Business Analysis Framework
- Shawn Pappelbaum
When business analysis is properly accounted for and executed on projects and programs, high-quality requirements are produced; stakeholders are more engaged; the solution delivers intended value; and projects are more likely to be delivered on time, within scope, and within budget.
The PMI guide to Business Analysis recommends six basic process groups typical to business analysis.
These processes are presented as discrete processes below, although in practice, they overlap and interact :
Needs assessment includes the process used to analyze a current business problem or opportunity, analyze current or future states to determine an optimal solution that will provide value and address the business need, assemble the results of the analysis to provide decision makers with relevant information for determining whether an investment in proposed solution is viable. | Stakeholder Engagement includes the processes to identify and analyze those with an interest in the solution, determining how best to engage, communicate and collaborate with them; establish a shared understanding of business activities required to define the solution; and conduct periodic assessment of the business analysis process to ensure its effectiveness. | Requirements Elicitation includes the processes of planning and preparing for elicitation, conducting elicitation, and confirming elicitation results. Elicitation draws information such as needs, requirements, and other product information from various sources. | Analysis includes processes to examine and document solution / product information in sufficient detail to ensure that it reflects stakeholders' needs, aligns to their goals and business objectives, and enables the identification of viable solution designs. | Traceability and Monitoring includes the processes used to establish relationships and dependencies between requirements and other product information, which helps ensure that requirements are approved and managed, and the impact of changes to them is assessed. | Solution Evaluation includes the processes to validate a full solution or a segment of a solution that is about to be or has already been implemented. Evaluation determines how well a solution meets the business needs expressed by stakeholders, including delivering value to the customer. |