This document discusses the importance of communication and connectedness in business analysis. It emphasizes that project success hinges on effectively communicating with stakeholders to understand requirements, set expectations, and show how the project will help stakeholders. The business analyst plays a key role as the communicator, translator, and connector between technology and stakeholders' needs. Effectively analyzing stakeholders, understanding how they communicate and learn, learning the project context, and leveraging new communication channels are discussed as important for business analysts to effectively elicit requirements and ensure project success.

1. Communication and
Connectedness in
Business Analysis
Maria Horrigan
Principal Consultant
BA World July 2009

2. “We’re living in a networked world”

3. Modern IT projects
• People demand to be heard
• People expect to be involved
• People’s expectations of how
good systems are is based on
their experience of modern
internet applications of the
Google World - Gmail, Google
Search, Facebook, Flickr and
YouTube

4. What does their expectation mean?
Project success hinges on
communicating with people:
• To understand what they want
• To set expectations about what the
project will actually deliver (and what it
won’t)
• To show them how the project will help
them in their work
• To uncover what they need . . .

5. Because sometimes they don’t know what
they need

6. What’s their requirement of you?
• Knowing how to talk to people and get
the information you need to write
requirements
• Effectively negotiating with important
stakeholders
• Getting the right messages to the right
people at the right time
• An understanding of both the ‘big
picture’ and the detail
• Understand the context & the situation

7. Understanding the Business is Good
Communication
• IT is now part of the business - every
program, every initiative, will have some
touch point with technology
• Success depends on anticipation of
future trends and ability to sense
upcoming developments and to design
appropriate systems and processes
• Resolving misunderstandings about
requirements
• Uncovering needs vs wants

8. Project DNA
Things to
Things to do
produce
Project DNA
Patterns to Competencies
apply to perform
Zen Agile – Project DNA 2009 Hodgson & Horrigan

9. Sourcing Project DNA
Things to
Things to do
produce
Analysis Process
Project DNA Improvement
Business
knowledge
Patterns to Competencies Planning
Information
apply management
to perform
Change User-
management experience
Facilitation engineering
Zen Agile – Project DNA 2009 Hodgson & Horrigan

10. Need to know the Team Capability & Tailor
Communication to meet their needs
What competencies
do they bring to the
Develper team
Design Business
Architect Analyst
Team
What is the role
Graphic Business of the BA?
designer Analyst
Info offcier

11. Role of Business Analyst is the key!
• The Communicator
• The Translator
• The Juggler of technology and
people’s needs
• The one between the rock and a
hard place
• The Connector (bridge)

12. How do we do all this Communications Stuff
Effectively?
• Analyse the stakeholders needs and
wants, how they are connected and
why
• Understand how they communicate,
their preference and style
• Learn the project in the context of
people’s work and how this fits into the
wider organisational context

13. Their needs and wants, their connections to others
ANALYSE STAKEHOLDERS

14. “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know”
Me and
SITC Gals
Me and
Brad
Me and
Bill Gates

15. Analysing “who is who in the zoo”
• Who to talk to
• Who has influence
• Who knows what the business needs are
• What drives and motivates people’s work
behaviour
• How to talk to them given this (above)
context
• How to tailor the communications
channels to elicit information from these
different people

16. Multiplicity of networks – official vs unofficial
• Advice
• “Who do you go to for advice?”
• “Who goes to you for advice?”
• Collaboration
• “Who do you collaborate with?”
• How do you collaborate (social media)
• Trust
• Who do you trust?
• Friendship
• Who is your friend?
• Conflict
• Who is a blocker or gatekeeper?

17. Social Networking Analysis
• Mathematical, graphical, theoretical
understanding of the social world
• Networks and their structures
• Map and measure relationships between
people, groups, organisations,
computers, and websites
• Flows of information and knowledge
(focus on people not systems)
• Know what the relationships are to
better communicate, elicit requirements

18. Understanding Social Networks
• the location of actors in the network
• the various roles and groupings in a
network
Gives insight into:
• who are the connectors, experts,
leaders, bridges, isolates?
• where are the clusters and who is in
them?
• who is in the core or hub?
• who is on the periphery?

