Use Cases allow requirements to be presented as a collection of stories from the user’s perspective. A Use Case can be used on its own or in addition to a User Story to provide more detailed descriptions of how users interact with a system. Use Case Diagram Use Case Diagrams can be used to help visualise the story described in a Use Case. A Use Case Diagram consists of 3 components: Actor – represented by a stick figure Use Case…
Continue ReadingBusiness Analyst Interviews
06/03/2019 |
By IRM Training
Business Analyst Interviews Welcome to another of our webinars in which we delve into some of the techniques we teach in the course in more detail or discuss some of the issues that affect business analysts. In this session we will go more deeply into the most common technique used by any business analyst, that of the stakeholder interview. This can be one of the most difficult techniques to use, and there is always something new to learn…
Continue ReadingBusiness Analyst or Business Solution Designer?
07/09/2016 |
By IRM Training
At IRM we’ve long argued that investigating, eliciting and gathering requirements (i.e. analysing business problems) is only half the job of a business analyst. Sure the business wants you to understand their problems but more importantly they want you to come up with a solution. And not a technical solution but a business solution. As a business analyst you definitely need to understand how technology can be exploited. Just leave the technical (i.e. physical) design to others who specialise in…
Continue ReadingHow to a Draw Data Flow Diagram
05/02/2016 |
By IRM Training
A data flow diagram (DFD) shows how the functions, or processes, of a system relate to each other via the data that flows between them. They are most valuable in showing ‘what’, (the logical view) but can also be used to show the ‘how’ (the physical view). Data Flow Diagram – a process modelling tool Data flow diagrams (DFD) show how the functions, or processes, of a system relate to each other via the data that flows between them. They are…
Continue ReadingHow Can I Add Business Value?
05/08/2015 |
By IRM Training
To answer this question we need to understand what business value actually is. As an employee, adding value can translate into improving processes, providing better customer service, reducing time to market, delivering better products/services. However to a shareholder or company owner there’s only one value metric – increased profits. This is achieved by selling more or spending less. It’s not for nothing that most CEOs have a sales or accounting background. That’s not to say that business analysts need sales…
Continue ReadingUser Stories & The Jungle Book
24/04/2015 |
By IRM Training
Back in 1902, a collection of stories and poems for children – the Just So Stories written by Rudyard Kipling – was published. For those of you struggling to place Rudyard Kipling, he was the author of The Jungle Book. Check out the Disney movie of the same name if you’re still not sure – or ask your children! Kipling knew a thing or two about the written language. Tucked away in one of the Just So Stories were a group of words which have…
Continue ReadingUse Case Fragments
30/09/2014 |
By IRM Training
A previous IRM article Event Based Analysis and Modelling described how business functionality in a requirements package can be broken down into a table with column headings – Event, Trigger, Initiator, Use Case name, etc. Each business function is a separate event and has a unique number. A typical business function might contain several unique events each of which we want to end up as a component of a larger software application. So how do we go from a table containing…
Continue ReadingIs Business Analysis Low Tech?
13/07/2013 |
By IRM Training
Many course attendees ask us – what are the best business analysis tools, what software should I use, can we have computers in the training room? The reality is, the more sophisticated the software you’re using, the greater the chance it will hinder, rather than help, the business analysis process. Almost 10 years ago, an article by Scott Ambler, Software Modeling on Whiteboards, argued that the modelling tool with the greatest installed base in the world was the whiteboard. Scott…
Continue ReadingData Modelling & Object Oriented Development
22/10/2011 |
By IRM Training
At some stage in their working life, every business analyst will have some involvement with data modelling. They may need to model how data is (or will be) used or – if they only deal with requirements investigation – then someone else in the team will need to verify that the data to support new functions will be available. To produce a data model (a logical view of the data) the technique of choice has been, and still remains, the…
Continue ReadingHow to use Use Cases (With Examples)
17/10/2007 |
By IRM Training
Many business analysts and business users get frustrated at the perceived lack of information in a use case diagram. “It’s all very well drawing a picture” they say but what about the details – what’s actually going on? When producing project documentation, use case diagrams are rarely used on their own. They will generally be accompanied by a textual use case and if they’re complex, may also have a supporting activity diagram to show what’s going on “inside” the use…
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