The document provides an overview of the past, present, and future of the business analysis profession. It discusses how business analysis has evolved from a loosely defined role focused primarily on software requirements to a professional discipline. It outlines the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK) which defines the tasks, skills, and techniques of business analysis. The document also notes that while business analysis is increasingly recognized as important, capabilities still need improvement, and discusses how the role of business analysts is expanding and specializing in response to growing business complexity and new technologies.

1. The Past, Present, and Future of Business Analysis The Journey to Professional Excellence2009

2. 2 Introduction Kevin Brennan, cbap® V.P. Professional Development, IIBA® Responsible for IIBA® Standards (BABOK® Guide and Extensions) EEP™ Program IIBA Community Network Career Centre Delivering PD Opportunities to IIBA® Members BA Experience Over 10 years as a business analyst Has used many different methodologies and worked in several industries © International Institute of Business Analysis

3. What we will talk about today What is a business analyst What do they do? What do they need to know? What is the state of the BA profession today? Why must BAs improve? Impact of bad business analysis? What is the future of the profession? 3 © International Institute of Business Analysis®

4. 4 © International Institute of Business Analysis® Vision and Mission Vision The world's leading association for Business Analysis professionals Develop and maintain standards for the practice of business analysis and for the certification of its practitioners Mission IIBA® is an international not-for-profit professional association for business analysis professionals.

5. 5 IIBA® Goals Strategic Goals Create and develop awareness and recognition of the value and contribution of the role of the Business Analysis Professional Define the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge® (BABOK®) Publicly recognize qualified practitioners through an internationally acknowledged certification program Provide a forum for knowledge sharing Operational Goals Ensure the long term viability of the organization Enable sustainable growth to support the establishment of the IIBA® as a worldwide organization Ensure financial viability to support the implementation and sustainment of the IIBA® operational and strategic priorities Consistently demonstrate value of the organization to IIBA ® constituents © International Institute of Business Analysis®

6. Defining a Profession What do business analysts do? What is the BABOK® Guide? 6 © International Institute of Business Analysis®

7. Defining Business Analysis “Business Analysis is the set of tasks and techniques used to work as a liaison among stakeholders in order to understand the structure, policies, and operations of an organization, and recommend solutions that enable the organization to achieve its goals.” 7 © International Institute of Business Analysis™

8. Less formally… Business Analysis involves analyzing a business 8 © International Institute of Business Analysis®

9. Orgs need self-awareness “Organizational effectiveness does not lie in that narrow minded concept called rationality. It lies in the blend of clearheaded logic and powerful intuition.” Henry Mintzberg 9 © International Institute of Business Analysis® Source: © Mary Harrsch, used under CC BY-NC-SA

10. Value of Business Analysis It is about understanding: How an organization works Why the organization exists What are its goals and objectives How it accomplishes those objectives How it needs to change to better accomplish objectives or to meet new challenges It is about meeting business needs. It is about ensuring investment in the right solutions. 10 © International Institute of Business Analysis™

12. Recognizes business analysis is not synonymous with software requirements

13. Defined & enhanced by the professionals who apply it

14. Captures the sum of the knowledge required for the practice of business analysis as a professionThe set of tasks, knowledge, & techniques required to identify business needs & determine solutions to business problems. © International Institute of Business Analysis™ 11 © International Institute of Business Analysis™

15. BA Planning & Monitoring 12 © International Institute of Business Analysis™

16. Elicitation 13 © International Institute of Business Analysis™

17. Requirements Mgt. & Comm. 14 © International Institute of Business Analysis™

18. Enterprise Analysis Structure 15 © International Institute of Business Analysis™

19. Req’ts Analysis Structure 16 © International Institute of Business Analysis™

20. SA&V Structure 17 © International Institute of Business Analysis™

21. Underlying Competencies 18 © International Institute of Business Analysis™

22. Techniques BABOK Guide lists the most commonly used BA techniques 34 given detailed treatment Many more mentioned briefly All are used occasionally by a majority of BAs 19 © International Institute of Business Analysis®

23. Core Business Model 20 © International Institute of Business Analysis®

24. How do we know this is right? IIBA followed the same process as used to develop ISO standards Developed over 4½ years with multiple public reviews Extensive input from industry experts Backed up by surveys of over 1000 BAs “Generally accepted” practice Methodology-neutral 21 © International Institute of Business Analysis®

25. Business Analysis Today What is the value of business analysis? How are companies using BAs? 22 © International Institute of Business Analysis®

26. Constant Growth in IT Costs Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis 23

27. Projects: Riddled with Complexity A Legacy of Complexity Complex business environment Multiple, inflexible systems functioning together Unproven technology Multiple products from diverse vendors Complex project teams Political sensitivity Complex organizational structure Coupled with Constantly Emerging New Trends IT Alignment Adaptive approaches Agile development Incremental delivery Complexity-reducing design techniques Limit interrelationships of system components Solution design tools New technologies SOA, BPM, Web 2.0, SaaS Requirements Mgt, Auto Test Tools 24

