The document discusses the evolving role of the business analyst (BA) from a project-focused role to a more strategic role. It notes that BAs are increasingly expected to perform enterprise analysis, strategic planning, and business architecture work. The strategic BA helps drive strategic alignment by performing activities like opportunity analysis, business case development, and benefits measurement. This elevates the BA role from requirements gathering to helping execute organizational strategy through projects.
The problem of Change has every company's full attention. This study translates the 2016 content agenda for the annual Pink Elephant conference on ITSM into a reference knowledge catalog of key ideas about IT-enablement of adaptability.
Accelerated Business & Technology Capability Assessment and RoadmapSudhir Nilekar
'Productised' approach to fast track Capability Assessment exercise. This is to avoid the typically huge and never-ending power-point industry created by architecture 'experts'
Aligning business and tech thru capabilities - A capstera thought paperSatyaIluri
Enterprises the world over spend billions of dollars on technology enablement of business functions. A significant portion of those dollars end up creating suboptimal solutions. Most IT project problems are rooted in ambiguous business definition, churn in requirements gathering, scope creep beyond a minimum marketable feature set, wild cost guestimations, not planning for interdependencies, and a lack of strong governance.
This Capstera white paper seeks to address some of these problems and provide a framework to minimize the challenges.
The problem of Change has every company's full attention. This study translates the 2016 content agenda for the annual Pink Elephant conference on ITSM into a reference knowledge catalog of key ideas about IT-enablement of adaptability.
Accelerated Business & Technology Capability Assessment and RoadmapSudhir Nilekar
'Productised' approach to fast track Capability Assessment exercise. This is to avoid the typically huge and never-ending power-point industry created by architecture 'experts'
Aligning business and tech thru capabilities - A capstera thought paperSatyaIluri
Enterprises the world over spend billions of dollars on technology enablement of business functions. A significant portion of those dollars end up creating suboptimal solutions. Most IT project problems are rooted in ambiguous business definition, churn in requirements gathering, scope creep beyond a minimum marketable feature set, wild cost guestimations, not planning for interdependencies, and a lack of strong governance.
This Capstera white paper seeks to address some of these problems and provide a framework to minimize the challenges.
Architects of the new era often struggle with increased span of control, business focus and strategic responsibilities in the organization. The IT architecture discipline in 2013 is facing completely new set of challenge than what it used to address couple of years ago: architects are now focusing on how to help business units to respond in a way that creates business agility, drives better, faster and cheaper production (or delivery), and flows value in rapid cycles, while optimizing the strategy along the way. History of traditional IT Architecture is becoming legend, legend is turning into a myth; this session will help architects to transform so they maintain or increase their relevance in the modern industrialized IT-as-a-service world.
Business capability mapping and business architectureSatyaIluri
Business architecture and capabilities mapping captures and encapsulates the essence of a business. Using capabilities enterprises can model their current and desired business capabilities with rich semantics and leverage these as Lego blocks to compose products/ initiatives, overlay them with value streams and processes, and capture requirements to evolve capabilities. Business capability mapping helps companies establish a common language, fosters business/IT alignment, helps reduce redundancy and rework, and aligns execution with strategy.
How to develop and govern a Technology Strategy in 10 weeksLeo Barella
This presentation covers the organizational layout, EA Services and EA Governance processes necessary to develop and govern a technology strategy effectively.
Presentation for the IASA January 2016 eSummit on business-architecture - see http://iasaglobal.org/monthly-esummit/
Exploring the context of business-architecture: upwards to the big-picture, downwards to implementation, sideways to connections and qualities, and avoiding design-mistakes that take us backward to business-models that really don't work...
RoIT - How to Justify Information Technology (IT) and Other Programs via ROI
The word is out. Management and financial officers no longer accept vagaries, such as: "It's a must for corporate survival to stay competitive", " We owe it to ourselves to go ahead with this new initiative, our competitors are", "It will help leverage our present IT or technology infrastructure", "We'll be at the frontier of knowledge and ahead of the game"......
The fact that you must now compete for scarce corporate investment dollars with other projects, and the fact that purely intangible considerations are no longer enough to justify investments forces CIOs, IT executives, technologists and operations personnel to a) prepare pragmatic proposals; and b) justify them in quantitative ROI terms in order to stand a chance of gaining approval for your vital investment initiatives.
