Business Analysis Approach Planning Template

Description

Be seen as the BA who delivers value and succeeds

Often the project plan does not adequately cover the business analysis activities and approach. This creates an issue for you as the business analyst on the project, because:

• Not all of the potential risks to the analysis work may have been considered in the project planning stage, and
• Not all of the timeframes and dependencies are fully understood for you to get your work done within the set time.

In this case, you’re either required to develop the content to be included in the project plan or produce a separate business analysis approach document.

Increase your transparency with the BA Approach Document Template

In my Business Analysis Approach Document Template, I tell exactly what to write to make a strong first impression on your stakeholders. It will help you communicate exactly what’s required of you and your stakeholders to produce the necessary deliverables for your business analysis effort, and why.

It sets expectations on how you perform your work, the resources you need and the types of activities you will engage in, e.g. workshops and interviews. So everybody is on the same page! Planning also increases the transparency of your work as the small processes of your analysis are better understood. This helps when expectations have to change.

A note about your author

I’m Sam Cordes, Business Analyst. I’ve been employed professionally as a BA for well over 20 years in various industries, most of that time as a contractor. In addition to my own work, I have often provided mentoring and knowledge transfer to my colleagues to support them in their careers, and promote organisational capability. Following good practice and producing quality products is what inspires me, and I’m passionate about helping others achieve the best they can in their business analysis career.

Here’s what you’ll get in your template…

This fully annotated template is a structured document with headings and sub-headings. Each heading contains examples to follow, and tables and lists for you to complete. There are three main sections.

• Section 1 | Introduction. Describes the purpose of the business analysis effort, the objectives and impetus for initiating change, and the scope of your activities and deliverables.
• Section 2 | Organisational Context. Provides more detail on the problems that exist which have contributed to the need for change and the underlying causes. It also describes the target condition in which the issues will be addressed, and the supporting criteria for success.
• Section 3 | Planned Activities & Management. Itemises the business analysis activities and deliverables, any identifiable risks, a strategy for communication and the stakeholder engagement plan. It also describes how requirements will be collected, analysed, documented and managed throughout the life of the project.

My Guarantee

I know you are going to get results, but if you are not entirely happy I’ll send back every penny you paid.