Professionalizing Business

Analysis
Breaking the Cycle of Challenged
Projects

IIBA Greater Boston Chapter Meeting

January 2008
 Agenda

1. The Problem with Projects

2. Enter the IIBA
• Exponential growth
• The BA Body Of Knowledge
• Certified BA Professional
1. Enter the Business Analyst
• The BA Role: Past and Future
• Managing Projects for Value
1. Emerge the BA CoE
• Benefits
• Implementation Considerations
1. Summary: Breaking the Cycle of
Challenged Projects

2
The Problem with Projects

 Too large
 Too complex
 Take too long
 Almost always involve a significant IT
component
 Constant pressure to deliver
– Faster
– Better
– Cheaper
 Riddled with risk
– Unproven technology
– Outsourced, global teams
– Enterprise-wide implementations

3
The Past – a Dismal Record

I.T. Projects in the United States, 2004 Survey *

Succeeded:
29%
Over Time or
Budget: 53%

71% Failed: 18%

* Source: The Standish Group, 2004

Third Quarter Research
Report

4
The Present – Still Troubling

I.T. Projects in the United States, 2006 Survey *

Succeeded:
Over Time or 35%
Budget: 46%

Failed:
65% 19%
* Source: The Standish Group, 2006
Chaos Report

Nearly ⅔ of all projects fail or run into trouble.

5
The Cost of Failure

$80-145 billion per

year is spent on
failed and cancelled
projects
25%-40% of all spending on projects is
wasted as a result of rework (Carnegie
Mellon)
50% are rolled back out of production
(Gartner)
40% of problems are found by end users
(Gartner)
Source: surveys by the The Standish Group International 6
 What Have We Learned About Project
Failure?
 Projects are too big and too complex
– Big projects fail more often
 Projects are not iterative
– Traditional PM has higher failure rates
– Adaptive PM methods are emerging
 Requirements are ambiguous
– 60%-80% of project failures attributed directly to
requirements
 Business involvement inadequate
 Business alignment questionable
 Business value not the focus

7
 21st Century Projects

 Virtually all organizations of any size are investing in large-scale

transformation of one kind or another
 Contemporary projects are about adding value to the organization
through:
– Breakthrough ideas
– Optimizing business processes
– Using information technology (IT) as a competitive advantage

“I think the 21st century will be the

century of complexity.”
Professor Stephen W. Hawking, PhD

8
 Why so Much Complexity?

 Initiatives are often spawned by:

– Mergers or acquisitions
– New strategies
– Global competition
– Emergence of new technologies
– The need to drive waste out of the business
 Most changes accompanied by:
– Organizational restructuring
– New partnerships
– Cultural transformation
– Downsizing or right-sizing
– Enabling IT systems
 Others implement new lines of business and new ways of
doing business (e.g., e-business)
9
 The Nature of Project Complexity
Complexity Project Profile for Business Transformation Projects
Dimensions
Independent Moderately Complex Highly Complex

Project Size < 3 months 3 – 6 months > 6 months

< $250K $250K – $750K > $750K
Team Size 3 – 4 team members 5 – 10 team members > 10 team members
Team Team staffed internally; Team staffed with some Complex, interdependent team structure,
Composition experienced leadership experienced internal and some e.g., contractor teams, virtual teams,
external resources culturally diverse teams, outsourced teams.
Team have not worked together in the past.

Competing Schedule, budget and Schedule, budget, scope can Urgent need; Aggressive schedule;
Demands scope are flexible undergo minor variations, but Deadline is fixed and cannot be changed;
deadlines are firm schedule, budget, scope, and quality have
no flexibility

Problem / Easily understood Either the problem is difficult to Both problem and solution are difficult to
Solution Clarity problem and solution; understand, the solution is unclear define or understand, the solution is difficult
solution is readily or difficult to achieve, or the to achieve and likely to be using unproven,
achievable using technology is new to the interdependent, complex technologies; IT
existing technologies; IT organization; moderate IT highly complex
complexity low complexity

10
*Source: The Standish Group International
 Project Complexity, continued

Complexity Project Profile for Business Transformation Projects

Dimensions
Independent Moderately Complex Highly Complex

Stability of Requirements Requirements understood, Requirements are poorly understood,