Return on Investment is a term often mentioned but rarely defined or understood. As a result, IT and business managers find themselves struggling to develop some measure of technology’s business value. For too many, the answer remains elusive.
In this workshop technical and business professionals will learn how to answer the fundamental question: "What is information technology worth?" And they will learn to do it in straightforward non-financial and financial terms.
Participants will learn about the "tangibles":
the traditional "financial measures" (NPV, IRR, payback) in easy to understand terminology
why the actual calculations are the easy part
how to solve the real challenge - deciding what numbers to use and where to find them
Participants will also learn how to show IT’s value when traditional monetary measures simply can’t tell the story. For example:
Will the organization be better off as a result of this project and expenditure? How?
What tangible changes in key business operations can we expect? How much?
We know security is important, but how much is improved security worth?
What is the value of better information or faster access?
What do we get for our investment in infrastructure?
Participants will leave this workshop with:
a new way of thinking about IT’s value,
tools and techniques for quantifying business value, the ability to communicate IT’s value in clear, tangible terms that business decision makers will understand.
Decision-makers will get clear, concise, and actionable requests
This presentation describes a powerful facilitated strategic planning workshop method that will assist your organization in addressing the issues raised on this page, and build a winning Information Governance (IG), Enterprise Content Management (ECM), or Records and Information Management (RIM) Strategy. This strategy will be used to guide your organization, or department, as it plans to initiate new programs and systems, or upgrade your current information management practices, content management systems and tools, or plan to improve your overall program maturity. You will learn the power of a strategic framework providing all of the strategic tools necessary to support your initiative, project, and implementation effort.
Everyone knows that organizations need reliable and cost effective operations. Learn how, as a Business Analyst, you can assist organizations to clearly illuminate how strategy, processes, business structure and staff can best be utilized to deliver reliable and cost effective operations.
It is focusing on behalf of Digtialleverage Consulting Services providing Business Development Services by using Technologies in an appropriate manner at a right time in right place.This can offer as on-Site or offshore model.
Building Business CapabilityImproving business solutions analysis and design for smarter, more agile decisions and higher levels of performance.
This presentation discusses business analysis, business rules and business processes and the need to converge practices to deliver well aligned business capabilities. Further advances are required than what currently exists in business architecture, analysis, process design and business analysis tools and methodologies. This session addresses the how to of improving business solutions analysis and design for smarter, more agile decisions and higher levels of performance.
Architects of the new era often struggle with increased span of control, business focus and strategic responsibilities in the organization. The IT architecture discipline in 2013 is facing completely new set of challenge than what it used to address couple of years ago: architects are now focusing on how to help business units to respond in a way that creates business agility, drives better, faster and cheaper production (or delivery), and flows value in rapid cycles, while optimizing the strategy along the way. History of traditional IT Architecture is becoming legend, legend is turning into a myth; this session will help architects to transform so they maintain or increase their relevance in the modern industrialized IT-as-a-service world.
Business capability mapping and business architectureSatyaIluri
Business architecture and capabilities mapping captures and encapsulates the essence of a business. Using capabilities enterprises can model their current and desired business capabilities with rich semantics and leverage these as Lego blocks to compose products/ initiatives, overlay them with value streams and processes, and capture requirements to evolve capabilities. Business capability mapping helps companies establish a common language, fosters business/IT alignment, helps reduce redundancy and rework, and aligns execution with strategy.
How to develop and govern a Technology Strategy in 10 weeksLeo Barella
This presentation covers the organizational layout, EA Services and EA Governance processes necessary to develop and govern a technology strategy effectively.
Presentation for the IASA January 2016 eSummit on business-architecture - see http://iasaglobal.org/monthly-esummit/
Exploring the context of business-architecture: upwards to the big-picture, downwards to implementation, sideways to connections and qualities, and avoiding design-mistakes that take us backward to business-models that really don't work...
RoIT - How to Justify Information Technology (IT) and Other Programs via ROI
The word is out. Management and financial officers no longer accept vagaries, such as: "It's a must for corporate survival to stay competitive", " We owe it to ourselves to go ahead with this new initiative, our competitors are", "It will help leverage our present IT or technology infrastructure", "We'll be at the frontier of knowledge and ahead of the game"......
The fact that you must now compete for scarce corporate investment dollars with other projects, and the fact that purely intangible considerations are no longer enough to justify investments forces CIOs, IT executives, technologists and operations personnel to a) prepare pragmatic proposals; and b) justify them in quantitative ROI terms in order to stand a chance of gaining approval for your vital investment initiatives.
