We sometime where many hats when working with our clients. One of the missing keys in some projects is the phase of taking a step back and looking at the entire project from an analyst point of view.
We have recently been “deep diving” on some larger, long-term projects. Business analysis seems to be a core value with these clients. We have always felt that in smaller projects this phase has always been overlooked. This can be the sign on the wall when clients refuse to discuss strategy and are offended by the foundational questions that we like to review with them.
We understand that very few clients enjoy the process but, in the end, they all appreciate the education while going through the process. A lot of projects don’t have sound foundational reasons behind them. But we have found that when they do, we make it such a enjoyable session that they really appreciate that we took the time to confirm their needs. So our belief is that no matter what type of project it is, we insist on at least discussing some of these details prior to any work starting. Many owners and stakeholders seem to think that just wishing and praying will improve their odds of having a success project. If only it were that easy.
An analyst comes in many flavors:
- Business Analyst
- IT Business System Analyst
- Business Systems Analyst
- Requirements Analyst
- Project Analyst
- Program Analyst
To help our client’s projects succeed, we have come up with a nice mix of tools and methods that improve a project's success rate by more than 40%:
- Elicitation - Discovering the underlying business need to be addressed and information related to the product and project requirements, often through conversations with stakeholders
- Analyzing Requirements – Organizing, specifying and modeling the requirements to ensure they are complete and unambiguous
- Specifying Requirements – Documenting the requirements in a format that can be shared with stakeholders
- Validating and Verifying Requirements – Ensuring the requirements map to the real business need, are approved by all relevant stakeholders, and meet essential quality standards
Save money and time by getting a good analyst on your side. We'd love to hear how you use an analyst in some of your projects.
