BABOK 3 - Tasks & Descriptions

Describes the planning of business analysis work from creation or selection of a methodology to planning the individual activities, tasks, and deliverables.

Describes understanding which stakeholders are relevant to the change, what business analysts need from them, what they need from business analysts, and the best way to collaborate.

Defines the components of business analysis that are used to support the governance function of the organization. It helps ensure that decisions are made properly and consistently, and follows a process that ensures decision makers have the information they need.

Defines how information developed by business analysts (including requirements and designs) is captured, stored, and integrated with other information for long-term use.

Describes managing and monitoring how business analysis work is performed to ensure that commitments are met, and continuous learning and improvement opportunities are realized.

Ensures stakeholders have the info they need to provide and understand the nature of the activities they are going to perform. Also sets a shared set of expectations regarding the outcomes of the activity. May also involve identifying research sources or preparing to conduct an experiment to see if a process change actually results in an improvement.

Describes the work performed to understand stakeholder needs and identify potential solutions that may meet those needs. This may involve direct interaction with stakeholders, doing research, or running experiments.

Ensures stakeholders have a shared understanding of the outcomes of elicitation, that elicited information is recorded appropriately, and that the business analyst has the information sought from an elicitation activity. Also involves comparing the info received with other information to look for inconsistencies or gaps.

Provides stakeholders with the information they need, at the time they need it. The information is presented in a useful form, using the right terminology and concepts.

Describes working with stakeholders to engage them in the overall business analysis process and to ensure that the business analyst can deliver the outcomes needed.

Analyzes and maintains the relationships between requirements, designs, solution components, and other work products for impact analysis, coverage, and allocation.

Ensures that requirements and designs are accurate and current throughout the life cycle and facilitates reuse where appropriate.

Assesses the value, urgency, and risks associated with particular requirements and designs to ensure that analysis and/or delivery work is done on the most important ones at any given time.

Evaluates new and changing stakeholder requirements to determine if they need to be acted on within the scope of a change.

Works with stakeholders involved in the governance process to reach approval and agreement on requirements and designs.

Understands the business need and how it relates to the way the enterprise functions today. Sets a baseline and context for change.

Defines goals and objectives that will demonstrate that the business need has been satisfied and defines what parts of the enterprise need to change in order to meet those goals and objectives.

Understands the uncertainties around the change, considers the effect those uncertainties may have on the ability to deliver value through a change, and recommends actions to address risks where appropriate.

Performs a gap analysis between current and future state, assesses options for achieving the future state, and recommends the highest value approach for reaching the future state including any transition states that may be required along the way.

Describes a set of requirements or designs in detail using analytical techniques.

Ensures that a set of requirements or designs has been developed in enough detail to be usable by a particular stakeholder, is internally consistent, and is of high quality.

Ensures that a set of requirements or designs delivers business value and supports the organization's goals and objectives.

Structures all requirements and designs so that they support the overall business purpose for a change and that they work effectively as a cohesive whole.

Explores and describes different possible ways of meeting the need.

Assesses the business value associated with a potential solution and compares different options, including trade-offs, to identify and recommend the solution option that delivers the greatest overall value.

Determines the most appropriate way to assess the performance of a solution, including how it aligns with enterprise goals and objectives, and performs the assessment.

Examines information regarding the performance of a solution in order to understand the value it delivers to the enterprise and to stakeholders, and determines whether it is meeting current business needs.

Investigates issues within the scope of a solution that may prevent it from meeting current business needs.

Investigates issues outside the scope of a solution that may be preventing the enterprise from realizing the full value that a solution is capable of providing.

Identifies and defines actions the enterprise can take to increase the value that can be delivered by a solution.