Return on Investment is a term often mentioned but rarely defined or understood. As a result, IT and business managers find themselves struggling to develop some measure of technology’s business value. For too many, the answer remains elusive.
In this workshop technical and business professionals will learn how to answer the fundamental question: "What is information technology worth?" And they will learn to do it in straightforward non-financial and financial terms.
Participants will learn about the "tangibles":
the traditional "financial measures" (NPV, IRR, payback) in easy to understand terminology
why the actual calculations are the easy part
how to solve the real challenge - deciding what numbers to use and where to find them
Participants will also learn how to show IT’s value when traditional monetary measures simply can’t tell the story. For example:
Will the organization be better off as a result of this project and expenditure? How?
What tangible changes in key business operations can we expect? How much?
We know security is important, but how much is improved security worth?
What is the value of better information or faster access?
What do we get for our investment in infrastructure?
Participants will leave this workshop with:
a new way of thinking about IT’s value,
tools and techniques for quantifying business value, the ability to communicate IT’s value in clear, tangible terms that business decision makers will understand.
Decision-makers will get clear, concise, and actionable requests
This presentation describes a powerful facilitated strategic planning workshop method that will assist your organization in addressing the issues raised on this page, and build a winning Information Governance (IG), Enterprise Content Management (ECM), or Records and Information Management (RIM) Strategy. This strategy will be used to guide your organization, or department, as it plans to initiate new programs and systems, or upgrade your current information management practices, content management systems and tools, or plan to improve your overall program maturity. You will learn the power of a strategic framework providing all of the strategic tools necessary to support your initiative, project, and implementation effort.
Everyone knows that organizations need reliable and cost effective operations. Learn how, as a Business Analyst, you can assist organizations to clearly illuminate how strategy, processes, business structure and staff can best be utilized to deliver reliable and cost effective operations.
It is focusing on behalf of Digtialleverage Consulting Services providing Business Development Services by using Technologies in an appropriate manner at a right time in right place.This can offer as on-Site or offshore model.
Building Business CapabilityImproving business solutions analysis and design for smarter, more agile decisions and higher levels of performance.
This presentation discusses business analysis, business rules and business processes and the need to converge practices to deliver well aligned business capabilities. Further advances are required than what currently exists in business architecture, analysis, process design and business analysis tools and methodologies. This session addresses the how to of improving business solutions analysis and design for smarter, more agile decisions and higher levels of performance.
Transforming PMO Success with AI - Discover OnePlan Strategic Portfolio Work ...OnePlan Solutions
Your Project Management Office (PMO) faces a daunting task. You need to align project portfolios with strategic business objectives, all while optimizing resource allocation and maximizing ROI. Traditional, static approaches to managing work are a potential liability in a world full of fast-paced change and unforeseen disruptions. That’s why we developed OnePlan’s AI-powered Strategic Portfolio and Work Management Platform.
Attend this webinar to see the cutting-edge capabilities of OnePlan’s Strategic Portfolio Management solution. Learn how OnePlan can help you leverage the power of artificial intelligence to transform how you plan, execute, and analyze your project portfolios. Discover how aligning all work with business strategies can help you more effectively adapt to the inevitable changes and disruptions in real-time.
EDR Webinar
Presented by June Jewell, CPA, President AEC Business Solutions
November 18, 2015
Project Managers (PMs) are the key to a professional services firm’s success. Yet many firms promote technical people into roles they are not prepared or ready for. As a result, project profitability suffers and there is frustration at every level of the organization. By enabling project managers, through financial and systems training, automation, and accountability measures, the firm’s profit margins can increase substantially.
In this webinar, attendees will be able to:
-Evaluate the challenges that cause many Project Managers to struggle with project profitability
-Understand the reasons that projects go over budget
-Review the financial aspects of project management that Project Managers need to know to be successful
-Learn how technology can help Project Managers deliver more profitable projects
-Develop some best practices to help Project Managers succeed
Speaker
June R. Jewell, CPA, President AEC Business Solutions
Jewell, a thought leader and expert in AEC firm profitability, has more than 28 years of business management consulting experience, and unsurpassed knowledge of the AEC industry. In addition to this role, she is the original founder and current strategic advisor of Acuity Business Solutions, a Deltek Premier Partner and consulting firm that works with AEC firms to support business profitability through web-based enterprise management technology.
