Business Analysis Techniques (K Level 4/5) Flashcards

Question

Surveys/questionnaire - advantages and disadvantages

Answer 1

Advantages: - easy to get results from large geographically disperse group - can be anon - quantitative figures (used in biz case) - uncover hidden problem/req Disadvantages: - low response rate - ineffective unless carefully designed and analysed - not suitable where lots of detail required

Answer 2

1. Mind maps 2. Rich Picture 3. Customer Journey Map

Answer 3

Visually summarises & structured information gathered into a recognisable and manageable set of connections Business system/problem at the centre Main topic/issue on 1st level e.g. Equipment More detail on 2nd level e.g. No paper in printer Also useful for RCA

Answer 4

- Pictorially capture a holistic view of a business situation/problem and facilitates discussion - no rules (includes actors/systems/views/ideas/concerns)

Answer 5

May not be immediately accessible to stakeholders

Answer 6

Explores the experience of the customer when engaging with an organisations processes Models: touch points, shows points of delight/satisfaction & unhappiness

Answer 7

- Visualisation of CX: documents the entire CX, illustrating key touchpoints & interactions - Understand customer perspective (& pain points)

Answer 8

Process improvement can place too much emphasis on internal efficiencies at the expense of the customer. The external customer view should be considered (happy=purchase again, bad=won't purchase & damage rep)

Answer 9

Persona Goal Touch points E.g. Make order / wait for delivery Customer activities E.g. Select delivery / Pay Customer perception of experience E.g. Website not easy to use / Delivery information confusing Emotional state Potential opportunities for improvement (Req in practice) E.g. clear statement of delivery options

Answer 10

1. Determine what to map (good to focus on interactions that affect most customers most of the time) 2. Identify touch points 3. Map touch points 4. Identify 'moments of truth' (interaction where lasting impression - pos or neg - can be imprinted on the customer)

Answer 11

Stakeholder Wheel

Answer 12

- Identification technique - review stakeholder groups to identify who has an interest in the business area under investigation

Answer 13

Understand different views & manage differences

Answer 14

Manager Owner Employees Regulators Competitors Customers Partners Suppliers

Answer 15

Manager Owner Employees

Answer 16

Regulators Competitors Customers Partners Suppliers

Answer 17

Anyone that is interested or affected by the change

Answer 18

Work in partnership to deliver complementary or supplementary products E.g. Reseller / outsourcing company

Answer 19

Providers of goods and services

Answer 20

Set & enforce regulations that the organisation must comply with

Answer 21

Conduct work for internal/external customer

Answer 22

Senior/middle managers - responsible for the results wanted by owners

Answer 23

Commercial businesses - shareholders / executives Non-profit - Trustees Public sector - Government ministers

Answer 24

Operate in the same market & compete for the same customers

Answer 25

Recipients / beneficiaries of the organisations product / services

Answer 26

Project Business External

Answer 27

Project manager Developer BA

Answer 28

Project sponsor Business Managers End users SMEs

Answer 29

Supplier Customer Regulator

Answer 30

To ensure all stakeholders are identified. The stakeholder wheel may only capture 'employees' such as those directly impacted by the proposed change & we may overlook project/business stakeholders

Answer 31

- Agree PID/ToR - Ensure funds available - Set project objectives (align with organisational goals) - Rule on conflicting req - Accept deliverables - Deliver biz benefits and confirm they have been realised - Act as a champion/advocate

Answer 32

- General responsibility: running the organisation & delivering results required by owner Project responsibilities: - Play a part in elicitation so BA can define requirements - Definition of NFR's (data specialists) - Provide resources / support

Answer 33

Individuals who carry out work and use the new system - Describe current processes and highlight difficulties - Participate in UAT

Answer 34

Individuals with specialised best practice industry knowledge - Provide insight into industry best practice - 'super user' - Help other roles have a deeper understanding of req

Answer 35

Power - interest grid

Answer 36

- Helps to identify SH management/communication strategies - Ensure SH are supported through the change process and helps manage the emotional impact

Answer 37

Project onset but reviewed regularly as stakeholder can move E.g. promotion E.g. 'Watch' SH has a higher interest

Answer 38

Low P Low I: Ignore Low P Some/High I: Keep Informed Some P Low/Some/High I: Keep on side High P Low I: Watch High P Some I: Keep satisfied High P High I: Constant active management

Answer 39

- Ignore for day to day issues - SH can change position so an occasional update is wise e.g. newsletter

