The Business Analyst as Strategist

Translating Business Strategies into Valuable Solutions

Kathleen B. Hass PMP

• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
• Year: 2007
• Print ISBN: 9781567262094
• eBook ISBN: 9781567263435
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: History of Modern Art
• Index: Business

An organization's ability to achieve strategic goals through programs and supporting projects depends on its ability to establish a future vision, set strategic goals, select the most valuable projects, and then execute flawlessly. Organizational strategic alignment
is achieved by converting strategic plans and goals into a valuable portfolio of programs and supporting projects. Strategic project leaders and project teams execute the project plans to meet objectives and deliver project outcomes, adding value to the organization. As the role of the business analyst evolves and matures, senior business analysts will emerge as the key individuals in the organization who have the depth of business
acumen and technological proficiency to serve as both business and technology experts. In this capacity, business analysts will become involved in an array of activities designed to devise a strategy to reach the organization's future business vision by achieving strategic goals. As the business analyst elevates into a leadership role as the business and technology strategist, he or she serves the executive team by facilitating, informing, and enabling the most favorable business decisions during the strategic planning and enterprise analysis phases of the business solution life cycle (BSLC). This book examines the emerging critical role of the business analyst during these first two phases of the BSLC.

Part I

The Business Analyst’s Role in Strategic
Planning and Enterprise Analysis

To evolve from an internal business and technology consultant to a member of the executive leadership team, the business analyst must be equipped to make project selection decisions that align with greater organizational strategies. To make these decisions, the business analyst must fully understand both strategic planning processes and portfolio management practices that take place in the enterprise analysis phase of the business solution life cycle (BSLC). Part I defines the first two phases of the BSLC—the strategic planning phase and the enterprise analysis phase—and focuses on the role of the business analyst during those phases.

The executive leadership team begins to set the stage for strategic change during the strategic planning phase of the BSLC. Chapter 1 defines strategic planning, discusses why it is needed, and explores the business analyst’s role in planning activities.

After planning, strategies are translated into operational terms through a portfolio of programs and supporting projects during the enterprise analysis phase of the BSLC. Chapter 2 defines portfolio analysis and portfolio management, and discusses the emerging role of the business analyst in those activities.

Chapter 1

The Emerging Role of the Business
Analyst in Strategic Planning

In This Chapter:

• Strategic Planning in Organizations Today
• The Business Analyst’s Role in Strategic Planning

To respond to the never-ending demand for new products and services, executives everywhere are adopting professional business analysis practices to improve their ability to establish and execute strategy. At the strategic level, business analysis best practices aim to formulate the best business strategies, select projects to achieve those strategies, and increase the value project deliverables bring to the business.

Strategic Planning in Organizations Today

Executives are learning that to set the most favorable vision and strategy, they need to dedicate a significant portion of their time and energy to the formulation, execution, continuous monitoring, and refinement of strategy. To formulate and execute a well-formed strategy, leadership teams must anticipate market needs, exploit opportunities, identify threats, and make decisions that support their corporate objectives—a tall order.

For this discussion, it is appropriate to look to the foremost experts in strategy formulation, execution, and measurement, Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton. Robert Kaplan is the Marvin Bower Professor of Leadership Development at Harvard Business School and cofounder and chairman of BSCol (Balanced Scorecard Collaborative). David Norton is cofounder, president, and CEO of BSCol. Kaplan and Norton have coauthored several publications on strategy, including The Balanced Scorecard: Translating Strategy Into Action (Harvard Business School Publishing, 1996), The Strategy-Focused Organization: How Balanced Scorecard Companies Thrive in the New Business Environment (Harvard Business School Publishing, 2000), and three articles on the balanced scorecard in the Harvard Business Review. Through their efforts, executives are gaining knowledge of how to combine the expertise and principles of the strategy-focused organization with corporate performance management methods and techniques. Their theories, recommendations, and techniques appear throughout Chapters 1 and 2.

So how are strategies formulated today, and what is the role of the business analyst? The executive leadership team alone cannot effect the transition to a strategically focused organization. The information, process, tools, and facilitation that enable the organization to shift focus and become strategically driven are largely provided through the efforts of senior business analysts.

Before setting strategies, the leadership team needs to have up-to-date information regarding the competitive environment within which their business operates. Strategic planning processes begin by conducting research, competitive analyses, benchmark studies, and the like. The business analyst provides critical information to the executive team as an input to strategic planning discussions. In addition to critical information, the business analyst and senior managers also develop and use processes and tools during facilitated strategy meetings, and later during project selection and prioritization sessions, as well as ongoing program and project reviews. Specific activities the business analyst performs to enable the leadership team to formulate and execute strategy fall into four categories:

• 

  Conducting research and presenting findings
• 

  Establishing strategic goals and themes
• 

  Selecting change initiatives
• 

  Measuring progress over time

Conducting Research and Presenting Findings

For business requirements and goals to convert into innovative solutions that truly reflect the needs of the business and bring wealth to the organization, strategic planning and strategic goal-setting processes alone are not sufficient. To strongly link project selection to the organizational vision, those activities must be combined with business analysis—a comprehensive examination of business needs, environmental considerations, business opportunities, and business problems.

To establish the best direction in terms of vision, strategy, and goals, business analysts provide executives with an understanding of the current state of the industry and of critical market threats. In addition, analysts determine the competitiveness of their organization’s products and services, any impending innovations on the horizon, national and global marketplace pressures, and the current state of their business processes, organizational capabilities, and supporting technology. The business analyst may also conduct a competitive analysis to determine the current state of the organization in relationship to its competition, or a benchmark study of organizational processes and practices used by leaders in the industry.

After studying industry trends outside the organization, the business analyst turns inward to conduct an analysis of the organization relative to its competition. The business analyst then typically prepares a report describing study methods and results, proposing various business problems and opportunities for consideration, and suggesting ways the organization might close the gap with competitors. This report may include information garnered from:

• 

  Investigating, comparing, and contrasting the organization’s current strategy versus industry trends, marketplace pressures, and competitive threats
• 

  Assessing the current state of the organization’s technology structure, and strategies to ensure that structure aligns with the business vision
• 

  Identifying current business problems...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• About the Author
• Table of Contents
• Preface
• About This Book
• Part I - The Business Analyst’s Role in Strategic: Planning and Enterprise Analysis
• Part II - Using Portfolio Management to Achieve: Strategic Goals
• Appendixes
• Index