Requirements understood, but are expected to change interrelated and largely undefined
straightforward, stable

Strategic No political implications Some direct mission impact, Affects the core mission and has major
Importance minor political implications, political implications; is visible at highest
Political 2-3 stakeholder groups levels of the organization, there are
Implications multiple stakeholder groups with conflicting
Multiple expectations and interrelationships
Stakeholders

Level of Change Impacts a single Impacts 2-3 business units, Aggressive scope. Large-scale
business unit; scope moderately large scope organizational change that has impacts
minimized across the enterprise; spans functional
groups or agencies; shifts or transforms
the organization

11
 The New Project Leaders
are Strategy Executors

 In the past, PMs were primarily implementers of solutions

– Narrow orientation focused on technical implementations
– Skills narrow focused on budget, schedule, specs
 Role undergoing major transformation due to new business
realities
– Effective project management tantamount to effective business
management
– Skills broadened, encompassing all aspects of business management
 Business Analyst role professionalizing
 Project leadership teams emerging

12
How Well Do We Execute Strategy?

 Studies indicate that less than 10% of strategies

successfully formulated are effectively executed
– 85% of executives spend less than one hour per month on
strategy
– 95% of the workforce don’t understand their organization’s
strategy
– 60% of organizations do not link strategies to the budget
– 70% of organizations do not link strategies to incentives

Source: David Norton, Project Balanced Scorecards – a Tool for Alignment, Teamwork and Results.
ProjectWorld & The World Congress for Business Analysts Conference Proceedings, November 2005

13
How Does It Work?

Str
ate
gic
G oa
ls

Business
Business
Case
Case

Project
Project
Performance
Performance

14
Enter The IIBA (www.theiiba.org)

15
 Critical IIBA Information
 Vision
– To be the world’s leading organization for business analysis
professionals
 Mission
– To develop standards for the practice of business analysis
and for the certification of its practitioners
 History
– Inaugural meeting October 2003
– First Annual General Meeting, March 2004
– Draft of version 1.4 of the BOK, October 2005, 1.6, July 2006
– Version 2.0 available to the membership by February 2008

2003 2007

16
 IIBA Body of Knowledge

Knowledge Areas

Requirements Planning & Management

Enterprise
Analysis Solution
Requirements
Requirements Requirements Assessment
Analysis &
Elicitation Communications &
Documentation
Validation

Fundamentals

NOT a methodology and does not prescribe or favor a methodology

NOT a “how to do” manual; focuses on the “what” and offers generally accepted techniques for consideration

17
 How Far We Have Come…

 Worldwide Membership – 6500

 Chapters – 80
 Countries – 60
 CBAPs – 200
 BA World and World Congress of
Business Analysis

2003 2007

18
Enter the Professional Business Analyst

 Those organizations that are first to acquire and master

Business Analysis competencies, and elevate them to
a leadership role, will
– React to and pre-empt changes in the marketplace
– Align projects to business strategies
– Flow value through the enterprise to the customer
– Achieve competitive advantage

19
Typical Business Analyst

 40 years old
 Well educated
 Paid $78K per year
 Hails from IT
 More than 5 years experience performing BA functions
– 36% > 10 years
 Analysis skills acquired on the job
 Disturbingly, they report
– Most of their projects do not deliver all requirements
Source: The New Business Analyst: A Strategic Role in the Enterprise,
November 2006 Evans Data Corporation Research Study

20
Ambiguity in the BA Role

Business Analysis 29.3%

Project Management 18.7%
Developer, Engineer, Development Lead 15.4%

Subject Matter Expert, Domain Expert 13.5%

Tester, Test Lead 10.1%
Other 13.0%

Conclusion: there is a need for Business Analyst competency and career

path definition

Source: The New Business Analyst: A Strategic Role in the Enterprise,

November 2006 Evans Data Corporation Research Study

21
 Business Analyst Career Path
Level Proficiency Responsibilities Competencies

Strategic Ability to perform Strategic Planning Business & IT Strategy

strategic tasks with Enterprise Analysis Program and Portfolio Mgt.
minimal direction Mentoring Systems Engineering, BPR, Six
Sigma
Enterprise Architecture
Business Case Development
Senior Ability to perform Elicit, Analyze, Business & IT Domains
complex tasks with Specify, Validate, Project & Program Mgt.
minimal coaching Manage Systems Engineering, BPR, Six
Requirements Sigma
Requirements Engineering
Intermediate Ability to perform Elicit, Analyze, Business &/or IT Domain
simple-to-moderately Specify, Validate, Project Management
complex tasks with Manage BPR, Six Sigma
minimal assistance Requirements Workshop Facilitation
Requirements Modeling
Associate Ability to perform Scribe PM/BA Principles
simple tasks with Simple models BPR, Six Sigma Principles
assistance Help Desk support Business Writing