She is the Amazon best-selling author of the book “Find The Lost Dollars: 6 Steps to Increase Profits in Architecture, Engineering and Environmental Firms.” Jewell has built and run a successful consulting practice, and is a highly sought after speaker at industry events and conferences. Her past speaking engagements include AIA, ACEC, SMPS, Design and Construction Network (DCN), Society for Design Administration (SDA), Zweig Group (formerly ZweigWhite), PSMJ, ROG Growth and Ownership Conference, Project Management Institute (PMI), Deltek Insight and Business of Architecture (BOA).
Estimating your Process Projects presented at FSOkx BPM ForumProlifics
Estimating always presents challenges. This is especially true when estimating the intangibles of process improvement efforts. This presentation will focus on how to reduce the guesswork associated with the estimation process by considering the following questions: What is it that you are estimating? How big is the thing you are estimating? What baselines are you using for your estimates? Should you be estimating top down, bottom up or somewhere in between? How do your estimates tie to your project plan? Do your estimates reflect ROI and business value?
David Beard
CRM Evangelist - Sage CRM Solutions
"With over 10 years involvement in business analyst & project management roles for a variety of companies in the IT, telecommunications & banking sectors, David brings a wealth of experience in helping companies define what a customer means and how best to interact - across both cultural & systemic contexts"
Fail to prepare, prepare to fail: implementing ERP and CRM systemsSageukofficial
David Beard, from the business software company Sage UK, looks at market place trends driving the thoughts of software vendors. He then considers why businesses often fail to realise the measurable benefits from ERP and CRM software implementations and what they can do to widen, and thus, improve their approach.
Revolutionizing IT Project Delivery - Embrace the Future with OnePlan’s AI-Po...OnePlan Solutions
IT departments are under increasing pressure to deliver projects that align with – and also drive – business strategy. But traditional Project Portfolio Management (PPM) simply can’t keep pace with the dynamic landscape of managing IT technology projects. That’s why we developed OnePlan’s AI-powered Strategic Portfolio and Work Management Platform.
Attend this webinar to see how OnePlan’s cutting-edge AI capabilities can help you harness the power of Strategic Portfolio Management to achieve unparalleled agility, efficiency, and strategic alignment across all your IT projects. Discover how OnePlan’s groundbreaking solutions can help IT leaders, project managers, and key stakeholders leverage artificial intelligence to elevate their project delivery processes.
Similar to Business Analyst the pivotal role of the future (20)
Revolutionizing IT Project Delivery - Embrace the Future with OnePlan’s AI-Po...
Business Analyst the pivotal role of the future
1. The Business Analyst The Pivotal IT Role of the Future Presented by: Kathleen B. (Kitty) Hass, PMP Project Management and Business Analysis Practice Leader [email_address]
4. The Present – Still Troubling Nearly ⅔ of all projects fail or run into trouble.
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14. Traditional Project Team Business Team & End-users IT Architecture Team Test Team Project Manager Business Sponsor Business Analyst Team Leads Test Manager Architect Business Visionary Development Team
15. Core Project Team Concept Business Team & End-users IT Architecture Team Test Team Project Manager Business Sponsor Business Analyst Team Leads Test Manager Architect Business Visionary Development Team SMEs
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18. Ambiguity in the BA Role Source: The New Business Analyst : A Strategic Role in the Enterprise, November 2006 Evans Data Corporation Research Study Conclusion: there is a need for Business Analyst competency and career path definition 13.0% Other 10.1% Tester, Test Lead 13.5% Subject Matter Expert, Domain Expert 15.4% Developer, Engineer, Development Lead 18.7% Project Management 29.3% Business Analysis
19. Business Analyst Career Path PM/BA Principles BPR, Six Sigma Principles Business Writing Scribe Simple models Help Desk support Ability to perform simple tasks with assistance Associate Business &/or IT Domain Project Management BPR, Six Sigma Workshop Facilitation Requirements Modeling Elicit, Analyze, Specify, Validate, Manage Requirements Ability to perform simple-to-moderately complex tasks with minimal assistance Intermediate Business & IT Domains Project & Program Mgt. Systems Engineering, BPR, Six Sigma Requirements Engineering Elicit, Analyze, Specify, Validate, Manage Requirements Ability to perform complex tasks with minimal coaching Senior Business & IT Strategy Program and Portfolio Mgt. Systems Engineering, BPR, Six Sigma Enterprise Architecture Business Case Development Strategic Planning Enterprise Analysis Mentoring Ability to perform strategic tasks with minimal direction Strategic Competencies Responsibilities Proficiency Level
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22. BA Role - The Past Elicitation Analysis Elicitation Specification Validation and Documentation Requirements Phase
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24. BA Role - The Future Enterprise Analysis Strategic Planning Requirements Design Construction Test Deliver Operations and Maintenance Deactivate