28. IT Project Performance Nearly 2/3 of IT projects fail or are challenged What Measure is Missing? Source: The Standish Group Project Resolution History 25

29. What the Experts Say Meta Group Research “Communication challenges between business teams and technologists are chronic - we estimate that 60%-80% of project failures can be attributed directly to poor requirements gathering, analysis, and management.” Forrester Research “Poorly defined applications have led to a persistent miscommunication between business and IT that largely contributes to a 66% project failure rate for these applications, costing U.S. businesses at least $30B every year.” James Martin “56% of defects can be attributed to requirements, and 82% of the effort to fix defects.” > 41% of new development resources are consumed on unnecessary or poorly specified requirements Source: Keith Ellis, Business Analysis Benchmark Study, The Impact of Business Requirements on the Success of Technology Projects, IAG Consulting, 2008 26

30. Root Cause: Quality of BA Work Poor Requirements Questionable Strategic Alignment Inadequate Business Case Deficient Practices System vs. Business Specs Business Benefits not Measured Business Need Not Met Lost Opportunity Inadequate Tools Ineffective Prioritization and Resource Allocation Inadequate Business Involvement Inadequate Focus on Business 27

31. If 40% of work is fixing errors In 2008 alone, $82.9 billion $207,300 per BA or Enough to cure world hunger (Estimated annual investment required worldwide, UN FAO, 8 Oct 2009) 28 © International Institute of Business Analysis®

32. Actually it’s probably worse… Stats are U.S. only Doesn’t take into consideration: Opportunity costs Requirements that failed to deliver full potential benefit Non-IT related requirements errors 29 © International Institute of Business Analysis®

33. We Can Do Better 30 © International Institute of Business Analysis® Source: IAG Business Analysis Benchmark - 2009

34. Our Challenge:Close the Gap in BA Capabilities 31

36. Rush to code/build

37. Insufficient customer involvement

38. Deficient requirements practices and tools

39. Not measuring business benefits32

40. Typical BA 40 years old Well educated Hails from IT > 5 years BA experience Analysis skills acquired on the job 33 © International Institute of Business Analysis® Sources: Recession in America July 17, 2008, Business Week http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jul2008/tc20080717_842379.htm. The New Business Analyst: A Strategic Role in the Enterprise, November 2006 Evans Data Corporation Research Study

41. Importance of Specialist Skills 34 © International Institute of Business Analysis® Source: Forrester/IIBA Survey, 2009.

42. Must Use Wide Range of Skills 35 © International Institute of Business Analysis® Source: IIBA Survey, 2008

43. Change Still Needed We know what to do, but don’t do it BAs believe that all aspects of role as defined in BABOK are important BAs spend most actual work time on elicitation and specification EA, SA&V known to be important but are still not being done 36 © International Institute of Business Analysis®

44. The Future of Business Analysis How is the BA role changing? How will BAs adapt to new technology? 37 © International Institute of Business Analysis®

45. Business & Business Analysis Business Developing, packaging, and selling products and services to customers to generate revenue Business Analysis Identifying and articulating the need for change, and facilitating that change 38 © International Institute of Business Analysis™

46. The New Reality 20th Century It’s about the technology “If the business would just give us the requirements, we could build a custom solution” or “If we build it, they will use it and love it” 21st Century It’s about the business Architect the future state of the business when our strategy has been executed Identify gaps in capabilities needed to achieve future state Conduct feasibility analysis for best solution to fill gaps Build and continually validate the business case Elicit , analyze, evolve, iterate, validate requirements/solution 39 © International Institute of Business Analysis™

47. How does BA Add Value? Benefits of BA Realization of Benefits Avoidance of Cost Identification of New Opportunities Understanding of Needed Capabilities Modeling the Organization Models are useful for: Communication Training Persuasion Analysis Compliance Software Requirements Direct Execution KM and Reuse 40 © International Institute of Business Analysis®

49. Highly specialized industries or niche markets will require specialists

50. Established product lines & stable markets require limited business analysis

51. Competitive and developing markets have a critical need for highly experienced generalists and specialists in the competency domain (e.g., strategic, marketplace analysis)

52. Larger organizations can support higher levels of specialization

54. Four Stages of EA 43 Source: Enterprise Architecture as Strategy, Harvard Business Press.

55. Implications for BA 44 © International Institute of Business Analysis®

56. Specialist BAs Will Be In Demand More companies will move to stages 3, 4, and beyond Generalist, project-oriented BA will remain but not be alone Top talent will gravitate to successful companies Other roles than these will likely emerge 45

57. Focus and Orientation Change 46 © International Institute of Business Analysis®

58. Getting it Right Three key stakeholders are needed to get it right. Business Leaders Managers of Business Analysts Business Analysts Together, you create an effect-ive management environment and community of practice 47 © International Institute of Business Analysis™

62. Contact Information Kevin Brennan, cbap kevin.brennan@theiiba.org Twitter: @bainsight Get this presentation at http://bit.ly/BRFIIBA 51 © International Institute of Business Analysis™ www.theiiba.org |community.theiiba.org| info@theiiba.org