PBP cheat sheet

Business analysis is the practice of enabling change in an enterprise by defining needs and recommending solutions that deliver value to stakeholders.

A stakeholder is any individual or group with a relationship to the change, need, or solution; stakeholders can be internal or external, and may be affected by or have influence over the solution.

A requirement is a usable representation of a need; requirements can be classified as business, stakeholder, solution, or transition requirements.

A business need is a problem or opportunity facing the enterprise that motivates action; it is often expressed as a goal or objective.

A solution is a set of changes to the current state that satisfy one or more needs in a context; solutions can be processes, systems, organizational structures, or products.

A value stream is an end-to-end set of activities that create value for a customer; value stream mapping identifies waste and improvement opportunities.

A capability is the ability of an enterprise to achieve a specific outcome; capabilities are stable and are enabled by processes, people, and technology.

The Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK) Guide is a widely referenced framework that defines knowledge areas, tasks, techniques, and competencies for business analysis.

A deliverable is any measurable, tangible, verifiable outcome, result, or item that must be produced to complete a project or part of a project.

The BABOK Guide is organized into six knowledge areas: Business Analysis Planning and Monitoring, Elicitation and Collaboration, Requirements Life Cycle Management, Strategy Analysis, Requirements Analysis and Design Definition, and Solution Evaluation.

The Business Analysis Core Concept Model (BACCM) consists of six core concepts: Change, Need, Solution, Stakeholder, Value, and Context; every concept is defined in relation to the others.

The Agile Extension to the BABOK Guide describes three horizons of business analysis: Horizon 1 (Product Ownership), Horizon 2 (Business Analysis), and Horizon 3 (Business Architecture).

The IIBA Agile Extension defines seven principles: See the Whole, Think as a Customer, Analyze to Determine What Is Valuable, Get Real Using Examples, Understand What Is Enough, Break Things Down, and Plan for Change.

The PMI Guide to Business Analysis aligns business analysis work with project management and defines a business analysis framework that includes needs assessment, planning, analysis, design, and evaluation.

The five levels of business analysis in the IIBA Business Analysis Competency Model are: Foundation, Business Analysis Professional, Senior Business Analysis Professional, Business Analysis Manager, and Business Analysis Leader.

The Business Analysis Planning and Monitoring knowledge area includes tasks for planning the business analysis approach, stakeholder engagement, governance, information management, and performance improvement.

The Strategy Analysis knowledge area includes tasks to analyze current state, define future state, assess risks, and define change strategy.

A business analysis approach defines the processes, deliverables, and techniques that will be used to perform business analysis on an initiative; it can be predictive, adaptive, or a hybrid.

Stakeholder analysis involves identifying stakeholders, understanding their influence and interest, and determining engagement strategies; common tools include the power/interest grid and salience model.

The business analysis plan defines the scope of work, schedule, resources, and deliverables for business analysis activities; it is often part of the overall project management plan.

Elicitation is the activity of drawing out information from stakeholders; techniques include interviews, workshops, observation, surveys, document analysis, and prototyping.

Requirements analysis involves examining requirements to ensure they are complete, consistent, and verifiable; it includes prioritizing, modeling, and specifying requirements.

A requirements traceability matrix links requirements to their sources, design elements, test cases, and other artifacts to ensure coverage and manage changes.

The MoSCoW method prioritizes requirements as Must have, Should have, Could have, and Won't have; it is often used in agile and time-boxed initiatives.

A use case describes a sequence of interactions between a system and an actor to achieve a goal; it includes a main success scenario and alternative flows.

A business process model, often using BPMN, visually represents the flow of activities, events, and gateways in a process to identify inefficiencies and improvement opportunities.

A decision tree is a analysis technique that models decisions, possible outcomes, and their probabilities to evaluate alternatives under uncertainty.

Implementation is the execution of the solution to deliver the intended value; it includes organizational change management, training, and transition activities.

A transition requirement describes the capabilities the solution must have to support the transition from the current state to the future state; it is temporary in nature.

A pilot or beta release is a limited deployment of a solution to a subset of users to validate functionality and gather feedback before full rollout.

A training needs analysis identifies the knowledge and skills required for stakeholders to adopt the solution and the gaps that must be addressed.

A business readiness assessment evaluates whether the organization is prepared for the change, including process, technology, and people readiness.

A cutover plan defines the sequence of activities, timing, and responsibilities for moving from the old solution to the new solution.

A rollback plan defines how to revert to the previous state if implementation fails or causes unacceptable issues.

A stakeholder communication plan specifies who needs what information, when, and through which channels during implementation.

A deployment schedule aligns solution releases with business cycles, dependencies, and resource availability to minimize disruption.

The Solution Evaluation knowledge area includes tasks to measure solution performance, analyze performance measures, assess solution limitations, and assess enterprise limitations.

A performance measure is a metric used to evaluate the success of a solution; it should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART).

A key performance indicator (KPI) is a measurable value that demonstrates how effectively an organization is achieving key business objectives.

Variance analysis compares planned versus actual performance to identify deviations and their causes; it is a control technique.

Earned value management (EVM) integrates scope, schedule, and cost to assess project performance; key metrics include cost variance (CV), schedule variance (SV), cost performance index (CPI), and schedule performance index (SPI).

A control chart is a statistical tool used to monitor process stability over time and distinguish common-cause variation from special-cause variation.

A root cause analysis, such as the 5 Whys or fishbone diagram, identifies underlying reasons for performance gaps to inform corrective actions.

A benefits realization plan defines how and when the benefits of a solution will be measured and who is accountable for achieving them.

A lessons learned session captures insights from a completed initiative to improve future performance; it should be conducted throughout the project, not only at closure.

The IIBA Code of Conduct and Ethics requires business analysts to act with integrity, avoid conflicts of interest, protect confidential information, and comply with laws and regulations.

The IIBA Business Analysis Competency Model defines underlying competencies including analytical thinking, communication, interaction skills, and tool/technology knowledge.

Governance refers to the processes, policies, and decision rights that guide and control the business analysis work and the solution.

A business analysis governance framework defines how decisions are made, who has authority, and how changes are approved and prioritized.

A stakeholder engagement plan documents how stakeholders will be involved, their roles, and communication preferences; it is part of business analysis planning.

Professional development for business analysts includes maintaining knowledge of industry trends, pursuing certifications such as ECBA, CCBA, CBAP, and PMI-PBA, and earning continuing development units (CDUs).

Ethical dilemmas in business analysis often involve conflicts between stakeholder interests, organizational pressures, and professional standards; the IIBA Code of Conduct provides guidance.

A requirements change control process ensures that changes are evaluated, approved, and implemented in a controlled manner to avoid scope creep.

A business analysis center of excellence (CoE) is a organizational structure that promotes best practices, standards, and professional development for business analysts.