A question most BAs get asked when assigned to a project is "how long will it take to complete requirements?" Without going into ways to improve your estimating skills, I want to address a key point that is often missed when answering this question. Our answer is usually related to our time and duration needed. This is a core factor, but we also need to consider how much time is needed from our stakeholders.
It is important for us to set expectations with all stakeholders that will be involved in the steps of eliciting, analyzing, documenting, reviewing and approving requirements. The list of stakeholders to consider include SMEs, sponsors, PM, QA Analysts, and development staff. In order for you to effectively meet your deadlines you need to receive the necessary time dedicated from these stakeholders. Your project is most likely not their only project. Planning for their time will help ensure they will be available when needed.
Simply put: lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency for your stakeholders.
June 1st, 2008 at 8:17 pm
The issue is one of attitude - the BA who sets out to extract requirements is not as efficient as the BA who collates requirements.
Either I can go and sit with the business users and write out their thoughts - or I can tell them to send their thoughts to me.
I can not give the business users my BA tool to have them do the initial draft - its too complicated and expensive.
So I need to give them guideance on how to write it out so I can collate their ideas and process, and then step in with my value.
That is why BPMN is great - its a template.
I can either tell them to use Visio & Word - get them one of any number of tools, of send me an immage of a map on a whiteboard - or even post me the butchers paper.
If I am to go into the initial requirements capture activity, then I should only do so as a facilitator - not as the work horse, its a poor use of my advanced skills.
It is als a poor use of their time, as it has to be schedualed. It is much better to enable them. Enablement not only gives me the process I want them to document - it also enables them to do other processes at will. This makes the business more efficient, makes me more productive, and gives them a platform for innovation.
Like I said earlier, there are loads of ways/tools to gather requirements in a business user population - the best is in the video on www.processmaster.com
I think it is the best as it uses BPMN, requires almost no training, produces great easy to read documentation, has a server & best practice library capability, and the modes can be exported & round tripped to my BA tool.
The Business Analyst is the corner stone to any companies strategy - but a busy fool is no good to anyone, and not enabeling the business users to get proactive and interactive is a false economy.