PBA IQA cheat sheet

Stakeholder analysis classifies stakeholders by influence, impact, attitude, and authority; the resulting map drives engagement effort and communication frequency.

A business analysis approach is selected from predictive, adaptive, or hybrid based on risk tolerance, regulatory constraints, and rate of change; it defines deliverables, timing, and formality.

Governance describes decision-making authority, escalation paths, and approval thresholds for requirements and changes.

The BA plan covers scope of work, activities, deliverables, stakeholders, communication, and performance measures.

Communication plans specify who receives which information, in what format, and how often; they are distinct from stakeholder engagement plans.

Performance measurement tracks BA work using metrics such as requirement defect rates, stakeholder satisfaction, and cycle time.

Elicitation activity planning sequences techniques (interviews, workshops, observation) against stakeholder availability and information needs.

Risk of BA work is assessed by likelihood and impact; high-exposure items get mitigation plans recorded in the BA plan.

Elicitation is not requirements gathering; it is the discovery of information through prepared, conducted, confirmed, and communicated activities.

Technique selection depends on information type: tacit knowledge favors observation and interviews; group consensus favors workshops and focus groups.

A workshop is run with a defined purpose, agenda, facilitator, scribe, and decision log; outputs are validated before distribution.

Confirmation activities verify that elicited information is accurate and complete through review, walkthrough, and sign-off.

Stakeholder collaboration requires ongoing communication, not a single elicitation event; engagement continues through the life cycle.

Elicitation results are documented at the appropriate level of detail: unconfirmed notes versus confirmed requirements.

When stakeholders disagree, the BA records the conflict, the positions, and the resolution path rather than silently choosing.

Communication during elicitation must be tailored to stakeholder language, culture, and decision authority.

Requirements traceability links requirements backward to business need and forward to design, test, and delivery.

A requirement's life cycle states include proposed, approved, implemented, verified, and retired; transitions are governed.

Change control evaluates each change request for impact on scope, cost, schedule, risk, and other requirements before approval.

Baselining freezes an approved requirement set; subsequent changes are tracked as versions against the baseline.

Prioritization ranks requirements by value, risk, cost, and dependency; common schemes include MoSCoW and weighted ranking.

Requirements attributes include ID, source, owner, priority, status, complexity, and rationale.

Requirements are maintained for reuse and alignment; obsolete requirements are retired, not deleted without record.

Approval authority for requirements is defined in governance; the BA confirms approval and records it.

Current state analysis examines business need, organizational structure, capabilities, technology, and culture.

Future state definition describes the desired outcomes and the capabilities required to achieve them.

Gap analysis compares current and future states to identify what must change: processes, systems, skills, or structure.

A business need is a problem or opportunity that justifies change; it is validated before solution design begins.

Change strategy defines the scope, approach, and transition path from current to future state, including risk.

Solution scope bounds what the solution will and will not address; it is agreed with stakeholders.

SWOT, PESTLE, and capability analysis are tools for assessing internal and external strategic context.

Strategy analysis output feeds requirements analysis; the future state and change strategy frame the solution requirements.

Requirements are classified as business, stakeholder, solution (functional and non-functional), or transition requirements.

Requirements models include process models, data models, use cases, and state diagrams; the model is chosen to fit the question being answered.

Requirements are verified for quality: unambiguous, complete, consistent, feasible, testable, and traceable.

Requirements are validated with stakeholders to confirm they represent the real need, not just a stated want.

Design definition translates requirements into solution components, interfaces, and allocation of requirements to components.

Solution options are evaluated against criteria such as cost, benefit, risk, and fit with strategy before selection.

Non-functional requirements describe quality attributes such as performance, security, usability, and availability.

Analysis identifies dependencies and conflicts among requirements and resolves them before design is baselined.

Solution evaluation measures whether a delivered solution meets the business need and delivers expected value.

Performance measures are defined before evaluation; they include both operational metrics and outcome metrics.

Evaluation compares actual results against the business case, requirements, and success criteria.

Limitations of a solution are identified and analyzed for root cause before recommending action.

Recommendations may include no action, further analysis, solution enhancement, or replacement.

Evaluation considers the solution in its operational context, including users, processes, and supporting systems.

Value is assessed over time; early evaluation may show adoption issues rather than solution failure.

Findings from solution evaluation feed back into strategy analysis and requirements for the next iteration.

Analytical thinking decomposes problems into parts, identifies patterns, and evaluates evidence before concluding.

Behavioral characteristics include trustworthiness, organization, adaptability, and ethical conduct.

Communication skills cover listening, questioning, presenting, and writing for the audience's level of detail.

Business knowledge includes industry, organization, and domain understanding that informs requirements.

Interaction skills include facilitation, negotiation, conflict resolution, and team leadership.

Tool proficiency covers modeling tools, requirements repositories, and collaboration platforms.

Ethical behavior means disclosing conflicts, protecting confidential information, and reporting accurately.

Continuous learning keeps the BA current with techniques, technology, and business changes.