22
 Alternative Business Analyst Career Path
Associate Business Analyst Senior Business Business
Business Analyst Analyst Consultant
Typical • Trouble ticket Requirements: • Business Case • Feasibility Studies
Deliverables resolution • Planning • Client • New business
• Defect tracking • Elicitation Presentations opportunity
• Requirements for • Analysis • Client Proposals analysis
maintenance and • Documentation • Client Coaching • Business Case
enhancement • V&V • Mentoring • Portfolio analysis

Typical Scope of • Production 1-3 low-risk projects 1 significant, high-risk • Strategic planning
Responsibility Support within a business unit project / program • Pre-project
• Small across the enterprise business analysis
maintenance • Portfolio
projects management

Minimum 1 year 3 years 7 years 10 years

Experience
Certification Masters Certificate in CBAP Certification Internal Certification
BA PMP Certification
Professional PMI & IIBA member PMI & IIBA member PMI & IIBA member PMI & IIBA member
Affiliation IIBA chapter IIBA PMI chapter
committee officer 23
 Staffing Surveys Reveal Increasing Demand for Senior
BAs Who are Multi-Skilled
Technical Analytical
• Systems engineering • Fundamentals of
concepts and principles business analysis
• Complex modeling • Ability to conceptualize •
techniques and think creatively
• Communication of • Techniques to plan,
technical concepts to document, analyze,
non-technical audiences trace and manage
requirements
• Testing, verification, and • Requirements risk
validation assessment and
management
• Technical writing • Administrative,
analytical, and reporting
skills
• Rapid prototyping • Cost / benefit analysis
• Technical domain • Time management and •
knowledge personal organization
Business Leadership
• Business process • Fundamentals of project
improvement and management
reengineering
Strategic and business • Capacity to articulate vision
planning
• Communication of • Organizational change
business concepts to management; management of
technical audiences power and politics
• Business outcome • Problem solving, negotiation,
thinking and decision-making
• Business writing • Team management,
leadership, mentoring, and
facilitation
• Business case • Authenticity, ethics, and
development integrity
Business domain • Customer relationship
knowledge management
24
Business Analyst Organizational Placement

Level Organizational Placement

Strategic Part of an enterprise-wide PMO or center of excellence with

a strategic focus
Working on pre-project analysis, serving as BA for strategic
initiatives, and managing projects for value
Senior • In IT (67%)
• The business may not take ownership of problems
• In BU (10.8%)
• Difficult for BAs to feel like a “community of practice” and hard to
manage BA standards and improvements

Intermediate Usually placed in IT

Junior Usually placed in IT

25
BA Role - The Past

Requirements Phase

Validation and
Elicitation Analysis Specification
Documentation

26
BA Role – The Future
A Critical Role Throughout the Project Life Cycle
Study Period Implementation Period

Strategic Enterprise
Requirements Design
Planning Analysis

Implementation Period (continued) Operations Period

Operations
Construction Test Deliver and Deactivate
Maintenance

27
Business Analyst Role -
Study Period

 The executive team cannot affect the transition to a

strategy-focused organization alone
 Information, process, tools and facilitation are provided by
the Business Analyst to enable the organization to shift
focus and activities to be strategy driven
 Conduct analysis to inform the portfolio planning team
1. Create and maintain the business architecture
2. Conduct feasibility studies to determine optimal solution
3. Prepare the business case

28
Business Analyst Role -
Implementation Period

1. Planning Business 5. Requirements validation

Analysis activities & verification
2. Requirements elicitation 6. Requirements allocation
and tracing
3. Requirements analysis
7. Requirements change
4. Requirements management
specification 8. Organizational change
management

