The structure of the BABOK knowledge areas
We are starting a series of posts to illustrate the structure of the BABOK, and the interconnections between the different knowledge areas within it, and the links between the elements within knowledge areas.
I quite often hear from people learning business analysis that they find it difficult to visualise how the parts of the BABOK align with each other. To address this issue, I’ve created an atlas of maps to help navigate the BABOK. These maps show the internal structure of each knowledge area and illustrate links between the elements within the knowledge area, as well as how it’s related to other knowledge areas.
Before we dive into specific knowledge area maps, this post provides the big picture of all knowledge areas.
I used to be an electronic engineer and I spent a lot of time developing and assembling sound amplifiers and sound speaker systems as a hobby. Printed circuit boards (PCBs) were used in many of them, helping to assemble and connect the different components into a working unit. PCBs are a good analogy for explaining the structure of the BABOK.
It has six knowledge areas with multiple tasks within each of them, linkages between tasks, their inputs and outputs. However, the visible picture of the six knowledge areas leaves some questions unanswered. An attentive reader of the BABOK 2.0 will certainly notice these areas. This series aims to fill in the gaps.
In the diagram below, I’ve illustrated the internal links within knowledge areas and showed the interconnections between different areas.
Seeing all these links in one page helps in grasping the essence of business analysis and getting a holistic perspective of all the tasks involved, as well as understanding when and why each task is performed in the certain knowledge area.
I’ve highlighted each knowledge area with a colour to make it easier to track links. All the knowledge domains and information external to business analysis (as defined in the BABOK) is shown in red.
The names of knowledge areas are shown as abbreviations:
- BAP&M: business analysis planning & monitoring
- RE: requirements elicitation
- RA: requirements analysis
- RM&C: requirements management & communication
- EA: enterprise analysis
- SA&V: solution assessment & validation
If you found this post useful, share it with other people!
Did you like this post? Subscribe to the mailing list for more BA articles, posters and an occasional special offer on our products.
Related posts:
Hi, this model is quiet different and interesting. Could you please explain each sections such as RA, EA,etc works with a real time scenario. Which activities are parallel and which activities are dependent?
thanks
van
Van, you should have an answer to this question by the end of the series, so stay tuned.
Thank you.This is very easy to understand.
I love this idea and it looks like it could be very helpful. Is there a way to get a large version of your illustration? I can’t see the little one here. Thanks.
Lori
Lori, just click on the image and you’ll get a PDF version which you can zoom into.
I have “shared” this with the “starting a business analyst career” linkedin group.
It is clearly another tool for getting the BABOK model into our brains.
Tom
Thanks Tom.
Great visual tool for people to conceptualize and “see” the BABOK in context.
Your model illustrates (pun intended) that people learn by way of various learning styles rooted in one or more of the three core groups: auditory (hear it), kinesthetic (feel it), and visual (see it). As an added value, this grapical model frames the BABOK between knowledge areas and areas od business analyst work practices.
Thanks for sharing!
I’ve only done BA work for 11 years, so take this as one person’s perspective: the diagram illustrates a convoluted mess known as BABOK. We all yearn for repeatable processes and solid professional standards. It might be nice (or at least easier) if there were a form or template for everything. There isn’t. If you look away from the tower of BABOK, you will find hundreds of books and dozens of methodologies; most providing some value in some circumstances. Then, when you turn to the business users and to the development team, you first listen to them and then apply what you learned from many sources.
Of course, a BA can’t just follow a recipe because they’re working with people, and there are always differences between projects. However, I think there is a lot of value in having some process and structure in business analysis, and defining how, when and what needs to be done. Having a process in place frees you up to spend more time talking to people and applying what you’ve learned.
Being a BA for 11 years means that you’ve certainly developed a pattern that you use for business analysis. This pattern replaces “a template for everything” because there is no such template in real life. I am with you about vast knowledge outside the BABOK.
Alex you made reading and understanding BABOK so easy. Thanks a lot..!!
Its amezing!!
I studies BABOK couple of times and I was trying to make a chart to understand and memorize it. Mean-while I saw your article…. Thank you very much for providing such an interesting overview, you made my job much simpler
Once again, Gratitude!!
I’m glad it’s useful!
Hi Alex
I’ve just revisited this diagram and I need to tell you again how useful it is to have the whole BOK visible on one page. Thanks so much.
I also found the PDF to download and that makes it all even better. More thanks,
Janet
Thanks for the comment Janet.