Hi, everybody!
Dr. White here, the Business Analysis Doctor!
Have you ever been on a project where you've had absolutely no direction of what to do
or when to do it?
If the answer is yes, today I'm gonna be giving you a list of the first six steps to take
when you're signed to a new project.
So, let's dive in!
Step number one - Get clear on the need Every project starts with the need, if the
need is not clearly defined, it can lead to a lot of frustration and potentially a product
that the customer is unhappy with.
If the business need is not clearly defined, work with the sponsor and project manager
to ensure the business need is clearly defined and understood by key stakeholders that have
been identified
If the need is clearly defined, work with the sponsor and project manager to clarify
what the high-level goals and expectations are to address those needs.
Step number two - Get involved with the development of the project charter
The project charter is generally the responsibility of the project manager; however, the BA can
still add value to the process by recommending refinements related to the strategy components
of the document.
If the project charter has already been developed – review the document in detail and make
sure that the document sufficiently serves its purpose, specifically regarding BA-related
components such as the problem/opportunity statement, project goals and objectives, key
success measures, and project scope.
These elements are critical inputs for business analysis activities, so if any of them are
missing or unclear, we need to raise the issue to the project manager.
Ensuring the project scope is defined is especially critical when you are defining the solution
scope, planning your elicitation activities as well as when you are assessing requirements
change requests.
Step number three - Get involved in determining the project approach
If the organization uses multiple project frameworks to execute projects, then the BA
should be involved in the discussion of the elected project approach.
And by project approach, I mean frameworks such as (waterfall, agile, or hybrid).
By the time the project charter is developed, there should be enough information to determine
which project framework will be optimal for the specific project.
The business analysis approach should align with the overall project approach so the BA
will be greatly impacted by this decision.
This decision is often not as thoughtful as it should be so be sure the project team is
considering elements such as the predictability of the future state, the stability of the
requirements, the complexity of the project scope, and the geographic locations of the
stakeholders.
Step number four - Get context
Getting context is critical to ensuring you are making the best decision regarding your
business analysis activities.
Getting context might include the following:
Reviewing the business cases or project charter.
Reviewing processes and procedures related to the impacted areas.
Familiarizing yourself with the systems and applications that have been identified to
be impacted by the project.
Start shadowing or observing the identified stakeholder or end-users to help you understand
the current situation.
Reviewing lesson learned documents from related projects or projects that may have involved
some of the same key stakeholders to get additional background information.
Step number five - stakeholder List
While the sponsor and project manager may have developed a preliminary list of stakeholders,
the BA should take on the responsibility of ensuring that the list is as exhaustive as
possible in an effort to avoid missed requirements.
Some of the activities mentioned in the previous step will help with stakeholder identification.
In addition to those, you can use techniques such as a stakeholder wheel, stakeholder matrix,
or onion diagram to assist with the analysis.
Another part of stakeholder analysis involves understanding how you, the business analyst
play a role in the project.
Be sure to analyze the roles and responsibilities that will be expected of you for the project.
In addition, you will want to start assessing the experience and skill set of the project
team and stakeholders.
Step number six - Start your business analysis plan
Project planning is not just for project managers.
BAs should be planning BA activities in advance as well, and the information should be passed
to the project managers as input to the overall project plan.
Even agile environments need BA planning during sprint 0 or during the team chartering.
The more planning and tracking you do, the less likely you are to miss a key business
analysis activity during the project.
The simple act of writing BA activities down in a list will increase your ability to uncover
the needed activities that may have otherwise been missed.
Well, those are the First 6 things to do when starting a new project.
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channel.
Also, if you have a specific question that you’d like me to address in one of my videos
– Email it to askthedoc@thebadoc.com.
This email will also be in the description below.
That’s all for now!
Until next time!!!!