We conducted a survey of over 1,100 business analysts (68% with over 5 years experience) which gave some interesting results as to what business analysis techniques are the most popular.

Methodologies

When it comes to software development methodologies, 68% said they had experience with waterfall development, 46% said iterative whilst object-oriented (44%) and agile (34%) also rated highly.

Assuming that many of these analysts would be working for large organisations – with mainframe systems – it’s not surprising to see waterfall so widely represented. We can also conclude that analysts need to work on a variety of different applications – iterative, OO and agile being very common on web services and client/server projects.

Interestingly, disciplines like ITIL and Six Sigma, which have received lots of press recently, only rated 20% and 17% respectively.

Modelling

Whilst the most regularly used diagramming technique was flowcharting (63%), when it comes to formal diagramming techniques, use case led the way (55%) followed by data flow diagrams (42%), activity diagrams (38%) and context diagrams (34%). Entity relationship diagrams were still widely used (30%) and “new kid on the block” BPMN came in at 13%.

Note that Business Process Management (BPM) scored highly in the methodologies section (52%) but didn’t show a correspondingly high result for BPMN usage. Perhaps this indicated that BPM was interpreted as a generic term covering methodology, software products and general process improvement?

Elicitation

For requirements gathering, 67% said interviewing was the most frequently used method. Requirements workshops came in at 45% and JAD sessions 34%.

The survey showed there were a bewildering range of tools, techniques and methodologies in widespread use. Probably too many for the poor analyst to master. As always, it comes down to the old saying – it’s not what you know it’s how you use it!

Download our free Requirements Specification Template

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In the fashion industry, models are used to communicate (to bring to life) a designer’s ideas and creations. But they also go one step further – helping us the consumer to imagine how the clothes might look like if we were wearing them.

Models in business analysis perform a similar role, they stimulate our imagination so that we can analyse problems, explore solutions. The case for modelling is neatly summed up in this quote from the book Business Analysis Techniques: 72 Essential Tools for Success:

Models reveal the inconsistencies, loops, delays and bottlenecks involved in a process. A systematic analysis of “as is” process models provides a business analyst with the opportunity to think analytically and creatively about what the organisation really needs to do to achieve a better “to be” solution.

Modelling is one of those timeless techniques that transcends business analysis and is used in virtually every discipline from Accounting to Zoology – in between there’s engineering, design, construction, research, etc. Incidentally, accountants use modelling techniques to analyse financial data, zoologists use modelling techniques to analyse, amongst other things, animal behaviour.

Just as accountants and engineers have specific modelling techniques which are used across their respective professions, so too business analysis. But this article is not about which technique should you use – there’s plenty to choose from – it’s more about what are you trying to achieve.

So what are we trying to achieve? It boils down to two things. First what’s the problem – what’s wrong with the “as is” system? To get to the bottom of this we need some dialogue with the stakeholder. If the problem is well documented and understood then great – but often as not the stakeholder will only see the problem from a particular perspective. It’s up to the analyst to dig below the surface and find out the real cause.

Here you’ve got two choices, write a step by step description of the process under investigation – or draw a process model. Which do you think is easier and more likely to draw out the inconsistencies, loops, delays and bottlenecks in the current process? And a (very important) by product of doing the latter is you get to work collaboratively with the stakeholder rather than them dictating and you taking notes. And you don’t have to be the artist – take every opportunity to hand the whiteboard marker to the stakeholder and say “can you draw that for me?”

The second of our objectives is to decide what the “to be” system will look like. Modelling again offers a rich choice of options. It might be as easy as modifying an existing “as is” diagram or as liberating as asking draw me a picture of what you’d really like to see happening. Very few people would say they can’t understand the following diagram:

A final world on models – they can also clarify the often confusing steps in the business analysis process. Whether your project is agile, iterative, waterfall or a mixture of all of these, they all have the same objective…

…to reach an end point and produce a deliverable.

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1. Keeping up with meetings because you can’t take notes as fast as the speaker talks
2. Making sense of your notes at a later time (many people say they can go back to a mind map months later and understand the flow and intent of the meeting – and its outcomes)

There is no right or wrong way to create a mind map. Some people recommend using many different colours and drawing shapes – that’s OK for your own thoughts but usually too time consuming for note-taking in a meeting or interview. Rich pictures are an important way of enhancing the mind map to aid remembering at a later date. You will develop your own style and technique over time.

If you are using a note book, it is a good idea to use the unlined side of the page (lines can be distracting) and to keep the paper in landscape mode (we tend to draw horizontal oval shapes because it helps to write in the words).

We are after speed not neatness. Its’ beauty is in its simplicity.

The Process

• Start with a central idea or meeting topic in the centre of your mind map. From this central idea all the sub-topics will flow outward.
• As people present ideas and concepts, simply draw a branch off the main idea or sub-topic.
• An arrow from one item to another indicates that one idea flows from one item to another.
• Circle the idea, or draw a picture around it (like a star or square) to emphasize important points. If you feel like using rich pictures or writing a few dot points next to an idea do so. Mind mapping is designed to get you thinking from both your left (logic, fact) and right brain (feeling, artistic). The rich pictures keep the creative mind active while the analytical handles the notes.
• An arrow pointing both ways indicates the subjects are of equal value and relate to one another.
• There may be circles with no attached lines. That’s ok and simply means it’s a thought or topic in its own right and not necessarily related to the central idea. It may be an important idea, although off the main topic, and we don’t want to lose it.

Software

Mind mapping software is also available – there are a few dozen available including:

• iMindmap has a free trial available
• Mindjet also has a free trial available
• FreeMind. The fully featured version is free with no restrictions

Before jumping onto the web and downloading an application, try mind mapping on a piece of paper. This helps your brain get into mind mapping mode without being distracted while you learn how the application works.

Once you’re comfortable using the mind mapping technique, it’s a lot easier to use a software tool and to see if it offers you any real benefits.

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The post Mind Mapping Requirements appeared first on IRM Training.

Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together.
Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890)

Read full paper: Creative Thinking Techniques

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