Consulting |
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| Business analysis |
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| Business Analysis is one of the most important steps in developing a software solution. It is crucial in identifying the business needs of customers and other stakeholders in order to determine appropriate solutions to their business problems. Hcay offers software consulting services that can cater to your business analysis needs. |
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| Why business analysis? |
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To understand the structure and the dynamics of the organization in which a system is to be deployed.
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To understand current problems in the target organization and identify improvement potentials.
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To ensure that the customer, end users, and developers have a common understanding of the target organization.
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To derive the system requirements needed to support the target organization.
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| How hcay can help? |
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Hcay has experienced software consultants who will analyze your business and suggest appropriate software solutions. We realize the importance of understanding and documenting business requirements and work with clients to gather needs and formulate business specifications, translating them into application functionality. At Hcay, we follow a structured business analysis process for software development as part of our software consultancy services. It consists of the following steps.
- Understanding the business
- Analyzing competition
- Analyzing the market
- Defining and scoping the project
- Gathering requirements
- Analyzing and documenting requirements
- Communicating requirements
- Identifying a software solution
- Verifying that the solution meets the requirements
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| Understanding the business |
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The first step in conducting business analysis for software solutions is to understand the business. This involves studying the following:
- The product or service offering of the business
- The unique selling proposition (USP) of the business
- Validity of the business model and its underlying assumptions
- The potential opportunities present in new markets or market segments
- The marketing plan
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| Analyzing competition |
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Our business analysis team studies the competition.
This includes:
- The investments made by the competitors in the area of business
- The strengths and weaknesses of the competitors
- The products/services and pricing offered by the competitors
- The websites maintained by the competitors
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| Analyzing the market |
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| The business analyst needs to understand the market that the business is trying to cater to. To do this, he has to identify the target audience for the products and services of the business, the size (both actual and potential) of the market and the way the business is positioning and branding itself and its offerings. |
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| Defining and scoping the project |
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Before gathering the actual requirements, the software consulting team and the business analysis team needs to ensure that the scope of the project is clear and complete. This involves understanding the goals of the project and why the project has been initiated. A complete project scope will name and define all the entities that are involved with the project. This includes people, systems, internal departments, vendors and customers. It should also include a high-level description of the business processes that will be covered as part of the solution and a list of items that will not be included. A project scope document includes the following:
- Vision and Statement of Purpose
- Project Objectives
- Project Viewpoint
- Project Assumptions
- Project External Interactions
- Suggestions and Recommendations
- Implementation options
- Business Risks vs. Rewards
- Competition Analysis
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| Gathering requirements |
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This is one of the most important phases of the business analysis process for software development solutions. It is absolutely critical that the business analyst gathers the business requirements accurately before defining a software solution. To effectively gather requirements, the analyst must assess the type of the project, the people involved and the volume of information required. Some of the techniques that he can use are:
- Interviews with stakeholders
- Facilitated information gathering sessions
- Surveys and questionnaires
- Observation of stakeholders performing their tasks
- Study of existing systems and documentation
Gathering requirements is an iterative process. In addition to identifying the requirements, the business analyst also needs to prioritize them to ensure that the most critical issues are addressed first. |
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| Analyzing and documenting requirements |
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| After requirements are gathered, they are analyzed and documented using an iterative approach. As each requirement is analyzed, it generally leads to further questions. This requires the analyst to probe further till all relevant issues are cleared. |
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| Communicating requirements |
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| Once the requirements are clearly documented, they need to be communicated effectively to the software solutions team. The business analyst acts as the main liaison between the business users and the technical team. He needs to work closely with the Project Manager to ensure that the project plan is adhered to and scope changes are properly agreed upon, approved and documented. An important part of business analysis for software development is conducting formal and informal group meetings that include all the relevant team members when communicating requirements. This is to ensure that everyone understands the issues involved in the same way. The business analyst needs to clarify any misunderstandings and unclear requirements. It is important that the information is presented to the business and technical audiences in a manner that is most appropriate for their understanding. |
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| Identifying a solution |
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The business analyst needs to work closely with the business experts to recommend a suitable solution. He then needs to work with the technical team in order to design the software solution. A solution recommendation may include changes to existing software, new software, process or workflow changes or a combination of the above.
If the solution involves purchasing third-party software, the
business analyst needs to work with business experts, IT staff
and vendors in order to ensure that the selected software meets
business needs. In this process, the business analyst may also
be involved in preparing an RFP (Request for Proposal) that
contains detailed business and functional requirements.
If building new software or enhancing existing software is involved, the business analyst needs to assist with the user interface, workflow design and reporting capabilities. |
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| Verifying that the solution meets the requirements |
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Even after the technical team takes over the project, the business analyst continues to remain involved in order to ensure that:
- The technical design meets business requirements and usability standards
- The developed software meets the project goals
- The final product passes quality assurance tests and user acceptance
It is evident from the above that business analysis plays a critical role in the success of a software project from the start to the finish. The business analyst plays an important role in every stage of the software development life cycle and in ensuring that the solution that emerges out of the whole process meets the business goals of all the stakeholders involved. |
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