To BA or not to BA

This is the first in a series of blog posts in which I will try to make a case for business analysis in any type of project. In this article I will set the stage with some definitions.


Project: A unique endeavor to either solve problems, create something new or achive a result.


Project Management (PM): It is the discipline that defines how to plan and organize the steps, manage the resources and orchestrate the steps to achieve the successful completion of specific goals and objectives defined in the scope of the project.


In order to come up with a comprehensive solution there should be planning in three major areas: the business plan, the technical plan and finally the project plan itself that pulls it all together.


Business Analysis (BA): It is the collection of tasks and steps as well as the knowledge base that help the analyst to identify business requirements and needs and to define the solutions for business problems or business opportunities.


The solution may be whatever is needed for the business to succeed. Some examples of solutions will be process improvement models, organization change processes, sales and marketing plans and more commonly a software system.


In order to succeed every business needs an analyst to formally define processes and be the custodian for the business knowledge.