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» FEATURED: Business Rules, Requirements and Business Analysis: Basic Principles - Part 1

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Business Rules, Requirements and Business Analysis: Basic Principles - Part 1

How do business rules fit with requirements? What role should business rules play in business analysis? Do business rules offer something to agile projects? This column, the first in a series of three, explains the deep insights offered by the Business Rules Manifesto on these questions. Already read it? You may be surprised by what you find here!

» FEATURED: Logical Data Analysis – Understanding Data and Their Relationships

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Logical Data Analysis – Understanding Data and Their Relationships

When we first look at data fields on a business document, they appear complex. However once we analyze and understand them, they become simple. This is one of the purposes for a technique called normalization – to understand data fields and their relationships.

» Data Analysis for Business Analysts: Data Modeling in an Agile Team

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Data Analysis for Business Analysts: Data Modeling in an Agile Team

One of the most significant characteristics of an Agile engagement is that technical and business professionals work collaboratively to grow the system. The team agrees upon the goals for the project, as well as the order in which the requirements will be addressed on each of the sprints... At least one team member should have the role of “data adv...

» FEATURED: Bridging the Gap between Business and Software Architectures

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Bridging the Gap between Business and Software Architectures

We are frequently asked about connecting and tracing software architecture elements to business processes by integrating BPMN business models and software models in UML (Unified Modeling Language)... Now we will explore how to supplement business architecture with software architecture.

» FEATURED: The BA's Journey - From a Current to a Future State

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The BA's Journey - From a Current to a Future State

Many words have been written about the process of business analysis and how it can be performed on different types of projects. There are a multitude of tools and techniques which can be used plus methodologies and frameworks to suit a wide variety of circumstances. This makes it all too easy to get absorbed in the day-to-day detail and forget abou...

» FEATURED: The Unanticipated Role of The Decision Model in Data Quality

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The Unanticipated Role of The Decision Model in Data Quality

Today many business analysts are creating business-oriented decision models. These decision models contain business logic for operational decisions that operate within business processes. And, it is no surprise that data quality is critical to business-oriented decision models. After all, good decision models operating with bad data are no better t...

» FEATURED: How to Analyze a Business Process and Close Your BA Experience Gap

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How to Analyze a Business Process and Close Your BA Experience Gap

What comes first, the business analyst or the business analyst experience? If you’ve looked at BA job postings lately, you’d probably say the experience, as most BA jobs require experience. From one perspective, you’d be correct. But from another perspective, you’d be wrong. For if every BA role requires experience, how is it that there are h...

» FEATURED: An Overview of Root Cause Analysis

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Quite simply, root cause analysis is a technique designed to unearth the real, often unknown reason why a business problem is happening, and then to propose a viable solution to fix it. BABOK explains that root cause analysis “can help identify the underlying cause of failures or difficulties in accomplishing business analysis work”[1] [emphasis ad]...

» FEATURED: Business Analyst Checkpoints: Checkpoint Beta

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Business Analyst Checkpoints: Checkpoint Beta

Checkpoint Beta is not mandatory. It is, however, extremely helpful for the business analyst. Checkpoint Beta is also an informal meeting, this time with the solution team. It is held prior to committing the solution to the final, formal solution document andobtaining final confirmation from the business community.

» FEATURED: 10 Ways to Hone Your Communication Skills as a Business Analyst

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10 Ways to Hone Your Communication Skills as a Business Analyst

One of the soft skills that BABOK [1] specifies is communication, and for good reason—understanding and being properly understood is key to any profession, but especially business analysis, where details are king and unearthing them is meticulous work. And an analyst has multiple avenues of communication that affect her work.

» FEATURED: A Panel of Experts: How to Introduce The Decision Model to Your Organization

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A Panel of Experts: How to Introduce The Decision Model to Your Organization

With the rapid adoption of The Decision Model, the most frequently asked question is: “How do I convince my organization to try it and eventually adopt it as a standard?” Two related questions from two different perspectives are: Do I have to find a way to introduce The Decision Model from the top down? Can I introduce The Decision Model...

» FEATURED: The 21st Century BA: Building a Mature, Innovation-Driven Business Analysis Practice

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The 21st Century BA: Building a Mature, Innovation-Driven Business Analysis Practice

As businesses acknowledge the value of business analysis – the result of the absolute necessity to drive business results through projects – they are struggling to figure out three things: What are the characteristics of their current BA workforce, and how capable does their BA team need to be? What is needed to build ...

» FEATURED: Selecting Appropriate Requirements Views

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Selecting Appropriate Requirements Views

There is no single correct way to document specific requirements information. Every BA needs a rich tool kit of techniques at her disposal so that she can choose the most effective requirements view in each situation. In this article I offer some ideas about how to make that choice.

» FEATURED: Barking With the Big Dogs - Part III: Influence and Manipulation

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Barking With the Big Dogs - Part III: Influence and Manipulation

Of the four articles in the series, this particular article is the most sensitive. If not practiced with caution, trying to influence someone or a situation could have a devastating impact. Therefore, this article comes with a disclaimer: “Stupid is as stupid does.”

» FEATURED: An Example of Choosing a Hybrid SDLC using BPMN and the Decision Model

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An Example of Choosing a Hybrid SDLC using BPMN and the Decision Model

The purpose of this article is to provide project managers and business analysts an example of choosing a hybrid solution development life cycle (i.e., combination of agile and waterfall). Much discussion has transpired on the virtues of agile and waterfall approaches.

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Business Analyst Articles: Business Analysis & Systems Analysis

Join the Premier Community for Business Analysts, Business Process Professionals, Systems Analysts, Data Analysts, and more…

Business Analyst Articles: Business Analysis & Systems Analysis

Join the Premier Community for
Business Analysts, Business Process Professionals,
Systems Analysts, Data Analysts, and more…