The Business Analyst's Handbook

The business analyst (BA) plays an important role as liaison between business stakeholders and the technical team (software developers,vendors, etc.), ensuring that business needs are reflected in any software solution. Despite the importance of the role, until now there hasn't been a book designed specifically as an on-the-job reference book for the working BA. The Business Analyst's Handbook solves this problem by providing a useful compendium of tools, tables, lists, and templates that business analysts can use on-the-job to carry out their tasks.

You might be preparing for an interview session. You can use the book's checklist of interviewees to verify whether there is appropriate coverage of business stakeholders; oruse the books list of questions to help guide you when conducting the interview. Maybe you've been asked to review some analysis diagrams you are not familiar with, in which case you can refer to the Glossaries of Symbols (organized by diagram type) for guidance. Or you may be asked to prepare textual requirements documentation and refer to the Business Requirement template for a list of artifacts and table of contents. Whatever your BA needs, the Business Analyst's Handbook places the necessary information right at your fingertips.

• Chapter 1 Overview of BA Activities Throughout the Life Cycle
  • Adapting the Noble Path
    • How to Use the Tables
    • Initiation Phase
    • Discovery Phase
    • Construction Phase
    • Final V & V Phase
    • Closeout Phase
  • Placing the IT Project Life Cycle in Perspective: The Spectrum Diagram
• Chapter 2 Meeting Guide
  • Planning for the Meeting
    • Checklist: Who to Invite to Requirements Workshops
    • Contribution to Meeting by Role and Stakeholder Type
    • Types of Meetings That a BA May Be Asked to Participate In
    • Facilitated Meeting Work Plan
    • Meeting Readiness Checklist
    • Standard Meeting Agenda
    • Facilitated Meeting Rules and Guidelines
    • Facilitated Meeting Expectations
    • Approvals Process Expectations
  • Review Meeting (Structured Walkthrough and Gate Review)
    • Prerequisites, Timing Considerations
    • Who to Invite
    • Checklist: Questions for the Interview
    • Structured Walkthrough Guidelines
  • Meeting Objective: (Kick-Off Meeting) Identify Opportunities and Challenges
    • Prerequisites, Timing Considerations
    • Input Documents
    • Deliverables
    • Who to Invite
    • Checklist: Questions for the Interview
  • Meeting Objective: Identify Stakeholders and Interests
    • Prerequisites, Timing Considerations
    • Input Documents
    • Deliverables
    • Who to Invite
    • Checklist: Questions for the Interview
  • Meeting Objective: Analyze Impact on Business Services and Processes
    • Prerequisites, Timing Considerations
    • Input Documents
    • Deliverables
    • Who to Invite
    • Checklist: Questions for the Interview
  • Meeting Objective: Analyze Risk
    • Prerequisites, Timing Considerations
    • Input Documents
    • Deliverables
    • Who to Invite
    • Checklist: Questions for the Interview
  • Meeting Objective: Requirements Management — Setup and Planning
    • Prerequisites, Timing Considerations
    • Input Documents
    • Deliverables
    • Who to Invite
    • Checklist: Questions for the Interview
  • Meeting Objective: Define Internal Workflow for End-to-End Business Processes
    • Prerequisites, Timing Considerations
    • Input Documents
    • Deliverables
    • Who to Invite
    • Checklist: Questions for the Interview
  • Meeting Objective: Describe Users
    • Prerequisites, Timing Considerations
    • Input Documents
    • Deliverables
    • Who to Invite
    • Checklist: Questions for the Interview
  • Meeting Objective: Identify User Tasks
    • Prerequisites, Timing Considerations
    • Input Documents
    • Deliverables
    • Who to Invite
    • Checklist: Questions for the Interview
  • Meeting Objective: (Static Modeling) Define Business Concepts, Objects, and Rules
    • Prerequisites, Timing Considerations
    • Input Documents
    • Deliverables
    • Who to Invite
    • Checklist: Questions for the Interview
  • Meeting Objective: Define Non-Functional SLRs
    • Prerequisites, Timing Considerations
    • Input Documents
    • Deliverables
    • Who to Invite
    • Checklist: Questions for the Interview
  • Meeting Objective: Gather Detailed User Requirements
    • Prerequisites, Timing Considerations
    • Input Documents
    • Deliverables
    • Who to Invite
    • Checklist: Questions for the Interview
  • Meeting Objective: Reuse User Requirements
    • Prerequisites, Timing Considerations
    • Input Documents
    • Deliverables
    • Who to Invite
    • Checklist: Questions for the Interview
  • Meeting Objective: Analyze the Life Cycle of Business Objects
    • Prerequisites, Timing Considerations
    • Input Documents
    • Deliverables
    • Who to Invite
    • Checklist: Questions for the Interview
  • Meeting Objective: Assess the Results of an Iteration
    • Prerequisites, Timing Considerations
    • Input Documents
    • Deliverables
    • Who to Invite
    • Checklist: Questions for the Interview
  • Meeting Objective: Gather Service Desk Requirements
    • Prerequisites, Timing Considerations
    • Input Documents
    • Deliverables
    • Who to Invite
    • Checklist: Questions for the Interview