19. Social Networks – Key Terms
Nodes People and groups
Links Show relationships or flows between the nodes
Attribute Name and value
Relationship Types (eg friend, advice)
properties Direction (directed vs undirected)
Strength (binary vs weighted)
Network Centralisation
properties Density or Concentration
Size

20. Centrality – revealing the network structure
• Very centralized network dominated by one or a
few very central nodes. If removed , the network
quickly fragments single point of failure
• Less centralized network is resilient in the face of
attacks. Many nodes or links can fail yet allow
remaining nodes to still reach each other
• Boundary Spanners connect their group to
others. Well positioned to be innovators and have
access to ideas and information flowing in other
clusters.
• Periphery of a network may connect to networks
that are not currently mapped. Important
resources for fresh information not otherwise
available

21. Project Case Study

22. Degree of Centrality in the Network
Hub has most
connections – authority
gained
It not the “more connections
the better”, but where they
lead to…
..and how they connect
the otherwise
unconnected

23. Centrality and Betweenness
Great influence over
what flows (and does
not)
“location location
location”
Broker role between
Business and IT

24. Centrality and Closeness
Shortest path to all
others – gives quick
access
Excellent position to
monitor info flows
Best visibility of what
is happening in the
network

25. Project Case Study
Supporte
Gatekeepe Key User r
Influencer r
Boundary Spanner
Project Champion
Key decision
maker
Facilitator
Potential
blocker
Key User Trusted
advisor Periphery

26. Six degrees of separation
26

27. Leveraging Centrality
• Leverage champions
• Understand who might be “blockers” or
“gatekeepers” (tertiary segmentation)
• Find people to go to in order to elicit information –
more efficient requirements gathering
• Don’t reinvent the wheel
• Quickly identify who might know the answer,
communicate with them, understand their lessons
learned, improve likely success of the project
• Know who to communicate key messages to in
order for them to disseminate throughout the
network

28. Communicate Lesson Learned
Business
analyst Develper
Project Design Design Business
Sponsor Architect Les
so Architect Analyst
ns l
ea rned
Team Team
Change Graphic Business
Media designer Analyst
Manager
Comms Info offcier

29. How they communicate, their preference for style & channels
UNDERSTAND
STAKEHOLDERS

30. Understanding ‘how’ to Communicate
Communication preferences:
• Style
• Person’s orientation towards process
vs results
• Need for recognition vs need for
security
• Channel
• Visual, Auditory, Kinaesthetic
• What type of medium for the message
(eg traditional media v. social media)

31. D T
Drivers
Talkers
people
task
C S
Controllers Supporters

32. Drivers – Doers, Directors
• Do it now, can do attitude Get tosocial “chit–
limit
the point
• Goal oriented & a self starter chat”
• Assertive & Competitive
• Results oriented Concentrate on
• Task & information focused providing info on
outcomes
• Decisive & want control
• Fast paced often impatient
Don’t waste
• Prepared to take risks time in
meetings
• Problem solvers

33. Talkers – Influencers, Extrovert
• Want to be noticed Allow time for discussion
• People oriented in meetings
• Direct & open Allow for flexibility as
ideas may change
• Animated & emotional agenda
• Creative, enthusiastic leaders
• Lots of ideas, bubbly, outgoing
• Fast paced & spontaneous
• Prefer working with others
• Excellent persuasive skills

34. Supporters – Stable, Helpful
• Want to get along
• People oriented team players participation to
May need to encourage
their
• Help others & solve conflicts you capture their
ensure
needs
• Relaxed & friendly
• Slower paced
• Cautious, risk averse Allow time to absorb and
digest info before decision
• Enjoy harmony & trust is made
• Patient & cooperative
• Dependable & predictable
• Avoid conflict & good listeners

35. Controllers - Checkers, Tickers
• Want to get it right Don’t take away their
control or be seen to “go
• Accurate & meticulous over their head”
• Logical task & information focused
• Detail oriented & precise Don’t push them
for a quick
• Slower paced, quality not quantity decision
• Cautious & risk averse
• Problem solvers
• Structured and orderly Make sure you have all
• Dependable & predictable facts and supporting
the
info
• Set high standards

