CHAPTER 13
Building a Mature, Innovation-Driven Business Analysis Practice
An organization’s journey to business analysis practice maturity begins when it acknowledges that business analysis is a critical business management discipline for the 21st century. It takes investment and resources to build a new business analysis practice, so our framework calls for a proven, structured approach coupled with expert change management skills. The framework involves a three-pronged approach: once the organization has acknowledged the value of business analysis, it develops a competent BA workforce, builds a mature BA practice, and establishes a business analysis center of excellence (BACOE) to plant the seeds for, and steer the course toward, business analysis maturity (see Figure 13-1). This chapter focuses on building a mature, innovation-driven BA practice.
FIGURE 13-1. The Framework of a Mature BA Practice
© 2011 By Kathleen B. Hass and Associates, Inc.
To steer the course, we once again make use of a model, the BA practice maturity model shown in Figure 13-2. As you can see, the model is in strict alignment with the BA capability model introduced in Chapter 1.
THE DAUNTING ROAD AHEAD
Figure 13-3 shows that many elements need to be in place for an organization to implement a mature BA practice. So how are we ever going to get there, and how fast can we get there?
The practice maturity levels comprising the BA practice maturity model are described in Figure 13-4.
FIGURE 13-2. BA Practice Maturity Model
© 2011 By Kathleen B. Hass and Associates, Inc.
FIGURE 13-3. Building Blocks of a Mature BA Practice
FIGURE 13-4. BA Maturity Model Description
BA PRACTICE MATURITY ASSESSMENT
What is a BA practice maturity assessment? It is an independent appraisal of organizational practices that provides a foundation for advancement. It determines where an organization is today and where it wants to be in the future. It is conducted using an appraisal process based on assessment best practices. The maturity assessment compares current capabilities are compared with a BA practice maturity model based on BA industry best practices. Specifically, a maturity assessment:
Measures the ability of an organization to repeatedly deliver new business solutions that meet the business need and result in the expected benefits
Provides a foundation and guidance for advancement of practices through prioritized, sequential improvements
Provides an indicator of how effective an organization is in meeting business objectives and executing strategy through successful implementation of new business solutions.
A BA practice maturity assessment process and practice improvement program are needed to build a mature BA practice. Together, they provide validated, accurate information about the current state of BA practices, accompanied by recommendations for improvement and support along the way. In addition, the maturity assessment determines the readiness of the organization to accept and support the new BA practices and to form a BA center of excellence.
ASSESSMENT COMPONENTS
The scope of the assessment needs to be broad, encompassing evaluation of the following components:
BABOK® standards, including BA planning and monitoring, elicitation, requirements management, and enterprise analysis
BA metrics
BA tools
Knowledge management
BA practice support and governance
Change management
BA competency and career management
BA training and support
Project selection and prioritization
Customer relationship management
BA center of excellence effectiveness.
ASSESSMENT APPROACH
The BA practice maturity model can be used as the basis for several types of maturity assessments, as described in Figure 13-5. Depending on how far your organization has come in its journey to cultivate mature BA practices, we can recommend the most appropriate evaluation of your BA practice.
The approach to conducting an organizational maturity assessment can be formal or informal. In either case, the assessment is multidimensional and includes planning meetings culminating in a kickoff session, administration of an assessment instrument, and review of project artifacts and deliverables, accompanied by a series of interviews and focus group sessions. Information is synthesized, organized, validated, and documented in a data summary report and an assessment findings and recommendations report containing a two-year road map and action plan for immediate next steps.
FIGURE 13-5. BA Maturity Assessment Options
ASSESSMENT DELIVERABLES
There are two key assessment deliverables:
The data summary report
Overall maturity rating
Maturity rating for each component
Strengths
Opportunities.
The findings and recommendations report and executive presentation
Detailed findings
Detailed recommendations
Road map to close the gaps
Action plan to implement recommendations.
SAMPLE ASSESSMENT RESULTS
The graph in Figure 13-6 shows ratings for one organization’s BA practice maturity by component and overall, which is part of the data summary report, while Figure 13-7 shows a portion of a detailed findings report, part of the findings and recommendations report.
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER: WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR THE BUSINESS ANALYST?
Don’t wait any longer before helping your organization build a mature BA practice. If you’re interested in learning more about the BA practice assessment, please visit our website at www.kathleenhass.com or contact the author at [email protected].
FIGURE 13-6. Ratings for BA Practice Maturity
© 2011 By Kathleen B. Hass and Associates, Inc.
FIGURE 13-7. Portion of Detailed Findings Report
© 2011 By Kathleen B. Hass and Associates, Inc.