TwentyEighty Strategy Execution has released the Top Ten Business Analysis (BA) Trends for 2016. This year's trends examine the evolving ways in which BA practitioners can help organizations realize better business value and the shifts needed within the BA discipline to achieve it. To download a free copy of the trends, visit strategyex.com.
"An increased focus on modelling and communicating will enable business analysts to enhance their traditionally tactical role to one of true alignment to overall business strategy to better meet customer needs," said Joseph R. Czarnecki, PMP, MSP, SCPM, Vice President Product & Sales Support, TwentyEighty Strategy Execution. "In this strategic shift, practitioners of the business analysis discipline will have ever-increasing opportunities for professional advancement."
Those practicing the discipline will embrace the approach that being a strong business analyst requires more than just being an order taker for requirements. It means establishing trust with stakeholders and persuading them to embark on a journey of discovery together.
GOODBYE TO THE BUSINESS REQUIREMENTS DOCUMENT
There will be a shift from the low-value work writing and updating text-based documents to visual modelling, online repositories and real-time collaboration tools. Driven by the needs of geographically-dispersed virtual teams, companies will need to invest in changing the way people work together.
WIDER ADOPTION OF A PROFESSIONAL BA APPROACH TO INCREASE ORGANIZATIONS' AGILITY
Business analysts will use tools like use-case diagrams, work-flow models, decision tables and other models that enhance analysis and communication. Better collaboration, trust and buy-in of models by stakeholders will feed into the business architecture for the whole enterprise to collectively deal with complexity and change into the future.
BUILDING BETTER BUSINESS CASES THAT SET UP PROJECTS FOR SUCCESS AND AVOID ONES DOOMED TO FAIL
The discipline of business analysis will help keep companies from getting into trouble due to their tendency to build business cases that are biased, inaccurate and superficial. Smart organizations will realize that avoiding one bad project can cover their business analysis budget for the year.
MORE FOCUS ON BUSINESS VALUE, LESS ON PROJECT ACTIVITIES
This year, delivering and optimizing business value should take its rightful priority over the traditional project goals of delivering on-time and within-budget. Projects will need to provide better solutions that deliver benefits for years to come.
IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT SOFTWARE, IT'S ABOUT THE WHOLE SOLUTION
Changing organizational needs will demand much more focus on the business context, not just information technology. The interfaces, interdependencies and interactions that happen between the people, processes, business rules and other enablers will add to the challenge and "wholeness" of delivering solutions.
BUSINESS ANALYSIS WILL HELP DELIVER BETTER RESULTS FROM TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENTS
Organizations will apply the discipline of business analysis before investing in enterprise-wide solutions like COTS products to ensure the right fit, and show businesses the greater value in changing their processes first rather than customizing software.
MORE BUSINESS ANALYSIS, FEWER BUSINESS ANALYSTS DRIVE CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
The techniques and tools of BA will be applied more, but there will be fewer with the job title of business analyst. We'll see more titles such as process analyst, knowledge engineer, project director, client service director and client relationship manager, which will create greater career opportunities by avoiding the less valued business analyst title.
YET MANY WILL CONTINUE TO EXPECT THE "SAME OLD, SAME OLD" FROM BUSINESS ANALYSIS
Other parts of the organization, as well as other professions and disciplines, will remain unaware of the evolution of the business analysis discipline, and as a result will hold it back from its greater strategic potential.
DON'T EXPECT TO GET ALL THE REQUIREMENTS UP FRONT
With about 45 percent of all approved requirements never actually being used, business analysts will use communication tools and techniques to allow requirements to emerge and evolve over time.
"Today's business climate requires project driven change to be executed with more discipline and agility than ever before," Czarnecki said. "The business analyst's skilled interaction with stakeholders throughout the organization will facilitate the critical need to bridge the gap between strategy and execution and drive business value."
TwentyEighty Strategy Execution assembled a panel of senior executives from around the world to compile the Top Ten Business Analysis Trends for 2016.
