Often times the benefits of effective business analysis go unnoticed. Good business analysis ensures the project implements the right solution and since it is the right solution no one ever sees all the cost, time and effort that has been avoided. Even if specific ROI measures are defined at the initiation of a project, most often the successful achievement of these measures is not attributed back to good business analysis.
Some of the reasons why we recommend Business Analysis be performed at the start of any major project are:
1. Correcting Mistakes
With the changing economic picture, organizations can’t afford to do things twice. What happens when systems are not configured or customized as required. It is not only time that is lost, additional dollars are spent to correct what could have been prevented with complete Business Analysis.
2. Reduced Spending
Organizations are constantly under pressure to reduce costs or overages associated with any given project. It is the role of the Business Analyst to ensure that the drivers, requirements, tasks, responsibilities and desired results are clearly mapped to ensure first-time completions.
3. Integration
Integration of disparate systems to reduce redundancy and increase efficiency. Organizations are trending towards solutions that handle all their business processes and eliminate stand-alone systems or processes but without effectively analysing and understanding the business this is often not successful.
4. Better Business Processes
Implementations of new applications are an ideal time to take advantage of advancements in integration technologies, expand the use of previously implemented applications and eliminate applications not required. Business Analysis examines the requirements at various levels within an organization which can result in more efficient business processes.
5. Automation & Simplification
With today’s technologies manual processes can now be automated and complex process can be simplified to create more value with less work. Business Analysis evaluates an organization’s processes for areas where unnecessary complexity can be eliminated or areas in which ‘letting the system do the work’ can increase the value of the process.
6. Documentation
Document the right requirements for the project. Organizations expose themselves to considerable risk when their business processes are not document or are documented incorrectly. The reliance on the knowledge residing in the minds of employees poses a large risk should the employee leave the organization.
7. Business Process Review
Processes within an organization can often fall subject to the old adage “This is the way we’ve always done it” or can often be miscommunicated between end-users, project leads and consultants. Business Analysis reviews these processes to determine whether the process requires change, should remain the same or can be eliminated. This ensures that the right requirements are documented and the desired goals are achieved.
8. Rework
What happens when a project intended to reduce operational costs is delayed or fails? What happens when a project intended to increases revenue through new sales is delayed or fails? For each day that these projects are delayed or stalled increased costs are incurred and potential revenue is lost. Rework is a common industry headache and it has become so common at many organizations that it is often built into project budgets and time lines. The need for rework can be reduced by ensuring that the requirements gathering and definition processes are thorough and by ensuring that the business and technical members of a project are involved in these processes from an early stage, which is the role Business Analysis plays in a project. Eliminating rework shortens project length which ultimately leads to either operational cost-savings or increased revenue potential.
