Business Analysis: Tools and Techniques

Business analyst will have to use many techniques and tool to perform his role in business analysis domain. These techniques and tool support or enhance his performance. However, merely using techniques and tools will not make one a successful business analyst as one needs clear concept about business need and possible solution. The usage of these techniques and tool to either elicit or present the information(or requirement) will only help everyone involved understand the issue better...

Business Analysis Techniques:

• Behavioral and personality related
• Analytical and Cortical thinking skills
• Communication
• Relationship building
• Influencing / Leadership
• Team player / management
• Political awareness / understanding of Organizational dynamics.
• An eye for details
• Self-confidence to able to convince using data and facts

IT knowledge

• Project management
• Requirement engineering
• System Analysis
• Data Mapping
• Data Dictionary
• Test cases / Test Scenario
• Data Modeling

Strategy Analysis

• Impact Analysis
• Business Technology Optimization
• Catwoe
• Consensus Modeling
• Force Field Analysis
• Six Thinking Hat
• Business Change
• Business Capability Analysis
• Current State & capability (As-IS)
• Future State and ability (To-Be)
• Gap Analysis (To-Be – As-Is)
• Bench-marking and Market Analysis
• Financial Analysis /Business Case
• Define solution and its Scope
• Scope Modelling
• Stakeholder List, Map, or Roles and Responsibilities
• Interview
• Workshop
• Business Process Modeling
• Concept Modelling
• Brainstorming
• Business Rules Analysis
• Organization structure and modelling
• Document Analysis
• Risk Analysis and Management
• Focus Groups
• Decision Analysis
• Traceability Matrix/Item tracker
• Balanced Scorecard
• Reviews
• Data Dictionary
• Functional Decomposition
• Mind Mapping
• Acceptance and Evaluation Criteria
• Backlog Management
• Estimation
• Prototyping
• Prioritization Techniques
• Glossary
• Role Change
• Collaborative Games
• UML(Use Cases, Activity Diagram, State Diagram, Class Diagram & Sequence Diagram)
• User Stories
• Observation
• Lessons Learned
• Business Model Canvas
• Process Management
• Data Modeling (ER Diagram / Class Diagram / Data Flow Diagram)
• Non-Functional Requirements Analysis
• Metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
• Roles and Permissions
• Interface Analysis
• Prototype
• Survey or Questionnaire
• Decision Modelling
• Functional Decomposition
• Vendor Assessment
• Communication policy and standards
• SWOT Analysis
• Root Cause Analysis
• Solution Assessment
• Vendor Assessment
• Change Management
• Requirement Management
• Templates
• Competency Assessment

Business Analyst Tools

• Basic Tool - MS Office, MS Visio and MS Project
• Note Taking - MS OneNote and Evernote
• General Modelling - Lucidchart and Creately (in absence of MS-visio)
• EPC Modelling - ARIS
• BPMN Modelling - System Archit
• Wireframing - Pencil, Balsamiq, MS Visio.
• Invision - combined with Balsamiq (or designs) to make playable demos
• Prototyping - Flinto, proto . io and iRise
• Confluence and JIRA
• Data Modelling – ErWin, MS-Visio, Click chart and other free tools
• Data Analysis: MS Excel, SQL querying.
• Data Extract - Microstrategy ETL, Talend Open Studio, SQL, MongoDB Shells
• Reporting - Jaspersoft, Tableau
• Analytics - Google, KISSmetrics etc
• Dashboarding - Microstrategty, Dashthis
• (IBM) Rational Toolset (it is expensive and not used widely) - ReqPro , Clearcase, Architect, Rose, XDE

These are some of the Business Analysis Techniques available for Business Analyst. The Business Analyst must select the technique based on his and other team members' (involved in particular activity) comfort, convenience and organization's culture.

There are many more free as well as licensed tool are available depending on your need and comfort.

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What is the difference between Business Requirement and Functional Requirement?

BR (Business Requirement) or BRD (Business Requirement Document):
These are high level business requirements and high level use cases. They are directly associated with business goal. The document consist of business and stakeholder requirement / needs.
After the elicitation session, confirmation and agreement, this BR are approved.

Prepared by Business side Business Analyst.
Ex:

• Business goal: To provide online fund transfer facility to the exiting customer.
• Stakeholder Goal: How it should be done?
• Customer will specify their needs/preference +
• Operations - will specify the process
• Auditor - will verify if it is in-line with internal quality standards
• Compliance - will validate if it fulfills regulatory needs
• Design: Proces diagram + high level use cases

FR (Functional Requirement) or FRD (Functional Requirement Document) or SRS (System Requirement Specifications):
These are detailed system (or solution) requirement. These are also mentioned as capacity and condition or functional and non-functional requirements. In addition, it will have technical constraints, and data requirements in the form of input and output.

This is typically prepared by IT-side BA

Example: Consider above example, the Functional requirements will further specified in terms of
what system will do to fulfill this business requirement.

• To provide drop down menu to select beneficiary
• To provide Input box to provide for the customer to enter the transfer amount..
• Data: input and output data
• Use Cases: Detailed level

In addtion, it will have background color, size of the input box, capacity of system to handle number concurrent transfers or customers. and security feature.