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26. The BA Drives Strategic Alignment Enter New Mkts Increase Quality Grow Market Share Reduce Costs Improve Shopper Experience Certify 1000 Reps Coaching Job-related e-learning Higher Hiring Stds Learning Management System TMM NAITF* In-store Learning Kiosks Content Acquisition Training Policy etc. DB Boxes Apps etc. Certificate Process
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28. Business Solution Value Cost to Develop, Operate and Retire the Solution Business Value Deployment Value = Benefits – Costs to Develop, Operate, Retire Project Costs
The Standish Group’s 2004 Third Quarter Research Report, culminating a decade of that organization’s IT project surveys, shows a reversal of gains that had been evident in recent years: Five percent fewer projects were deemed successful than in 2003; the IT project failure rate increased by 3%, while challenged projects increased by 2%. Source: The Standish Group International, Inc., 2004 Third Quarter Research Report, <http://www.standishgroup.com/sample_research/PDFpages/q3-spotlight.pdf> (20 May 2005), Resolution of Projects.
The Standish Group’s 2004 Third Quarter Research Report, culminating a decade of that organization’s IT project surveys, shows a reversal of gains that had been evident in recent years: Five percent fewer projects were deemed successful than in 2003; the IT project failure rate increased by 3%, while challenged projects increased by 2%. Source: The Standish Group International, Inc., 2004 Third Quarter Research Report, <http://www.standishgroup.com/sample_research/PDFpages/q3-spotlight.pdf> (20 May 2005), Resolution of Projects.
The New Project Leader: From implementers to business decision-makers It is not enough for executive teams to just select the right mix of projects to achieve their strategic imperatives. Executive teams must also establish organizational capabilities to deliver. Executives must ensure that project teams are capable of contributing to the success of their organization. For project success, several elements are essential: Effective and targeted project management processes, tools, and techniques Appropriate executive decision making at key control gates High-performing teams Exceptional project leadership As programs and projects are launched to realize critical strategic goals, the project manager of strategic initiatives should be looked upon as the executive officer of a small enterprise. Just as a business leader must be multi-skilled and strategically focused, a project leader must possess a broad range of knowledge and skills including competence in: Technical areas of the project, Project management, People management, Team building, General management (e.g., marketing, finance), Organizational behavior, Political maneuvering, Change management, Strategic alignment, Conflict management, Negotiating, Communications
Strategic planning focuses the executive team on the organization’s reason for being. The formal strategic planning document usually defines the vision, mission, guiding principles, values, and objectives of the organization. To drive from vision to strategy, executive teams build strategic plans consisting of initiatives or programs. The strategic focus of the organization serves as the foundation to select and prioritize programs and projects - and to manage changes to the portfolio of projects as the competitive landscape changes, or the business case no longer justifies the project. Note : While it is noted here that the executive team performs strategic planning, it is not only their responsibility. Strategic planning needs to occur at all levels in the organization (e.g., the organization level, the department level, the project level, and even at an individual level). Thus, everyone is responsible to some degree for strategic planning . Note : A project portfolio is a collection of projects co-managed under the same management umbrella. The project portfolio may be at the organizational, departmental, program, or project manager level. We will use this term synonymously with the term program (a group of related projects managed in a coordinated way).
Unit 1: Key Concepts Verification and Validation The two key roles that this workshop will focus upon include: Project manager – The person assigned by the performing organization to achieve the project objectives. Business analyst – The person responsible for identifying the business needs of their clients and stakeholders to help determine solutions to business problems. As IT’s role moves beyond efficiency to business effectiveness, the business analyst becomes the central figure on the project team who is “bi-lingual” – i.e., speaks both business and technical languages.
Unit 1: Key Concepts Verification and Validation The two key roles that this workshop will focus upon include: Project manager – The person assigned by the performing organization to achieve the project objectives. Business analyst – The person responsible for identifying the business needs of their clients and stakeholders to help determine solutions to business problems. As IT’s role moves beyond efficiency to business effectiveness, the business analyst becomes the central figure on the project team who is “bi-lingual” – i.e., speaks both business and technical languages. A
Refer to the Supplemental Materials section, 1-1 for a more comprehensive depiction of the Business Solutions Life Cycle.
