gaps).

Example: A gap analysis of a company's IT

infrastructure might reveal that the company's current
servers are not capable of supporting the expected
growth in data storage needs.
Gantt Chart: A type of bar chart that illustrates a
project schedule, showing the start and end dates of
tasks and their dependencies.

Example: A Gantt chart for a software development

project might show tasks like requirements gathering,
design, coding, testing, and deployment, and their
relationships (e.g., coding cannot start until design is
complete).

High-Level Requirements: Broad statements of the

overall goals and objectives of a project or system.
Example: A high-level requirement for a new website
might be "Improve customer engagement and
increase online sales."

Implementation Plan: A detailed plan outlining the

steps required to implement a solution.

Example: An implementation plan for a new CRM

system might include steps like data migration, user
training, and system testing.
Iteration: A cycle of development in an Agile project,
typically lasting one to four weeks.

Example: In a software development project, each

iteration might involve planning, designing, coding,
testing, and demonstrating a working increment of the
product.

Joint Application Development (JAD): A facilitated

workshop that brings together stakeholders to define
and prioritize requirements.
Example: A JAD session for a new e-commerce
platform might involve representatives from
marketing, sales, customer service, and IT to discuss
their needs and expectations for the platform.

Key Performance Indicator (KPI): A measurable

value that demonstrates how effectively a company is
achieving key business objectives.
Example: KPIs for a customer service department
might include average call handling time, first call
resolution rate, and customer satisfaction ratings.

Lessons Learned: A process of reviewing a project or

initiative to identify successes, failures, and areas for
improvement.

Example: A lessons learned session for a failed

product launch might reveal that the product was not
adequately tested with target users before release.

Low-Level Requirements: Detailed and specific

requirements that describe the functionality of a
system or process.

Example: A low-level requirement for a banking app

might be "The user must be able to transfer funds
between accounts by entering the recipient's account
number and the amount to be transferred."

Metrics: Quantifiable measures used to track

performance, progress, and quality.
Example: Metrics for a software development project
might include lines of code written, number of defects
found, and test coverage.

MoSCoW Prioritization: A technique used to prioritize

requirements by classifying them as Must Have,
Should Have, Could Have, or Won't Have.

Example: In a software project, a requirement to

integrate with a third-party payment system might be
classified as a Must Have, while a requirement to
provide real-time chat support might be classified as a
Could Have.

Non-Functional Requirement (NFR): A requirement

that specifies the qualities or characteristics of a
system or process, rather than its specific behavior.
Example: NFRs for a website might include
performance requirements (e.g., page load time),
security requirements (e.g., protection against
hacking), and usability requirements (e.g., ease of
navigation).
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Organizational Change Management (OCM): The

process of managing the impact of change on an
organization's people, processes, and technology.

Example: OCM for a new software implementation

might involve communicating the changes to
employees, providing training, and addressing
resistance to change.

Outcome: The result or consequence of a project,

initiative, or action.

Example: The outcome of a successful marketing

campaign might be increased brand awareness, lead
generation, and sales.

PERT Chart: A project management tool used to

analyze and represent the tasks involved in
completing a given project. It is a method to analyze
the involved tasks in completing a given project,
especially the time needed to complete each task,
and to identify the minimum time needed to complete
the total project.

Example: A PERT chart for an office relocation project

might show tasks like selecting a new location,
negotiating a lease, designing the new space,
procuring furniture, and moving employees.

Prioritization: The process of ranking items or tasks in

order of importance or urgency.

Example: In a software project, requirements might

be prioritized based on their business value, technical
feasibility, and risk.

Qualitative Data: Non-numerical data that describes

qualities or characteristics.

Example: Qualitative data from customer feedback

might include comments about a product's design,
ease of use, or customer service.

Quantitative Data: Numerical data that can be

measured and analyzed statistically.
Example: Quantitative data from website analytics
might include page views, bounce rate, and time on
site.

Requirement: A condition or capability that must be

met or possessed by a system, product, service,
result, or component to satisfy a contract, standard,
specification, or other formally imposed documents.

Example: A requirement for a new mobile app might

be "The app must allow users to book appointments
with their healthcare providers."

Requirements Analysis: The process of studying and

documenting stakeholders' needs and constraints to
define a system's requirements.

Example: Requirements analysis for a new inventory

management system might involve interviewing
warehouse staff to understand their current
processes and challenges, and then documenting the
requirements