Are you a business analyst, wondering how you fit into agile projects? Are you a ScrumMaster who wants to work with business analysts for a stronger project team? Are you a product owner who needs to supercharge your product backlog? Mark Layton introduces you to the critical role of the business analyst on agile projects. Get the essential information business analysts need to know to be successful members of an agile project team. Learn how business analysts can use their product knowledge and requirements translation skills to support product owners and stakeholders. Discover the role of product owner agent and why business analysts do well in that role. Learn how business analysts approach documentation—especially requirements—on agile projects. Dive into the details of the product backlog and user stories. Bring your questions and be ready to learn all about the who and the how of the business analyst in agile projects.

1.
AT10
Session
6/6/2013 3:45 PM
"The Business Analyst’s Critical Role
in Agile Projects"
Presented by:
Mark Layton
Platinum Edge, Inc.
Brought to you by:
340 Corporate Way, Suite 300, Orange Park, FL 32073
888‐268‐8770 ∙ 904‐278‐0524 ∙ sqeinfo@sqe.com ∙ www.sqe.com

2. Mark Layton
Platinum Edge, Inc.
Known globally as Mr. Agile®, Mark Layton is an organizational strategist and PMI certification
instructor with more than twenty years in the project management field. Mark is the Los Angeles
chair for the Agile Leadership Network and the founder of Platinum Edge, Inc., an organizational
improvement company supporting businesses in waterfall-to-agile transition. The author of Agile
Project Management for Dummies, Mark is a frequent speaker on lean, XP, Scrum, and other
agile solutions. He is a distinguished graduate of the Air Force’s Leadership School, certified
Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified Scrum Trainer (CST), and recipient of
Stanford University’s advanced project management certification (SCPM).

3. Business Analysis’ Critical
Role i A il P j t
R l in Agile Projects
mark.layton@platinumedge.com
What is agile project
management?
g
a very quick overview

4. Agile in Practice: the Tip of the Iceberg
• Teams work in iterations, or sprints,
generally 1-4 weeks long
- Each sprint includes design, development,
testing and documentation
• Deliver small groups of usable
functionality on a regular basis
• Self-organizing, cross-functional teams
• Cl
Close collaboration with the b i
ll b
i
i h h business
• Inspect & adapt
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Agile Methodology?
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5. Common Agile Set
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The Agile Manifesto
“We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and
helping others do it. Through this work we have come to value:
› Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
› Working software over comprehensive documentation
› Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
› Responding to change over following a plan
That is, while there is value in the items on the right, we value the items
on the left more.”
Kent Beck Mike Beedle Arie van Bennekum Alistair Cockburn
Ward Cunningham Martin Fowler James Grenning Jim Highsmith Andrew Hunt
Ron Jeffries Jon Kern Brian Marick Robert C. Martin
Steve Mellor Ken Schwaber Jeff Sutherland Dave Thomas
© 2001, the above authors this declaration may be freely copied in any form, but only in its entirety through this notice.
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6. The 12 Principles of Agile
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Our highest priority is to satisfy the
customer through early and continuous
delivery of valuable software.
Welcome changing requirements, even late
in development. Agile processes harness
change for the customer's competitive
advantage.
Deliver working software frequently, from
a couple of weeks to a couple of months,
with a preference to the shorter timescale.
Business people and developers must work
together daily throughout the project.
Build projects around motivated
individuals. Give them the environment
and support they need, and trust them to
get the job done.
The most efficient and effective method of
conveying information to and within a
development team is a face-to-face
conversation.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
Working software is the primary measure
of success.
Agile processes promote sustainable
development. The sponsors, developers,
and users should be able to maintain a
constant pace indefinitely.
Continuous attention to technical
excellence and good design enhances
agility.
Simplicity – the art of maximizing the
amount of work not done – is essential.
The best architectures, requirements, and
des g e e ge o se o ga
design emerge from self-organizing teams.
g tea s.
At regular intervals, the team reflects on
how to become more effective, then tunes
and adjusts its behavior accordingly.
Comparing Waterfall to Agile
Approaches

7. What’s Different?
•
•
•
•
Requirements timing
Focus on priorities
Approach to change
User stories
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Fundamental Paradigm Shift
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8. Waterfall Project Life Cycle
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Agile Sprints
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9. Simplified Scrum Overview
13
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Time = Knowledge
You always know the least at the
project start!
100%
75%
50%
25%
0%
Project
Start
3 Mos.
6 Mos.
12 Mos.
Product & Project Knowledge
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18 Mos.

10. Product Backlog Darwinism
15
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Business Analyst Roles on an
Agile Project

11. Agile Roles (Scrum Framework)
• Scrum Master
• Product Owner
• Development Team
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Roles: Product Owner
• Provides strategy and direction for the project
›
›
›
›
Vision, Product Roadmap, Release Goal, Sprint Goal
Organizes and prioritizes Product Backlog
− Initiates requirements
− Scope control mechanism
Business interface on requirements & status
Decides on release date for completed functionality
• Responsible for the profitability of the product (ROI)
›
Makes investment and financial trade-off decisions
• Involved daily in the Sprint to provide clarifications
›
›
Full time member. The project is NOT an ‘additional duty’
If a tactical Product Owner agent is used (common with offshore),
the PO has ultimate responsibility
• Accepts or rejects work results throughout Sprint
›
Presents Scrum Team accomplishments at Sprint Review
18
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12. User Stories
•Card
•Conversation
C
i
•Confirmation
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INVEST Approach*
• Independent (to the degree possible)
– Does not need other stories to implement
• Negotiable
• Valuable
– Features, not tasks
– Written in the user’s language
• Estimable
• Small
– Half a Sprint or less for one Dev Team member
• Testable
– Not too subjective
*User Stories Applied by
Mike Cohn
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13. For BAs, This Means…
• Participation throughout the project
• Requirements and products that
reflect customer needs
• Ability to change for product
enhancement
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For More Information…
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