Refer to Supplemental Materials : The Business Analyst: The Pivotal IT Role of the Future and the Business Solution Life Cycle graphic. Discussion: What happens during each phase? What deliverables are produced during each phase? What phases is the business analyst involved in? What happens during the requirements phase?
The BA manages business benefits by: Preparing project business case to invest in the most valuable projects Ensuring that the business case remains viable and continued investment in the project is still warranted during the project Measuring business benefits based on new solution - Actual benefits that are achieved vs. benefits promised in the business case
Unit 1: Key Concepts Verification and Validation
Capacity = Maximum # of Successful Projects. Gained Benefits = Ability to Deliver Successful Projects When Managing to Capacity With the unmanaged portfolio, eventually you will be taking on more and more projects, reducing quality, and all of your projects will fail or implode. You will be putting out fires and not performing the work on the projects that are important to the organization.
Models are logical or functional representations of a system, and therefore are representations of business or functional requirements. They are usually graphical in nature, and represent the system from the perspective of whatever is moving through it. Decomposing requirements to restate and clarify them. Confirming project scope through interaction with key project stakeholders and users to ensure that the project will satisfy the need for which it was funded. The goal is to reduce requirement risks through early validation prototyping techniques. Assessing requirements feasibility by analyzing requirement risks and constraints, and modifying requirements to mitigate identified risks. The goal is to reduce requirement risks through early validation prototyping techniques. Prioritizing requirements to reflect the fact that not all requirements are of equal value to the business. Then, perhaps, lower priority needs can be addressed in a later system release.
Purpose of Requirements Analysis: Documentation of requirements for development Confirmation that scope is feasible Validation that project meets user needs Prioritization of requirements Reduction of project risks Progressive clarification of requirements
A model is a representation of the solution or a solution component. A model is used to depict a process, investigate risk, or to evaluate an attribute, such as business reengineering models (process), technical feasibility models (risk), and physical fit models (attributes). Models may be physical or computer-based. Software models are constructed to prove or demonstrate technical feasibility. Reference: Hal Mooz, Kevin Forsberg, and Howard Cotterman, Communicating Project Management: The Integrated Vocabulary Of Project Management And Systems Engineering (Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2003).
In making the argument that modeling actually occurs in a more iterative manner rather than in tidy, linear phases, Ambler presents eight Agile modeling categories. Refer to Supplemental Materials: Phases Examined: Why Requirements, Analysis, and Design No Longer Make Sense. Reference: Scott W. Ambler, “Phases Examined: Why Requirements, Analysis, and Design No Longer Make Sense,” “Agile Modeling (AM) Home Page: Effective Practices for Modeling and Documentation,” Ambysoft, Inc., <http://www.agilemodeling.com/essays/phasesExamined.htm> (accessed June 7, 2005).
Requirement specifications are elaborated from and linked to the structured requirements, providing a repository of requirements with a completed attribute set. Through this process of progressive elaboration, the requirements team often detects areas that are not defined in sufficient detail, which unless addressed can lead to uncontrolled change to system requirements. Requirements are specified in either an enterprise requirements tracking system or the business requirements document (BRD). Note: This is not the software specification which is a deliverable of the design phase. Reference: Karl E. Wiegers, Software Requirements (Redmond, WA: Microsoft Press, 2003), 489.
After the elicitation and analysis phases, the BA will begin providing additional specificity to define system behavior. This increases the amount of information to be tracked by the project team. Reference: Dean Leffingwell and Don Widrig, Managing Software Requirements: A Use Case Approach (Boston: Addison-Wesley, 2003), 144.
Requirements are validated for completeness, testability and level of risk: Complete The set of requirements is compared to the original initiating documents (business case, project charter, or statement of work) to ensure completeness. Testable During the validation process, initial test cases are often developed to ensure that each requirement is testable. Low Risk Validation activities include evaluating requirements to ensure that design risks associated with the requirements are minimized before further investment is made in system development. An often-used analysis technique to validate requirements is prototyping.
The Chaos study determined that good requirements, active user and management support and smaller projects were key success factors. Reference: Standish Group Discussion Point: Should projects be cancelled if lack of user or senior management support?