Digital Business Analysis

Business Analysis is increasingly becoming an interesting field of work. It was born
in an era heavily influenced by waterfall methodologies and has not only survived
the transition to agile but is becoming increasingly important to businesses. It seems
that many people, holding different job titles, find their day-to-day work incorporates
more and more “business analysis” activities. Secondly, with the increased
presence of digital technologies now affecting the majority of new solutions, people
need to have one foot in business and the other in IT. On the one hand, they need a
better understanding of how solutions incorporating digital technologies are going
to be used, how they will deliver value and become better acquainted with the
customers’ perspective. At the same time, they need a better understanding of the
capabilities of IT and to find sharper designs to deliver expected value. Those
working mainly on the business side find themselves increasingly immersed in
technology-driven discussions, and those on the technology side are involved in the
early stages of product ideation. Good solutions are born when both sides are
involved and aligned with each other. In addition, business analysis activities are
now, more than ever before, a concern of managers as well. Managers are finding
themselves increasingly discussing aspects that are encompassed by business
analysis. In a discussion with an experienced and seasoned manager, I was told that
15 years ago, IT related discussions comprised about 15% of his agenda, whereas
today, it is closer to 80%.
There is an increased demand for persons who have their expertise in business or
IT but are able to adapt to either task. These resources exist, but they have been
schooled by experiences accumulated at work, by taking corporate training courses, or
having read up on the topic. After having worked for more than 18 years with business
analysis, having trained new employees in business analysis, and taught the subject
to numerous students at the university level, one thing has become increasingly
apparent. There are no textbooks that cover the main aspects of BABOK [35] while
providing students with examples and case studies, suitable as course literature or
self-study, particularly in the context of digital technologies. This is not due to a lack
of very good books on business analysis—there are many—but rather that they either
focus on a specific aspect of business analysis or are excellent as reference books.
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BABOK [35] is an impressive body of knowledge and gathers together the
relevant aspects of business analysis in one book. While it is comprehensive, it
neither aims nor tries to cover the topics in more detail. While it has limitations for
use as course literature, it is invaluable as a reference book. In a similar vein, the
book entitled Business Analysis [15] covers the business analysis process and an
impressive list of different tools and techniques. The authors have also written a
complimentary book that briefly introduces 99 business analysis techniques [14].
Again, these are valuable for experienced business analysts who need to quickly
find a brief overview of different techniques.
Other excellent titles such as Seven Steps of Mastering Business Analysis [16],
The Business Analyst’s Handbook [70], Business Analyst’s Mentor Book [101],
and Business Analysis for Practitioners [76] either focus on certain aspects of the
business analysis process or share very interesting insights born out of years of
experience. As such, they should be on the reading list of every aspiring business
analyst. However, it is difficult to build a course on such titles. At a more specialized
level, there is an impressive list of titles that deal with certain aspects of
business analysis, specifically on the topic of business analysis and agile methods.
A few examples are The Power of the Agile Business Analyst [20] and The Agile
Business Analysts: Moving from Waterfall to Agile [51]. Other titles such as
Business Analysis and Leadership: Influencing Change [78] deal with the complicated
aspect of change and business analysis. Other titles focus on different
aspects of business analysis work such as requirement management [72, 82] or
business process management [22].
In the light of this context, a textbook is required that:
• Covers many of the aspects of business analysis work with enough detail and
examples to allow for both self-study and as a basis for courses on business
analysis.
• Covers the entire business analysis process from external business context to
solution evaluation, and the main principles of good business analysis work.
• Contains numerous illustrative examples and classroom-tested case studies for
students to test their skills and for instructors to use in class as a basis for
discussions or homework/assignments.
• Is aligned with BABOK.
• Frames business analysis within the context of digital technologies.
For further help and assistance to both students and instructors of business
analysis, this book is accompanied by the website (https://babook.cs.ut.ee) that
includes additional resources. This book would not have been made possible
without the help of all the students who critically, and with a posture of learning,
engaged in discussions during class work and offered valuable feedback on the
cases and the contents of this book. Furthermore, a special note of gratitude is owed
to Maria, Lilit, Nino, Ahti, and Marit for their invaluable assistance with various
aspects associated with these courses and this book. A special mention is due to
Prof. Marlon Dumas for his support, encouragement, and special skill set that
viii Preface
enabled the publishing of this book. The preparation of this book has been partly
supported by an Institutional Grant of the Estonian Research Council, under grant
agreement IUT20-55.