36. Know your own style and preference
• Stakeholders have a very different style to me
• “Driver” and a “Controller” - analytical and
results focused so need to be mindful to bring
people along rather than trying to push too
hard. (esp with largely “Supporter” risk
adverse audience)
• Use the strengths of your style and adapt your
style to the different stakeholders on a project
• No particular style that is better than the other
• Style to adopt will be contextual and situational
so be flexible and think about your audience

37. Project DNA
Prototype
Benchmark
Logical
data Model User
segmentation
Things to
Things to do
Process produce
Context
Diagram DNA
Project
Personas
Sitemap
Patterns to Competencies
apply to perform
Zen Agile – Project DNA 2009 Hodgson & Horrigan

38. Communication Channels
People learn different ways
• V= Visual (Something ‘seen’ or had visual
stimulation)
• Need a graphic representation of the material
• A= Auditory (A ‘sound’ memory or related
to a sound
• Need to hear the explanation of how things work
• K= Kinaesthetic (Has a ‘doing’ memory &
you thought of yourself feeling the
emotion or activity of the memory
• Need to use the system to understand

39. We use all of our senses; we simply
have a preference for one or more

40. Activity
• Write as many words or phrases as you can
think of that relate to the words:
• Beach and Ocean
• Place a V, an A, or a K against each word or
phrase:
• V=visual (Something ‘seen’ or had visual stimulation)
• See the blue sky, see children playing in the water
• A=Auditory (A ‘sound’ memory or related to a sound
• Hear the waves against the shore
• K=Kinaesthetic (Has a ‘doing’ memory & you thought of yourself
feeling the emotion or activity of the memory
• Feel the cold of the ocean on my skin, feel the sun and the
sand, the taste of salt

41. V, A or K ? – Context Diagram
Visual

42. V, A or ?- Prototypes
Site identification
Australian Government branding
Site tagline
Photographs
Visual
Popular topics Go Search Go
More search options
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Kinaesthetic

43. V, A or K? – Business Process Map
Visual

44. V, A or K? – Presentation
Auditory
Can be Visual
and Kinaesthetic

45. V, A or K? – Storyboarding
Kinaesthetic Visual

46. V, A or K ? - Workshop
Kinaesthetic

47. V, A or K ? - Use Cases
UC01 Register Pharmacy
Description Users are able to register a pharmacy for the program. Visual
Volume/Timing/Frequency Up to 5000 Pharmacies
Preconditions User has accessed website
Postconditions Community Pharmacy has been registered for the program
Trigger Community Pharmacy selects to register for program
Basic Flow
• Community Pharmcy selects to register
• System displays blank Pharmacy Registration screen (see Appendix A)
• Community Pharmacy enters “Pharmacy.Section90”
• System validates “Pharmacy.Section90”
• Community Pharmacy enters “Pharmacy.ABN”
• System validates ABN against Australian Business Register (ABR)
• System populates “Pharmacy.Pharmacy Trading Name”, “Pharmacy.Postcode”, “Pharmacy.State” and
“Pharmacy.GST Registered”
Alternate Flow <A1>
• Community Pharmacy is not currently eligible
• System displays Pharmacy Registration screen
Error Messages generated from this Use Case
Option to display help (display the online help for the current screen)
Basic Flow Step 4 – “Section 90 number is not an Approved Section 90 number. A valid Approved Section 90
number is required to register for programs. Please ensure you have entered it correctly.”

48. Visual Learners
• Visual Learners learn by seeing
• Have strong spelling & writing skills
• Find spelling mistakes distracting
• Not talk much & dislike listening for too long
• Be distracted by untidiness and movement
• Support Visual Learners by using:
• Posters, charts & graphs
• Visual Displays
• Booklets, brochures, & handouts
• Variety of colour & shape
• Clear layouts with headings & plenty of white space
• Context Diagrams, Process maps

49. Auditory Learners
• Auditory Learners learn by listening
• Love to talk
• Appear to daydream whilst ‘talking’ inside their heads
• Read in a talking style
• Love the telephone and music
• Support Auditory Learners by using:
• Question & Answer
• Lectures & Stories
• Discussion Pairs/Groups
• Variety in tone, pitch, rate and volume
• Music or slogans
• User scenarios, Presentations, Podcasts

