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Series: BusinessAnalysis SuccessFactorsThe Agile BusinessAnalyst MindsetYulia KosarenkoAugust 2020 Yulia KosarenkoPhoto by Frans Vledder on Unsplash
consult@why-change.comNEW RELEASE Yulia Kosarenko
What is BA mindset?AgendaUnderstanding agilityWho is agile business analyst?Applying principles of the BA mindset in agile contextTransition to agileAgile business analysis techniques YuliaYuliaKosarenkoKosarenko
What is mindset?A particular way ofthinkingA person's attitude or set ofopinions about somethingMotivations – self,others, mankindStrive, develop, seeopportunitiesBeliefs and ideasMaking choicesBelieving in ownpotential Yulia KosarenkoHow we thinkGrowth and learning
Yulia Kosarenko
What is agility?Agility: ability to move quickly and easilyBusiness agility: capability of a business orits components to rapidly respond to achange by adapting to maintain stability. Yulia Kosarenko
Agility in software developmentThe authors of the Agile Manifestochose word “Agile” because thatword represented the adaptivenessand response to change which wasso important to their approach. Yulia Kosarenkohttps://agilemanifesto.org/
Agility is not only about software deliveryBusiness agility comprises several criticalorganizational competencies:1. Deliver Fast and Responsively (Delivery Agility)2. Innovate and Disrupt (Product Innovation)3. Adapt Organization and Culture (OrganizationalAdaptability)4. Lead through Complexity om/unlock-business-agility/ Yulia Kosarenko
Agility is accepting and embracing change Yulia Kosarenko
Who is agile BA?Scrum team member?Product Owner substitute?“Story writer”? YuliaYuliaKosarenkoKosarenko
Who is agile BA?Agile BA is Development team member?A professional practicingProduct Owner substitute?business analysis in agile‘Story writer”? YuliaYuliaKosarenkoKosarenkocontext: in organizations thathave adopted agile practices
Agile analysis – principles & core rationCourage Yulia KosarenkoContinuouslearning
The core values are the same agility is not just about Scrum Yulia Kosarenko
See the whole. Think like a customer. Think like a customer to solve the right problem Think like a customer to understand business value Capture a meaningful “SO THAT” for each user story Ask questions until you understand the “Why?” and the business value Think big, deliver iteratively Yulia Kosarenko
See the whole. Think like a customer. Start with big picture Keep the big picturefront and central Yulia Kosarenko
Analyze to determine what’s valuable. Agile or not, we still need to ANALYZE to understand business problemsand needs. We don’t just “write user stories”User storiesProduct OwnerRequirements do not come from business:they come from business analysis Yulia Kosarenko
Get real using examples and don’t forgetother analysis andrequirements sharingtechniques Yulia Kosarenko
The main outcome of business analysis isshared understanding of business requirements Yulia Kosarenko
Understandwhatisdoable#3: Question everythingPlan Be part of solution cycleDeployTest Yulia KosarenkoTech.changesNontech.changesAnalyzeBuild Improve with the team Remember nontechnology changes
Stimulatecollaborationandcontinuousimprovement#3: Question everything Manage relationships Facilitate collaboration Be a communication centre Help the team improve Reflect on feedback and adapt Never stop learning Yulia Kosarenko
Avoidwaste#3: Question everything Invest effort into high quality backlog items (requirements)INVESTIndependent: one story should not depend on another that is being developed in the same iterationNegotiable: Anything that can be left out or delayed, should be.Valuable: the value can be demo-ed to the user – measurable business valueEstimable: small enough that it can be estimated easilySmall: can be finished in 2-3 days (6-10 user stories in a sprint)Testable: small enough that it can be tested easily Yulia Kosarenko
Does it have to be this complex? Does this serve a business goal? Are all these handoffs necessary? Can this subflow be optimized? What is the minimum number of approvals? Can the decisions be simpler with better data? Can we avoid this bottleneck? Yulia Kosarenko
Simplify the product, the process,and the backlogUser storyUser storyUser storyUser storyUser storyUser storyUser storyUser storyUser storyUser storyUser storyUser story Yulia Kosarenko
Transition to agileMethodologyTechniquesMindset Yulia Kosarenko
Transition to agileCoreCore businessbusiness analysisanalysis skillsskills andandaccountabilitiesaccountabilities dodo notnot changechange Needs assessment & discovery Focus on business value Analysis & functionaldecomposition Facilitation & communication Yulia KosarenkoWhatWhat maymay feelfeel andand looklook differentdifferent Structure and timing of workProcess and terminologyFormat of BA deliverablesGranularity ofrequirements/user stories
Still expect human behaviour from human beings Listen: pay attention to what people say or not say Suggest options, consider other points of view, and negotiate Be patient, slow down and make others comfortable Have frank conversations and ask difficult questions with empathy Stand your ground and not be afraid to disagree Keep calm in dealing with conflicts, disruptions and arguments Sometimes, just lighten up and humour to relieve tension Yulia Kosarenko
Agile techniquesStory mappingPersonasPlanning workshopsBacklog refinementUser and job storiesRelative estimationDecompositionMinimum ViableProductRetrospectives Yulia Kosarenko
Learn the skills and techniques . Yulia Kosarenko
It’s up to you how youdevelop your mindset Focusing on what’s importantListeningPracticing empathyLooking beyond obviousLearning from mistakesTaking pride in your workStanding up for what you believe inSpeaking up when nobody else will Yulia Kosarenko
AboutYulia has spent most of her career alternating between IT and business engagements, withmore than 15 years as a senior business analyst and business systems analyst, beforechanging focus to business architecture. She has worked in many industries, fromtransportation and logistics, to insurance, education, energy, pensions and payments. Yuliahas managed teams of business analysts and architects, as well as cross-functional projectteams. She now runs her own consulting company, Why Change Consulting.Yulia’s passion for business analysis culminates in her books “Business analyst: a professionand a mindset” and “Business Analysis Mindset Digital Toolkit”. She likes to blog aboutbusiness analysis, architecture and change management on her blog https://whychange.com and has recently recorded a podcast with the BA Academy’s Voices of theCommunity about the value of the business analyst mindset. In her spare time she coachesbusiness analysts and works on a new college course on business analytics.Yulia holds a degree in Computer Science and Math from the Taras Shevchenko University ofKyiv, as well as ScrumMaster, SixSigma and Pega Business Architect designations and anAdvanced Certificate in Business Analysis from McMaster University. Yulia Kosarenko
Find more Yulia Kosarenko
Thank you for this hourfrom your life.I hope it was well spent.Until next time! Yulia Kosarenko
has managed teams of business analysts and architects, as well as cross-functional project teams. She now runs her own consulting company, Why Change Consulting. Yulia’spassion for business analysis culminates in her books “Business analyst: a profession and a mindset”and “Business
