F O C U S
Q U A L I T Y
E X P E R I E N C E
Developing a Business Analysis Work Plan
Using the BA Planning Framework
Jonathan “Kupe” Kupersmith, CBAP®,
Director, Client Solutions
B2T Training
The Burning Question
Take-Aways
Learn the importance of delivering an intelligent
business analysis work plan
Learn the components of a business analysis work
plan
How you can apply this to your projects
The BA and PM as Communicators
BA
PM
Responsible for
stakeholders that impact or
are impacted by
requirements
Responsible for all
stakeholders
Determine best elicitation
techniques
Status reporting
Determine best
requirements deliverables
Determine amount of time
needed from stakeholders
Overall project
communication
Determine overall project
schedule
Business Analysis Planning
Why do you plan?
B2T Tip: Use your plan as a negotiation tool!
Sponsors and PM probably want analysis phase done faster.
The plan helps drive discussion to get more resources or
reduce scope of analysis effort.
Business Analysis Work Plan
Your completed business analysis work plan should
include:
A stakeholder communication plan
List of deliverables to be produced
A detailed list of tasks
Time/cost estimates
“In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are
useless, but planning is indispensable.”
-Dwight D. Eisenhower
Example Task List with Estimates
Task
Estimate
Develop list of initial questions
1 hour
Schedule interview
½ hour
Conduct Interview
1 ½ hours
Review notes, fill in requirements template, develop follow up 3 hours
questions
Schedule follow up
½ hour
Conduct follow up interview
1 hour
Revise requirements
1 hour
Schedule review and signoff
½ hour
Conduct review and signoff
1 hour
Total for Use Case 1 10 hours
Business Analysis
Planning FrameworkTM
The Project
Understand the unique project characteristics:
1. What type of project is this?
New Development
COTS
Enhancement
2. How important is the project to the organization?
What’s the overall project priority
How does the project align with overall goals
3. How large is the project?
How many stakeholders are involved/impacted?
Is this a one month effort or a year long effort?
The Project
Understand the unique project characteristics:
4.
What are the business risks?
5.
How many interfaces does the project have?
6.
Impacts to other systems
How complex is the project?
7.
Loss of market share if not first to market
Damage to company reputation
Fines levied if certain features not included
Business complexity vs. technical complexity
Is the problem/opportunity well understood?
The People
A Sure-Fire Strategy
Identify the people
Get to know them
Engage them early and
communicate often
Identify the People
Who are the people that impact or can be impacted
by the requirements of a project?
Subject matter experts (SMEs)
Management approvers/reviewers
Quality assurance team (QA)
User acceptance test participants (UAT)
Development team
Architects
Get to Know Them - Characteristics
Understand their objective characteristics:
Physical location
Availability for project work
Subject matter expertise
Technical team experience
Experience on previous
projects
Level of formality
Decision making authority
Preferred mode of
communication
Get to Know Them - Characteristics
Understand their subjective characteristics:
Value to the organization
Culture/language
Relationship to other stakeholders
Emotional commitment to the
project
Technical team skill level
Ability/speed of decision making
Engage Them Early and
Communicate Often
Provide stakeholders with an overview of the
project as soon as you can
Provide stakeholders with your expectations for
their involvement
The Process
Support the organizational standards and processes:
What methodology will be used for this project?
Are the stakeholders familiar with the planned
methodology?
Are the project roles and responsibilities clear?
Is the process tailored
appropriately for this project?
What deliverables are
required?
Fit it in Your Plan
Based on what you know:
Determine how you will elicit requirements
Decide what working documents and project
deliverables will be developed
Estimate your time and stakeholder’s time
Communicate your plan
Re-Planning
Conclusion
The importance of delivering an intelligent
business analysis work plan
The components of a business analysis work plan
How you can apply this to your projects
B2T Training Information
Questions for Kupe?
[email protected]
Follow us on Twitter
Kupe - http://twitter.com/Kupe
B2T - http://twitter.com/B2T_Training
Blogs
B2T’s Blog – www.b2ttraining.com/blog
Kupe’s Blog – www.batimes.com