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What Is Business Analysis? to Business Analysts

What is Business Analysis?

In very basic terms, business analysis could be said to be the application of a range of disciplines, to determine business needs and develop solutions to business problems. Of course, in practice this short description becomes entirely inadequate, a far more exhaustive explanation is required to explain exactly what business analysis actually is.

Business Analysis Basics

Business Analysis is a term which refers to the process of firstly identifying the needs of the business and then developing and implementing the solutions to meet them. Business analysis techniques are applied to develop an appropriate plan and then put it in to action. Business Analysts are an important asset to every business, they apply their skills to take the big picture and break it into smaller parts, making it easier to ensure that company resources are being utilized in the most efficient manner.

Business Analysis is Goal Orientated

Business analysis always focuses upon goals, but in a bi-directional fashion. Business analysis can be implemented to both set goals, and to achieve them. These goals will cover strategic business practices encompassing IT, business processes, corporate policies, structure and trading strategies across the entire enterprise.

Business Analysis Is Comprised of
Three Core Elements

The term business analysis is a broad term given to the process of analyzing and influencing three distinctly different aspects of the business, which combined, effect the enterprise at every level, these are:

• Business Strategy - Analyzing the strategic profile of the company and implementing policy changes based upon this analysis.
• Business Architecture - Analysis of the actual way in which the business functions. This includes evaluating objectives and the resources and processes currently in place to achieve them. Changes to the business architecture will be made based upon this analysis.
• Business Systems - Analysis of the businesses information systems needs, defining required changes to information systems based upon this analysis.

Business Analysis Techniques

Depending upon the market sector the enterprise sits within, different business analysis techniques will be applied. Different techniques may also be applied at project level. Some of the most common of these techniques are:

• PESTLE - (Political, Economic, Sociological, Technological, Legal and Environmental) - PESTLE is a technique which is suitable for evaluating external factors and the effects they have upon the business.
• SWOT - (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) - SWOT is used to identify possible opportunities and any threats to the business by evaluating its strengths and weaknesses.
• MOST - (Mission, Objectives, Strategies and Tactics) - MOST enables the organization to perform internal analysis and identify the best way to achieve its goals.
• CATWOE - (Customers, Actors, Transformation Process, World View, Owner and Environmental Constraints) - CATWOE is used to identify the main processes and entities which may be affected by any changes the business makes.
• MoSCoW - (Must or Should, Could or Would) - MoSCoW is used to prioritize both proposed changes and business goals.

These are just a handful of the mainstream techniques which make up the toolset of the modern business analyst. These are very succinct descriptions, each of these techniques is worthy of several pages of description in their own right.

The Three Phases of Business Analysis

Every time that business analysis techniques are applied, there is a natural three phase progression, which can be explained thus:

• Phase 1 - Why? - This phase is purely about fact finding. Normally, this will involve the formulation of a feasibility study to examine the business case put forward for changes.
• Phase 2 - Work - In this phase the business analyst will develop a project or requirements plan, which will need to be agreed with all stakeholders, and then implemented.
• Phase 3 - Working? - This is the final phase, where any changes implemented need to be proven as working. Additionally, at this phase the business analyst needs to confirm that all requirements have been met.

Why is Business Analysis Important?

Business analysis is important for many reasons, although the main one should be quite apparent; business analysis allows a company to take carefully iterated steps towards achieving greater profitability by working

Every enterprise is the sum of its stock value, working capital, tangible assets, customers, staff and goodwill. By employing modern business analysis techniques, the value of each of these core aspects. Hopefully this has answered the question of what is business analysis.

© 2006 - 2011 Stellar Force

Questions About Business Analysis?

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