Research, business and pre-analysis

As a manager, can you sleep peacefully without worrying about your business? If not, consider bringing in a business analyst.

28. September 2022 Jaana Ziius

How do you know if and when you should include a business analyst? "Finding the answer is very simple. It all comes down to how you feel - is everything going well in your business? Yes or no?" explains Trinidad Wiseman business analyst Mihkel Lauk.

Here are some self-check questions that will help you determine whether you should consider involving a business analyst. If you answer yes, read on because this post may contain useful information.

Are business worries disturbing your peaceful sleep?
Do you control all of your business processes, or do they run their course?
Do you feel something is missing in business processes but can't formulate or identify the problem?
Do you perceive business potential but do not know which change would improve the results?
You have not learned, tested or practised the application of analysis methodologies yourself?
You have tried to analyse the business but failed?
Are you in the early stages of business, and your management process is new?
Would you like an external expert to assure you everything is in order?
Have you thought about digital transformation but don't know how to start?
Are you already managing business processes, but would you like to do it more effectively?
Do you want to enrich your knowledge and the knowledge of managers and bring knowledge of business analysis to the company?

„The symptom and the cause may not be the same."

During customer meetings, we have noticed that the customer has identified a business symptom and wants to order a solution. As external experts, we have an excellent opportunity to take a step back and look at the big picture.

We may discover that the actual cause of the symptom is unknown, and therefore the ordered solution would not produce the expected result.

A business analyst will help you dig out the real root cause so that you know what you are facing and what the countermeasures are. It is not worth relieving the pain with a painkiller if the real solution should be a chiropractor appointment.

Essentially, a business analysis could be an activity that every company does by default for business management. Business analysis is the process of applying business analysis methodologies.

It is a detailed, multi-step examination of each part of the business process to determine what is working well in your current processes, what needs to be improved, and how best to make the necessary improvements.

„The need for business analysis is not necessarily related to information technology."

Business analysis is an umbrella activity that can be done regardless of the field of activity. If the analysis results show that introducing information technology would improve the results, the follow-up activities may take the direction of digital solutions.

Service design is a critical subset of business analysis, helping to keep the focus on customer satisfaction. However, the customer focus can get lost during the business analysis; this occurs when parties are immersed in operational and daily processes. Therefore, the changes that are rapidly planned may not improve the customer experience at all.

„Ideally, the need to conduct a business analysis could come from the desire of the company owner or manager to understand whether things are going well and according to plan, and whether and how to develop the current state."

Business analysis helps create this understanding. The need to perform a business analysis may also arise from the desire to adequately express one's business needs and wishes for changes in relations with external partners.

For example, if you want to purchase a service from a third party or you need to prepare a high-quality initial assignment for a procurement.

„Sometimes gut feeling is enough - for example, in the case of a small company, a business analysis is unnecessary."

It is completely normal when business processes are not managed. Leadership is an individual understanding of professionalism and how things should be done.

You don't always need a business analyst, or your gut feeling and knowing that you understand everything is enough. Small businesses, characterised by trivial processes, small volumes, and tiny information flows, do not need business analysis.

„Business analysis does not save time, but as a result of cooperation, knowledge is transferred to you and the managers of your company."

There is no time saving because you have to go through the whole process with the business analyst. In addition, business intelligence outsourcing is essentially always to compensate for a shortfall in internal business intelligence capability.

If a business process is important, it should not be an activity without (time) resources. If the company is aware of the usefulness of business analysis and has the internal ability to do it, the necessary resources are generally provided.

However, the added value of conducting a business analysis is transferring knowledge from the business analyst to you or the managers working for you.

Consolidation of knowledge must be done consciously so that the business analyst does not leave with knowledge at the end of the project. Knowledge must be captured, stored and made reusable.

What are the results of the business analysis, and what are the examples of completed projects?

The output of the business analysis is never the same in terms of content - the content that comes from the description of business processes is different in terms of the purpose of the analysis. However, setting the wrong goal is the biggest mistake you can make in business analysis. So it's worth taking the time to set it up.

Depending on the goal, the following can be determined as a result of the business analysis:

SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT & ANALYTICS

STRATEGY & DESIGN

OTHER SERVICES

As a manager, can you sleep peacefully without worrying about your business? If not, consider bringing in a business analyst.

What is business analysis?

How does business analysis relate to service design, UX and UI design?

When is business analysis needed?

If I don't have time to do a business analysis myself, could I involve a business analyst?

What are the results of the business analysis, and what are the examples of completed projects?

In conclusion

Would you like to discuss your ideas?

More on this topic

Kuula oma kasutajaid ehk PTA kliendiportaali teenuste analüüsi õppetunnid

Digitizing public services in Kenya: How human-centred design creates value in African contexts

How we digitize labour disputes in Estonia – the challenges of creating a flexible system