How the Busibness Analyst can use winning consultative skills to serve their IT and Business customers

1. A proven consultative approach for IT Business
Analysts to partner with the Business and
Stakeholders that ensures Project Success
Presented by Mark Troncone, MBA, PMP ®, CSM®

2.  Current Project Facts
 What are the Business Expectations
 Understanding the Business
 Being Pro-Active/Results Oriented
 Communications and Listening
 Being Service Oriented

3.  PMP® Certified – Project Management Institute
 CRM Certified SCRUM Master® – SCRUM Alliance
 Certified IT Business Analyst
 Active career transition mentor
 MBA – Management, BS – Marketing, AS – Accounting
 Work Experience:
* TransAct Technologies (Currently)
* Starwood Hotels
* Affinion Group
* Hewitt Associates
* Wachovia Bank
* Bayer Pharmaceuticals
* Reader’s Digest
* James River Corporation

4.  66% of Software Projects are not
expected to finish on-time o on budget.
 Completed Projects have only 52% of
proposed functionality when delivered
 56% of Project Defects originate in the
requirements phase of the project.
 Knowing this how can the IT Business
Analyst lend value to ensure success

5. It is important as an IT Business Analyst that you are
viewed by the Stakeholders and Business SME’s as:
◦ A Valued Advisor
◦ Business Knowledgeable
◦ A Pro-Active Questioner and Listener
◦ Organized / Task Driven
◦ Technically Savvy
◦ Results Accomplishing Leader
◦ Someone that offers Solutions
◦ A Meeting Facilitator
◦ A Team Player

6.  Knowing the Stakeholder’s/Business SME’s Business
 Knowing the Stakeholder’s/Business SME’s Background
 Knowing how the Business Functions Internally
 Knowing the Businesses Systems
o Web Systems – Training/Hands On Using/Manuals
o Reports - Generated and Required
o Databases - Inputs/Outputs, Data Flows
o Business Acronyms/Terminology
o Key Data elements – and how they move through the system
o Affects on other systems and the company as a whole
 The Do’s & Don’ts – Business/Organization Politics
 Understanding the industry and current trends

7.  Doing what you say you will do
 Taking responsibility for your actions and
accepting their impact – “do not blame others”
 Turning negative situations into positive results
o Avoiding “isn’t it awful” discussion
o Exploring alternatives
o Presenting the positive thought, question, or point of view
o Finding ways to avoid making the same mistake again
o Understanding the impact on other parts of the business
 Communicating to all parties as soon as possible
when a commitment will not be met

8.  Meeting Facilitating - Being Prepared
o Having a clear purpose stated
o Preparing an agenda
o Knowing what questions to ask
o Having any visual presentations ready
o Send out any documents before the meeting
o Checking assumptions
o Inviting only the necessary individuals
o Scribe meeting, action items, assignments, next steps, follow ups
o Ask at meetings end – “Did we accomplish our meeting goal?”

9.  Communicating to Stakeholders and others as soon
as possible when a commitment will not be met
 Demonstrating resourcefulness by calling upon peers,
experts, team members etc. as required to accomplish
a task
 Reducing complex situations into manageable pieces
 Taking initiative t act – “Thinking outside the box”
 Looking beyond the immediate situation/solution and
explore implications or other possibilities that effects:
o Other work in progress
o Work planned in the future
o The overall IT Department strategy

10.  Being Prepared:
o Having a clear purpose and objectives for meetings,
discussions, and other co-builder interactions
o Working with 3rd party vendors or consultants
o Knowing what questions to ask during requirements solicitation
o Checking assumptions, time estimates, solutions, identified
risks, constraints, process flows etc.
 Probing beyond stated assumptions, bias and
solutions
 Recognizing and acknowledging when “grey area”
exist and establishing expectations(s0 for outputs
given a lack of total clarity of the situation
 Introducing new technologies and approaches to
the Stakeholders/SME’s

11.  Communicating in the language and terms of your
audience
 Educating the Stakeholder/SME’s/Business
Partners to your role as a Business Analyst:
o How you will work with them
o What are your goals and deliverables
o What documents you produce and how they are used
o Why your role is necessary to the success of the project
 Questioning your Stakeholder/SMME, stating your
opinion or disagreeing with the position of others
with “tact”
 Listing to the points-of-view of others:
“understanding how, from their perspective, others
see things as they do.”

12.  Soliciting feedback and suggestions from the
Stakeholders/SME’s – “Being visible”
 Sharing information with and supporting the
Stakeholders/SME’s organization and co-workers
as appropriate
 Incorporating the thoughts and suggestions of
others in your work
 Establishing and managing Stakeholders/SME’s
relationships and expectations
 Demonstrating knowledge of multi-cultural
communication issues

13.  Be adaptive to change
 Demonstrating flexibility – “getting off” what
doesn’t work
 Supporting the policies or position of
Stakeholders/SME’s and co-workers – when
they reflect workable, reasonable alternatives
for achieving project objectives
 Recognizing “mini-steps” others take toward
achieving strategies/objectives
 Acknowledging problems and conflicts in
Stakeholder/SME’s and co-worker relationships
then determining how best to recover and move
forward to achieve desired results

14. QUESTIONS?
Tell me what you think
mtroncone73@yahoo.com