50. Kinaesthetic Learners
• Kinaesthetic Learners learn by doing
• Move around a lot, tap pens and shift in their seat
• Want lots of breaks
• Enjoy games
• Not like reading, but doodle and take notes
• Support Kinaesthetic Learners by using:
• Team activities
• Hands-on Experience
• Role-plays
• Note taking
• Emotional discussion
• Prototypes, Workshops and UAT

51. New Channels for Communication
• New ways of communicating and reaching
out to others
• Access to body of knowledge (in people’s
heads, not in documents) and Communities
of practice
• Networking - leveraging: the power of many
• ½ billion engaged in use of social computing
tools because it connects them
• Save time and energy - easiest way (anytime,
anywhere) to make contact, communicate,
share, collaborate with “friends”

52. Know the project in the context of people’s work and how
this fits into the wider organisational context
LEARN THE CONTEXT

53. Context of the Project
• Critical to understand the business needs
• Look at the project with the context of the
organisation and the business unit
• Enterprise Analysis vs Business Analysis
• IT strategic Plan
• Standards and protocols
• IT Capabilities (insource vs outsource)
• Contextual Inquiry – see how they work
• It’s not about You! It’s about Users
• Always ask if what you are doing is adding
value and how does it link back to the
strategy

54. Sourcing the ‘right’ DNA for your Project
Context Balancing
human &
business
requirements
Project DNA
Validatio
Solution
n
design
Zen Agile – Project DNA 2009 Hodgson & Horrigan

55. Project DNA
Specify Test/validate
requirements
Ethnographic
research
Things to
Things to do
produce Facilitate Contextual
workshop inquiry
Project DNA
Communicate
Communicate
Patterns to Competencies to Steering
lessons learned Committee
apply to perform
Zen Agile – Project DNA 2009 Hodgson & Horrigan

56. Applying Project DNA
Team
Contextual
Analysis inquiry
Project DNA
Iterative Storyboarding
Prototype
Zen Agile – Project DNA 2009 Hodgson & Horrigan

57. Planning with Forrester’s POST
People: Understand how they think and behave in the
work environments and their social communities
Objectives: Know what relationships are and those you want
to establish, and why and how you will measure it
so you know when the project is successful
Strategy: Understand the strategy and what needs to be
delivered
Technology: Identify tools to use to help achieve objectives

58. What needs to be considered

59. Applying Forrester’s POST method
People: • Who is who?
• Connections and Authority?
• Channel and style preferences?
Objectives: • What problem is the project trying to solve?
• What are the business requirements?
Strategy: • How does this project fit into the business
strategy, the vision for the organisation?
Technology: • What are the SOE, infrastructure and capability
of the organisation/business?
• What is the right tech solution to meet business
requirements?

60. Project DNA
Things to
Things to do
produce
Elements
of User
Governance Project DNA
Experience
model
Standards eg
Patterns to ISO13407 Competencies
Waterfall or apply to perform
Agile Quality
Assurance
Iterative
design Risk
mitigation Zen Agile – Project DNA 2009 Hodgson & Horrigan

61. Projects need Good Governance
Get SMEs Sign off on
Steering
involved to Committee milestones and
validate solution deliverables
Can be the BA
Project Assurance Project Leader
or a designated
PM
Project Team Project Support
Solution Iteration Solution Iteration Solution Iteration
IT Group
Team 1 Team 2 Team N

62. Understanding context, people &
relationships
Network analysis
enables you to
put the Actors in
Governance
Enables you to ensure the right people are:
• Put into your governance framework
• Making the decisions – risk, financial impacts of scope
change
• Contributing to requirements

63. CONCLUSIONS

64. Take Home messages
Projects can be more successful if:
• You take the time to analyse the people,
relationships, connections between them
• You understand communication preferences
will vary amongst stakeholders so be flexible
and adapt your style and channel to you
audience
• As a BA, embrace your role as communicator
and translator to bridge the gap between the
technology and the work people need to do

65. Fin
Maria Horrigan
Oakton
Principal Consultant
Email: maria.horrigan@oakton.com.au
Blog: www.barocks.com
Slideshare: www.slideshare.com/murph
Twitter: @miahorri

66. Questions?