Using Business Analysis to Meet IT Challenges
UW Tech Talks February 14, 2018
Piet Niederhausen, Enterprise Business Architect, UW-IT
Overview
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Typical IT challenges
Typical IT challenges
STRATEGY
PLANNING
SOLUTIONS
Digital trends: 35 years in 36 seconds
Source: Harvard Innovation Lab
IT challenges are shifting
Source: EDUCAUSE, The Future of the IT Workforce in Higher Ed (2017)
What is business analysis and how does it help?
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What is business analysis?
“Business Analysis is the practice of enabling change in an organizational context, by defining needs and recommending solutions that deliver value to stakeholders.”
-- International Institute of Business Analysis
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Example
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Context
A fast-growing university administrative office, which works closely with several partner offices.
Changes
Our office staff has grown quickly and we serve far more people. Demand is up, but our customer satisfaction is down.
Needs
We all need access to the same up-to-date information about the people we serve and what we’re doing for them.
Stakeholders
Value
Solutions
Changes in how we work as an office, perhaps including a new Customer Relationship Management system.
What are typical business analysis deliverables?
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Context
Changes
Needs
(requirements can take many forms; that’s a topic unto itself)
Stakeholders
Value
Solutions
What does business analysis contribute?
STRATEGY
PLANNING
SOLUTIONS
Changes
The root causes of changes are understood so the right needs can be defined.
Important changes are not acknowledged; work is wasted on addressing the wrong changes.
Stakeholders
Value
The right stakeholders are represented, contributing their information and goals.
Important stakeholders are missed; their information or goals are not well represented.
The expected value of the work is well understood and is affordable for the organization.
The return on investment is not clear; stakeholders have conflicting expectations.
Context
Context is well understood so the right efforts and scope can be defined.
Work is wasted on the wrong efforts; a different strategy could have achieved more.
Needs
The true needs are understood so work is focused on the right problems.
Work is wasted on solutions that don’t meet the true underlying needs of the organization.
Solutions
An appropriate solution was selected, designed, tested, and is well supported.
The solution does not meet actual needs; it is difficult or costly to test, operate, or support.
With good business analysis
Without enough business analysis
How does business analysis fit into a team?
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Business analysis is not a single methodology
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Business
analysis
PMI Project Management
Lean Six Sigma
Many more ...
Scrum Agile
IT Service Management (ITSM)
Design Thinking
Business analysis in IT projects
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Image source: Project Management Institute, The Basic Process of Project Management
Initiating
Executing
Planning
Controlling
Closing
PMI’s Project Processes
Business analysis in IT service management
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Image source: UC San Francisco, IT Service Management Office
Service Strategy
Service Design
Service Operation
Service Transition
Who does business analysis?
“Job titles for business analysis practitioners include not only business analyst, but also business systems analyst, systems analyst, … product manager, product owner, … business intelligence analyst, … and more.
Many other jobs, such as management, project management, product management, software development, quality assurance and interaction design rely heavily on business analysis skills for success.”
-- International Institute of Business Analysis
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Roles at the UW that do business analysis
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Different areas of accountability
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SOLUTION
Design, implementation, testing, and training:
How will the solution work?
Business analysis:
What are right outcomes to deliver at this time?
Project management:
How will we get the work done?
For your team, how will you make sure this gets enough analysis?
Case study
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Case Study Context
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Project team
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Project Manager
Business Analyst
Solution Architect
Developers
Business Sponsor
Subject Matter Experts
Users
Project Manager
Discovery
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Context
Stakeholders
Changes
Needs
Value
Solutions
Discovery >
Context and stakeholders
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Discovery >
Changes in technology, people, process, and policy
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Meeting IT challenges
STRATEGY
Definition, Design, & Implementation
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Needs
Value
Context
Changes
Stakeholders
Solutions
Definition >
Prioritizing needs
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Definition >
Solution scope
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Definition >
Solution context
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Legacy System
(Innovator, FS-DOS)
To-Be Solution
(using CONCERT platform)
Related Systems
(Asset Mapper,
AiM)
Multiple scanners
Multiple scanning workstations
Records team
Search users
Records authority
Content contributors
Records managers
New content can be electronic source or scanned.
Access authorizer
Will continue to be used while the to-be solution is iteratively released.
Will continue to rely on Innovator until final release of the to-be solution.
Related systems have existing web links to content items in FS-DOS; solution will include a transition plan to replace links at least in Asset Mapper.
Solution should be designed for related systems to take advantage of the Content API in future.
All content items and selected metadata will be migrated. Initial iterations of the to-be web search can link back to FS-DOS for files that have not yet been migrated.
While the to-be solution is iteratively released, ongoing ETL will be needed and iterative changes to the design of transformations are expected.
Search users include internal UW and external users such as contractors. They search the to-be solution as well as related systems.
Currently, contributors submit content to the Records office via email, on portable media, or on paper. Solution should be designed to be extended with workflow to enable authorized users to submit new content or changes to existing content.
These users approve disposition of records in the records management workflow.
The Records staff intake, manage, control access to, and ensure compliance for all content.
Manages access to the solution.
Definition >
Example: Use case
Use Case 1.2: Share Search Results
Description: Enable Search User A to share a search result or content item with Search User B, so that person can run the same search and view content items.
Priority: Must-do
Actors: Two Search Users, System
Triggers: Search User A has reached a search result they want to share (see C1.1 Find and View Content)
Basic flow:
Alternative flows:
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User story: As a search user, I want to send a link to another person so they can see the same search results I found.
Meeting IT challenges
PLANNING
SOLUTIONS
Design >
Example: User interface wireframe
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Reflection: Business analysis works at multiple altitudes
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Cloud
Seagull
Sea
Fish
Clam
Burning platform
Process context
Organization strategy
Priorities for change
System context
Functional requirements
UI design, data design, testing
Typical IT challenges
STRATEGY
PLANNING
SOLUTIONS
Trends and changes
Getting started
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Getting started: Five areas to practice in
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Core activities
Gather background
Propose alternatives
Write stuff down
Track stuff
Enable others
Find stakeholders
Active listening
Do research
Add structure
Connect levels of detail
Enable discussion
Enable future use
Alternative scopes
Alternative solutions
Additional participants
Needs and priorities
Issues and decisions
Documentation
Changes
Connect people
Bring information
Maintain context
Raise the bar
Resources
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