29
Business Analyst Role –
Managing the Business Value

1. During the project life cycle

– Once projects are funded, they must be managed
throughout the project life cycle to ensure that the business
case remains valid and continued investment in the project
is still warranted
1. After solution delivery
– Once the project delivers the new business solution, the
Business Analyst ensures organizational measurements
are in place:
– Actual benefits that are achieved vs.
– Benefits promised in the business case
1. For solution enhancements

30
 Business Solution Value

Value = Benefits – Costs to Develop, Operate and Retire

Project Costs

Business Deployment
Value

Cost to Develop, Operate and Retire the Solution

31
Where do Exceptional Business Analysts
Come From?

 As with any leadership role, competency comes

from:
– Acquiring education and training
– Seeking mentoring and coaching
– Leveraging organizational support
– Setting up communities of practice
– Jumping in headfirst to learn the discipline

32
 Emerge the BACoE

 Those organizations that are first to acquire and master

Business Analysis competencies, and elevate them to
a leadership role, will:
– React to and pre-empt changes in the marketplace
– Align projects to business strategies
– Flow value through the enterprise to the customer
– Achieve a competitive advantage

33
 Benefits of CoEs

 Deliver strategic projects more effectively

– Accuracy of cost estimates improved 25%
– Accuracy of schedule estimates improved 31%
– Project stakeholder satisfaction improved 9%
 Boosts productivity by ensuring priority projects get the
most attention
– Complete more projects on time and within budget with fewer
resources
– Allocate majority of resources to highest priority projects
– Saved more than $3 million by reducing the number of small
projects from 233 to 13
– Deliver a return in three to six months

Source: Santosus, Megan. “Office Discipline: Why You Need a Project Management
Office.” CIO Magazine, Jul. 1, 2003.

34
Increase in Value Over Time
The Longer You Have Them,
The Better They Work

Source: “PMOs: The Longer You Have Them, The Better They Work,” CIO Magazine, Jul. 1, 2003.
<http://www.cio.com/archive/070103/office_sidebar_2.html> (30 November 2004). CIO/PMI survey

35
 CoE Implementation Considerations

1. Scope of disciplines: PM, BA, SE, IT, QA

2. Organizational alignment and positioning
3. Organizational maturity
4. Implementation approach
5. Focus on value

36
 CoE Functions

C oE
F unctions

Professional F ull Cycle

Standards Services
D evelopm ent Governance

- C om petitive analysis - Business program analysis

- Practices and - Skill assessm ents - Business architecture
- Education and training - Strategic project resources
m ethodologies - F easibility studies - Portfolio management process
- T ools - M entoring and OT J training
- Business case support and facilitation
- Perform ance - T eam building
- Project investment decision - Benefits management
m etrics - C areer Path: position
package
- Know ledge descriptions, grades, Staff augm entation :
m anagement com petencies and skill - BAs/PM s
- Perform ance requirem ents
- R equirements analysts
reporting - V&V specialists
- C ontinuous - W orkshop facilitators
improvements

37
CoE Maturity Model

P h a se I P h a se2 P h a se3
Project D epartm ent Strategic
C entric Focus Asset

L im ited In flu en ce S trateg ic In flu en ce

38
 BA CoE Implementation

Implementation Steps

Visioning& C oncept Organizational and

Implementation Planning Form BA C oE Team s
Definition Individual A ssessments

Vision and mission Organizational readiness Kick-off Workshop

Executive sponsor Charter: Standard Practices
, Tools,
assessment
Guidance(steering) team - Strategic alignment Metrics
Maturity assessment
Business case - Scope Education& Training
Individual business analysts
Political management - Authority Consulting Services
knowledge and skill
strategy assessment - Services
Approval to staff BACoE - Organization
planning team - Budget
39
 Demonstrate Value

 CoEs must deliver value to survive

– Value is not templates, tools, methodology, processes, training;
these are means to driving value
– Value is gaining efficiencies, achieving cost savings, increasing
customer satisfaction, reducing time-to-market, increasing
revenue and profit, reducing deficits, or increasing competitive
advantage
 Too many CoEs wrap their mission and existence around
the services they provide instead of their impact on the
business
 Executives buy value

