CCBA cheat sheet

Six tasks: Plan Business Analysis Approach, Plan Stakeholder Engagement, Plan Business Analysis Governance, Plan Business Analysis Information Management, Identify Business Analysis Performance Improvements.

Plan-driven (predictive) approaches define BA deliverables in detail up front and control change formally; change-driven (adaptive) approaches define deliverables incrementally with frequent feedback and are suited to high uncertainty.

Stakeholder engagement planning outputs: stakeholder list, roles/responsibilities, required engagement level, communication format and frequency, and collaboration needs.

BA governance defines decision-making authority, change control process, requirement approval authority, prioritization approach, and escalation paths.

Business analysis information management defines how information is structured, stored, accessed, traced, and reused, including repository, attributes, and formats.

Identifying BA performance improvements requires measurable indicators of BA work (timeliness, quality, stakeholder satisfaction), root cause analysis of shortfalls, and a plan of corrective action.

A RACI matrix assigns Responsibility, Accountability, Consult, and Inform for each BA activity; accountability should map to exactly one role per activity.

Stakeholder matrices (e.g., power/interest, attitude, on/off-team) classify stakeholders by influence and concern so engagement effort is proportionate to impact on the change.

Five tasks: Prepare for Elicitation, Conduct Elicitation, Confirm Elicitation Results, Communicate Business Analysis Information, Manage Stakeholder Collaboration.

Elicitation activities group into research (document analysis, data mining), collaborative (workshops, focus groups, brainstorming), experiments (prototyping, observation), and asking (interviews, surveys).

Preparation covers elicitation scope, technique selection, logistics, supporting materials, and pre-reading of existing business analysis information.

Interviews capture an individual's perspective and allow follow-up probing; workshops assemble cross-functional participants to build consensus and resolve conflict in one session.

Observation modes: passive (analyst watches without interfering) vs active (analyst asks questions during), and job shadowing vs process observation.

Confirmation of elicitation results requires cross-checking against other sources and stakeholders and resolving discrepancies before the information is used as requirements input.

Surveys reach large or dispersed stakeholder groups cheaply but limit clarification and follow-up; interviews and workshops support deeper probing.

Communication of business analysis information must match format, level of detail, and frequency to the audience to build shared understanding.

Five tasks: Trace Requirements, Maintain Requirements, Prioritize Requirements, Assess Requirements Changes, Approve Requirements.

Traceability relationship types: derive, depends, satisfy, validate, verify, allocate, and realize.

Backward traceability links a requirement to its source or business need; forward traceability links it to designs, solution components, and test cases.

Maintaining requirements means keeping them accurate and consistent over time, storing them with attributes, and enabling reuse across initiatives.

Basis for prioritization: business value, risk, implementation difficulty, regulatory or legal obligation, dependencies, and time sensitivity; techniques include MoSCoW, time boxing, voting, and weighted ranking.

Assessing a requirements change covers benefit, cost, effort, impact on other requirements and solution components, risk, and effect on schedule.

Approval authority depends on organizational governance and may sit with the sponsor, a change control board, or a designated business owner; approvals establish a baseline.

Common requirement attributes: identifier, description, priority, owner, source, status, complexity, stability, and verification method.

Four tasks: Analyze Current State, Define Future State, Assess Risks, Define Change Strategy.

Current state analysis examines the business need, enterprise structure, capabilities, processes, technology, policies, architecture, stakeholders, and internal/external influencers.

Future state definition states business goals and objectives, scope boundaries, constraints, assumptions, dependencies, and potential value to be delivered.

Gap analysis compares current and future states element by element to determine what must be added, removed, or changed; the change strategy addresses those gaps.

A change strategy includes solution scope, transition states, delivery approach, investment and sourcing considerations, and risk mitigation.

Risks are assessed for likelihood and impact, then addressed by avoiding, transferring, mitigating, or accepting them.

Key techniques: SWOT analysis, root cause analysis, business model canvas, benchmarking, capability gap analysis, decision analysis, and document analysis.

The business need states the problem or opportunity; the solution is one of several possible ways to address that need and must be evaluated against alternatives.

Six tasks: Specify and Model Requirements, Verify Requirements, Validate Requirements, Define Requirements Architecture, Define Design Options, Analyze Potential Value and Recommend Solution.

Requirement classifications: business requirements, stakeholder requirements, solution requirements (functional and non-functional), and transition requirements.

Model categories: process models, data models, business rule models, decision models, interface models, state models, and event models.

Verification checks that requirements are correct, complete, consistent, unambiguous, and conform to standards; validation checks that they deliver value and meet business needs.

Requirements architecture defines the structure, views, and relationships of requirements so the set is complete and consistent and can support design.

Design options are evaluated on value, cost, feasibility, and risk; the recommended solution is the option offering the best balance for the enterprise.

Non-functional requirement categories include performance, usability, reliability, security, maintainability, scalability, and compliance.

Model precision should be chosen for the audience: sketch-level models for exploration and formal, standards-based models for specification and handover.

Five tasks: Measure Solution Performance, Analyze Performance Measures, Assess Solution Limitations, Assess Enterprise Limitations, Recommend Actions to Increase Solution Value.

Performance measures are derived from business objectives and from acceptance and evaluation criteria defined earlier in the life cycle.

A solution limitation originates inside the solution (defect, design constraint, capacity); an enterprise limitation originates outside it (policy, culture, structure, process, stakeholder readiness).

Analysis techniques include variance analysis, trend analysis, root cause analysis, benchmarking, data mining, and observation.

Evaluation may be performed on a deployed solution, a prototype, a beta release, or a proposed design before full deployment.

Recommendation options: take no action, increase solution value, remove a limitation, replace the solution, or retire the solution.

Value can be expressed in financial terms (revenue, cost reduction) and non-financial terms (compliance, satisfaction, risk reduction).

Enterprise limitations are identified by examining organizational structure, culture, stakeholder capabilities, governance, and operational processes that surround the solution.