Answer 40

- Difficult to manage - these SH are directly affected but feel powerless to shape direction - Likely to be stakeholders required to operate the new process/systems - Frequent & focusses progress communication (effort to 'sell' the benefits and comfort their fears) - Important to provide with sufficient information to detract from rumour where images fear is worse than reality

Answer 41

Individually they have little power to influence but this can change if they influence as a group

Answer 42

- Middle/senior managers & regulators - Interest tends to fluctuate based on project direction/decisions - Be aware and keep a watchful eye on their interests and opinions - Issue frequent information updates

Answer 43

- Keep in view but little direct involvement - These SH can easily exert their power disruptively - Keep in loop with regular updates (e.g. access to weekly reports) and organise occasionally feedback sessions

Answer 44

- These stakeholders need to feel satisfied the project is moving in the right direction, if this is the case they're unlikely to make unhelpful interventions - sometimes may want to encourage them to intervene and use their influence - Careful management so intervention supportive - Occasional meetings, periodic project updates (progress and flag issues)

Answer 45

- Keep informed at each project stage and take views into account - Instrumental to achieving project outcomes - These SH should have no surprises and all recommendations should be discussed and agreed before presenting to other SH - Regular face to face meetings/ tailored reports to suit their specific concerns/ seek input and feedback

Answer 46

RACI matrix

Answer 47

responsible for creating/developing the deliverable/performing the task.

Answer 48

who is answerable for the quality of the deliverable/task (should approve)

Answer 49

provides information relevant to the deliverable/task.

Answer 50

are informed about a deliverable/task, though they may not have contributed directly to them.

Answer 51

- Stakeholder management tool - Record/assess SH roles & responsibilities - Main deliverable down the side and SH on the top

Answer 52

Review completeness E.g. too many tasks for one SH E.g. each task has one responsible SH

Answer 53

- Provides a framework for tasks/deliverable/roles analysis - RACI + P/I Grid = rich understanding of SH & their contribution/management - Ensures all SH clear about roles and responsibilites

Answer 54

Power/Interest Grid CATWOE RACI Chart

Answer 55

The power/interest grid indicates how much views and perspectives should be taken into account

Answer 56

Problems later on the the project - different requirements priorities or contradictory requirements

Answer 57

Assists in the analysis of SH view & perspectives about a business situation Uncovers conflicting perspectives that need to be managed (SH are often not aware of this)

Answer 58

Transformation element of a stakeholders perspective becomes the 'doing' element of BAM

Answer 59

1. Elicit information from SH on their view on a business situation 2. Analyse sources of potential conflict 3. If conflict identified, BA should facilitate discussions to identity differences early on in the project (maybe via conceptual BAMs to negotiate an agreed world view and BAM)

Answer 60

Customer: beneficiary/recipient of the business system output Actor: roles that perform transformation (core biz processes) Transformation: core biz processes that transform inputs to output to fulfil worldview Worldview: belief statement - why the org exists Owner: individual/group who has the authority to change biz system or close down Environment: rules/constraints that originate from the external environment (PESTLE)

Answer 61

- To understand a stakeholder’s view of a business system - gain insights/ illuminate potential issues. - To analyse sources of potential or actual conflict between stakeholders. - To consider the priorities assigned by stakeholders to ideas, issues, options and requirements. -To provide a basis for developing a conceptual activity model that may be used to highlight areas of concern and explore differences among stakeholder perspectives. This model may also be used to define a consensus view of a desired business system that can be compared with

Answer 62

- Stakeholders can realise they're in disagreement & can facilitate discussions / negotiaions to create a consensus BAM. If they cannot, referred to the O (CATWOE) - Conflicting perspectives gives rise to different views on problems/desired outcomes/priorities

Answer 63

CATWOE helps identify potential areas of disagreement/conflict at an early stage & provides a basis for the analyst to describe differences/similarity of view with stakeholders. - Crucial to identify and address at an early stage so any differences can be addressed

Answer 64

Conflict emerging later - becomes expensive to remedy

Answer 65

1. Worldview 2. Transformation 3. Customer 4. Actor 5. Owner 6. Environment

Answer 66

Business activity modelling (BAM) builds on the 'Transformation' in CATWOE to look at the conceptual activities needed to fulfil the worldview

Answer 67

Business activity modelling - Conceptual view of activities required to fulfil SH worldview/perspective

Answer 68

Conceptual view compared with current situation representations to identity improvement areas

Answer 69

BAM - What the organization is doing Process model - How

Answer 70

1. Doing 2. Enabling 3. Controlling 4. Planning 5. Monitoring

Answer 71

Primary tasks of the biz system - activities that form core processes E.g. 'Sell groceries' 'deliver training courses'