Source: http://www.chiefprojectofficer.com/article/146

40
Start Small –
Transition to Complex Projects

More Complex
Large Program
Significant Risk

Medium Highly Complex

Moderate Risk Project • Group of Related
Moderately Projects of Varying
Complexity
Small Low Complex
Risk Project • > 6 Mos. > $750K
• > 10 Team Members
Independent • Firm Deadlines
Project • 3-6 Mos. $250K-$750K • Complex Team Structure
• 4-10 Team Members • Unclear Problem/Solution
• Schedule Flexibility • Undefined Requirements
• < 3 Mos. < $250K • Some Problem/Solution • Unproven Technology
• 3-4 Team Members Ambiguity • Large-scale Organizational
• One Business Unit • Clear Requirements Change
• Clear Problem/Solution • > 1 Business Unit

Project Complexity Model

41
 Focus on BA Maturity
CompassBATM Maturity Model
Continuous
Improvement
5
Strategic/ Optimized
Enterprise Focus
4 Organizational BA
Organizational Strategic practices:
Focus •Continuous BA
3 process & tool
•BA Center of
improvement
Integrated Excellence •Maturity assmt.
•Business •Requirement defect
Project Centric architecture
Requirements: prevention
2 •Communication •Feasibility studies
Documented •Traceability •Business cases
•Risk Mgmt Individual BA
•Portfolio mgmt.
Ad Hoc practices:
•Resource mgmt. •Knowledge & skill
1 Requirements:
Solution quality:
•Benefits mgmt.
•Allocation assmt.
Initial •Planning •Assessment •Quantitative BA •Professional
•Elicitation •Verification & validation process mgmt.
•Deployment strategy development plans
•Analysis •Requirement
•Informal, inconsistent •Org. deployment
processes •Specification readiness defect tracking
•Prioritization
•Unstable environment
•Validation Defined, integrated BA:
•Most projects do not •Change Mgmt. •Standards & tools
deliver all requirements •Training program

42
 Expect Challenges

 PMs and BAs applaud their increased control

– But loathe the accountability
 Managers delight in the visibility into project progress
– But scoff at the added level of communication needed to get
things done
 Executives like the deliberate assignment of responsibilities
– But balk at the investment necessary to support a central
resource

Source: Dr. Donn Di Nunno CCP, CDP, IT ‘Owes’ Much to PMOs.

2005 Engineering, Management & Integration, Inc

43
 Breaking the Cycle of Challenged Projects

 Core project leadership team

 Collaboration vs. control
 Iterative, adaptive solution
development
 BA maturity
 Interdisciplinary CoE
 Complexity management
 Project Benefits/value management

44
Combining Disciplines Leads to Success

 An elevated role for the Business Analyst

 A great team: core team leadership
– Business analyst
– Project manager
– Business visionary
– System architect/lead developer
 Each taking the lead depending on the project
needs
 Determined to break the cycle of challenged
projects

45
Traditional Project Team

Business
Sponsor
Business
Team & Development
End-users Team
Business Team
Visionary Leads

Project
Manager

Architect Test
Manager
IT
Architecture Business Test
Team Analyst Team

46
Core Project Leadership Team

Business
Sponsor
Development
Team
Team
Leads
Business
Team &
End-users
Business
Visionary
Test
Manager Test
Team
Project
Manager
IT
Architecture Architect
Team

Business
SMEs
Analyst

47
 Structure Projects to Reduce Risk and
Complexity

Follow the Recipe For Project Success

Ingredients: Minimized scope, communications, software

standards
Mix with: Full-time core team - business analyst,
project manager, business visionary, lead
architect/developer, coached by an involved
project sponsor
Bake: • No longer than six months
• No more than six people
• No more than $750,000
Source: The Standish Group International

48
Q and A

For Further Information:

Kathleen B. (Kitty) Hass, PMP

Project Management and Business Analysis
Practice Leader
KHass@managementconcepts.com

49
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50

ce
Combining Disciplines Leads to Success
IIBA Definitions

 Business Analysis
– The set of tasks, knowledge, and
techniques required to identify
business needs and determine
solutions to business problems
 Business Analyst
– Identify the business needs and help
determine solutions to business
problems
– Responsible for requirements
development and requirements
management

51