• Chapter 3 Standards and Guidelines Used in This Book
  • ITIL
  • IIBA and BABOK®
  • UML
• Chapter 4 BA Toolkit
  • BA Tools Overview
  • Activity Diagram
    • Activity Diagram Example
    • Symbol Glossary: Activity Diagram — Key Modeling Elements
    • Symbol Glossary: Activity Diagram — Modeling Elements for Complex Diagrams
  • Block Diagram
    • Block/Swimlane Workflow Diagram Example
    • Symbol Glossary: Block Diagram
  • Business Process Diagram (BPD)
    • BPD Example
    • Symbol Glossary: BPD Flow Objects (with UML Conversion Chart)
  • Business Process Modeling
  • Business Use Case
    • Symbol Glossary: Business Use-Case Diagram
  • Cause-and-Effect Diagrams
  • Class Diagrams and Static Model
    • Symbol Glossary: Class Diagram
  • Communication Diagram
    • Symbol Glossary: Communication Diagram
  • Data Flow and Context Diagrams
    • Symbol Glossary: Data Flow Diagram
  • Decision Table/Tree
    • Decision Table Example
    • Interviewing with Decision Tables
  • Entity Relationship Diagram (ERD) and Data Model
    • Symbol Glossary: Entity Relationship Diagram
  • The Five Whys
  • Flowchart
    • Flowchart Example and Symbols
  • Functional Decomposition Chart
    • Functional Decomposition Chart Example and Glossary
  • FURPS+
    • FURPS+ Checklist
  • Object Diagram
    • Object Diagram Examples
    • Symbol Glossary: Object Diagram
  • Pareto Analysis (Pareto Diagrams)
    • How to Perform Pareto Analysis
  • Requirements Attributes Table
    • Requirements Attributes Table Example
  • Requirements Traceability Matrix
    • Requirements Traceability Matrix Example
  • Role Map
    • Role Map Example and Glossary
  • Root-Cause Analysis
    • Root-Cause Analysis Work Plan for the BA
  • Sequence Diagram
    • Sequence Diagram Example
  • State-Machine (Harel Statechart) Diagram
    • Symbol Glossary: State-Machine Diagram
    • State-Machine Diagram: Advanced Modeling Elements
  • Structured Walkthroughs
  • System Use Cases (and Diagrams)
    • Key System Use-Case Terms
    • System Use-Case Diagram Example
    • Symbol Glossary: System Use-Case Diagram
  • Use-Case Analysis
    • Key Points about Use Cases
    • Use-Case Goal Levels
    • Use-Case Analysis for Different Objectives
    • Use-Case Writing Guidelines
• Chapter 5 Tips and Checklists
  • Checklist: Requirements Investigation Methods
  • Tip: What to Do When Key Participants Can't or Don't Show
  • Checklists: Change Advisory Board
    • Checklist of Potential CAB Members
    • CAB: Standard Items for Review
  • Tip: ITIL Seven Rs of Change Management
  • Tips: Five Keys to Requirements Management
  • Tips: Planning Iterations
  • Tips: SMART Requirements
  • Checklist: Features
  • Tip: Naming a Process
  • Tips: How to Spot the Static Modeling Elements from the System Use-Case Model
  • Tips: Determining How Much Static Modeling to Do
  • Tips: Managing Risk
    • Tip: Risk Assessment Matrix
    • Checklist: Risk Types
    • Checklist: ITIL Risk Types
    • Checklist: Other Risks the BA Should Be Aware Of
    • Risk-Management Strategies
  • Tips: Quality Assurance (QA)
    • Tip: Testing Throughout the Life Cycle with the Service V-Model
    • Checklist: Test Types
    • Tips: Structured Testing Guidelines
  • Checklist: Selecting Solution Providers
• Chapter 6 Templates
  • Business Requirements Document (BRD) Template
    • BRD Table of Contents
    • Version Control
    • External References
    • Glossary
    • Executive Summary
    • Product/Solution Scope
    • Business Case
    • Business Services and Processes
    • Actors
    • Business Rules
    • State Diagrams
    • IT Requirements
    • Test Plan
    • Deployment Plan
    • End-User Procedures
    • Post-Implementation Follow-Up
    • Other Issues
    • Sign-Off
  • Alternative Requirements Packaging
  • Business Use-Case Description Template
  • System Use-Case Description Template
  • Service Level (Non-Functional) Requirements Template
    • Service Level Type
    • Overview
    • System-Wide Capabilities
    • Usability Requirements
    • Reliability Requirements
    • Performance Requirements
    • Supportability Requirements
    • Testing Requirements
    • Training Requirements
    • Capacity Requirements
    • Backup/Recovery Requirements
    • Other Constraints
    • Legal and Regulatory Requirements
  • Risk Analysis Table Template
  • Test Script Template
  • Vision Document Template
    • Positioning
    • Key Stakeholder and User Needs
    • Stakeholders and Interests
    • Service/Product Overview
    • Assumptions
    • Dependencies
    • Capabilities
  • Requirements Work Plan Template
    • Purpose
    • Document Overview
    • Organization
    • Requirements Repository
    • Risk Management Plan
    • Requirements Acceptance Plan
    • Requirements Management Metrics Plan
  • Client Product Acceptance Plan Template
    • Purpose
    • Acceptance Responsibilities
    • Change Acceptance Criteria
    • Change Acceptance Schedule
    • Acceptance Environment
    • Product Acceptance Tools, Techniques, and Methodologies
• Appendix A: Glossary of BA Terms
• Appendix B: Acronyms
• Appendix C: Further Reading

A valuable reference, even though it shines through that the author is an old engineer. You won't learn BA from this book, but if you know the concepts and what you're searching for, this is a valuable book that won't disappoint you.