Answer 72

Obtain and replenish resources needed to perform primary tasks (doing activities) E.g. 'Procure/advertise groceries' 'create training courses'

Answer 73

Indicate the needs for actions to correct where performance targets have not been met

Answer 74

Indicate areas that need to decided (include performance targets) E.g. 'decide product range' 'determine product range'

Answer 75

Monitor performance & determine whether performance targets (set out buy planning) have been achieved E.g. 'Monitor product sales' 'Monitor customer satisfaction'

Answer 76

1. Analyse the activities a stakeholder’s perspective would require. This helps to clarify the differences between perspectives. 2. To gain further understanding of the stakeholders’ perspectives and have a basis for negotiating a consensus BAM (all SH agree) 3. To provide a conceptual view of an agreed future state that may be used as a basis for a gap analysis when compared to a representation of a current state.

Answer 77

Dependency between activities

Answer 78

Planning: define product range Enabling: procure clothing Doing: sell fashionable clothes online (T in CATWOE) Monitor: monitor product sales Control: take control action

Answer 79

A conceptual view of what the business system should look like and should be doing that all stakeholders agree with - model of what business activities should look - Does not represent 'as is' or 'to be'

Answer 80

BAM is a conceptual model and is concerned with creating a shared understanding between SH What not how The as is vs to be is more concerned with the business processes

Answer 81

Consensus BAM = Conceptual agrred view of what the business system should look like and should be doing Compre with the actual situation to identity opportunities for improvement

Answer 82

1. Investigate & model existing system. Techniques: mind maps/rich picture/as is business process models 2. Analyse perspectives, concerns & objectives to develop representation of the desired situation. Techniques: BAM/To be process model 3. Identify differences and actions required to move from existing to target situation 4. Consider possible actions to address gaps (many actions e.g. skills gap identified - training? mentoring? recruitment?

Answer 83

- Mind maps/rich picture highlight issues (ensure all elements of POPIT covered) - As is process models - represent the process view

Answer 84

- BAM used to provide a conceptual holistic view of business system 'what' activities - to be process models - focus on 'how' the work is carried out (does not cover planning/enabling activities) - supplemented by org charts/org diagrams etc

Answer 85

- Identify actions required to move from existing situation to target Questions include: do the desired activities/processes/task exist? are there problems with current activities, processes or tasks?

Answer 86

Each activity classed as: Existing and satisfactory. Existing but not satisfactory. Not existing.

Answer 87

BAM 'what' activity is need and process models 'how the work is undertaken'

Answer 88

Differences between: - 'as is' and 'to be'

Answer 89

Processes: 'as is' 'to be' Technology: IT requirements of each task People: once processes analysed, new actor roles can be defined & job descriptions/competency requirements developed Organisation: revised processes may require structural changes e.g. merging swim lanes involves merging roles or departments Information: info required for the target state is currently not captured, recorded or communicated

Answer 90

List of change actions needed to bridge the gap between current and desired business system ('what' requirements) List of actions form basis of option identification

Answer 91

- Identify possible options (to address gaps) - Short list - Evaluate - Produce business case

Answer 92

Some options rejected immediately - to expensive/does not align to culture/ not feasible (B/T/F) 3/4 options ideal (all of which address the issue & meet budget and time constraints 'do nothing' also considered

Answer 93

Both design thinking techniques Divergent: thought process that helps generate novel ideas using imagination Convergent: makes choices, aims to find the 'right' answer to the question based on logic

Answer 94

Business event triggers/initiate a process They're occurrences to which an organisation must respond

Answer 95

Internal External Time-based

Answer 96

Events that occurs outside the organisation/business system (typically from customers/suppliers) E.g. Customer submits complaint / places order

Answer 97

Events that occurs within the organisation/business system (typically from senior member of staff) E.g. staff recruitment requested / report requested

Answer 98

Regular occurrences that happen at pre-defined times E.g. Financial reporting cycle (legal reg) / payroll cycle (internal)

Answer 99

Allow analysis of the business system - clarify the work carried out within a particular area & uncover tacit knowledge

Answer 100

(Identify internal/external stakeholders) 2. Identify event types for business system (by identifying SH first can ask 'what events do they require the business system to handle) 3. Analyse each event - what is the desired outcome? who is responsible? timescales? 4. Model processes (optional)

Business Analysis Techniques (K Level 4/5) Flashcards

(128 cards)