Business Analysis Planning Considerations

Business Analysis Planning determines how a Business Analyst will gather, analyse, and communicate
requirements, as well as the deliverables to be developed. A Business Analysis Plan is an output of the
process and consists of information such as how to determine the business analysis approach, plan for
requirements management, define roles and responsibilities, understand the project context ,conduct
stakeholder analysis, plan for business analysis activities, plan for business analysis communication and
collaborate with the project manager as outlined below.

Determine Business Analysis Approach

The Business Analysis Approach is an outline of how a business analyst is going to execute the business
analysis activities. The approach also defines the project methodology, project lifecycle, deliverables,
activities and timelines to be considered.It also includes the roles and responsibilities, requirement
gathering and analysis approach, tools and techniques, change control procedures, reviews and
approval methods and stakeholder engagement

Plan for Requirements Management

Requirements planning is part of business analysis planning and defines how requirements will be
gathered, elicited, and documented. The Requirements Management Plan is used to document the
necessary information required to effectively manage project requirements from definition,
prioritization, traceability, to delivery. Requirements can also be prioritized for implementation using
requirements prioritization approach such as MOSCOW that is short for Must have, Should have, Could
have and Won't have.

Define Roles and Responsibilities

The Business Analyst is responsible for allocating and communicating business analysis responsibilities
to project team members. Common responsibilities to be allocated on an information technology
project include Developer, Trainer, Tester.etc.By making use of the Responsibility Assignment Matrix
commonly referred to as the RACI matrix, different levels of involvement a particular stakeholder has in
the project can be represented. The model defines each role's level by responsible (R), accountable (A),
consulted (C), and informed (I).
Understand the Project Context

The Business Analyst should understand the project life cycle that shows the phases involved during the
implementation of the project. The project methodology used such as PMBOK, PRINCE2 and Scrum will
have an effect on the Business Analysis activities. Tools such as SWOT Analysis should also be used to
perform an analysis of the internal (Strength and Weaknesses) and external (Threats and Opportunities)
that may affect the project. The Business Analyst should also understand other aspects such as project
size, budget, risk and schedule that may have an impact on business analysis activities.

Conduct Stakeholder Analysis

A stakeholder is a group or person who will be affected by or may have influence over a
project.Stakeholder Analysis is the process of identifying project stakeholders, determining how they
may impact the project, and how they will contribute towards the requirements gathering and analysis
process. Stakeholder identification and understanding of their roles and responsibilities will be essential
for the business analyst to be able to know their engagement levels. Tools that can be used in
stakeholder analysis are the Stakeholder Register and the Stakeholder Engagement Assessment Matrix.

Plan for Business Analysis Activities

Planning of Business Analysis activities involves determining the scope of work for business analysis
activities, activities to be performed, efforts required to perform the work, identifying deliverables to be
produced and methods of measuring the progress. A Task List created in Microsoft Excel is one way of
representing the list of activities to be performed as well as the resources needed. Other software tools
such as Microsoft Project can also be used for graphical representation of the business analysis work to
be performed on a project in form of a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), Gantt chart and Network
Diagram

Plan for Business Analysis Communication

Planning for business analysis communication involves determining the information to be

communicated,the delivery method,the audience,the format and frequency of communication for
stakeholders. A business analysis communications plan describes the proposed structure and schedule
for communications regarding business analysis activities for the benefit of the stakeholders.Typical
communications by a business analyst on a project will include providing status updates on business
analysis work as well as information on any issues or risks ecountered.

Collaborate with the Project Manager

The Project Manager and the Business Analyst work with project stakeholders from the initiation to the
closure of a project. The Project Manager and the Business Analyst work together to define the project
scope, business need deliverables and acceptance criteria. The Project Manager develops the Project
Plan and the Business analyst develops the Product Scope, Business Analysis Plan and the Requirements
Management Plan that will be agreed with the Project Manager and stakeholders before
implementation. The Business Analyst can also be involved in performing user Acceptance Testing (UAT)
to ensure that system requirements meet the business needs.