We have published Business Analysis Lifecycle, a whitepaper which introduces the concept of BA lifecycle in order to ensure that lessons learned are incorporated into all BA activities.

Business analysis as a discipline is maturing at a good pace. Many organizations operating in fast changing environments recognize the importance of the business analysis function and the benefits that it delivers to the business. The business analysis function helps lift up organizational performance, improve the bottom line and maintain competitive advantage. Looking back at the progress made, I see that the moment is right to introduce the business analysis lifecycle.

The IIBA developed good practice of business analysis and introduced it as the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK). The BABOK describes knowledge areas, tasks, techniques and other relevant aspects of business analysis. It says that “the primary purpose of the BABOK® Guide is to define the profession of business analysis”.

The BABOK defines business analysis as “the set of tasks and techniques used to work as a liaison among stakeholders in order to understand the structure, policies, and operations of an organization, and to recommend solutions that enable the organization to achieve its goals”.

The BABOK introduces knowledge areas defined as “knowledge required for effective business analysis, tasks to be performed within each knowledge area and generally recognized techniques helping execute the tasks”. It also outlines relationships between different knowledge areas. However, the BABOK does not say that business analysis is a repeatable method.

All my experience in business analysis tells me  that business analysis is not a one-off activity. In contrast, it is a repeatable method of specifying a business need and an approach to finding a solution to satisfy the identified need. Lessons from each completed project feed into the improvement of business analysis activities for the coming projects.

In my opinion, the concept of the business analysis lifecycle (BA lifecycle) can and should be applied to business analysis as it represents a structured and repeatable approach to solving a business problem.

Download the whitepaper to learn more about the business analysis lifecycle.