BA Techniques: Kano Analysis

Purpose Kano analysis helps an agile team understand which product characteristics or qualities will prove to be a significant differentiator in the marketplace and help to drive customer satisfaction.

Description

Kano analysis assists in identifying features that will have the greatest impact on customer satisfaction, either because they are exceptionally important or because their absence will cause intense dissatisfaction. This helps the team determine which features are most important to

Description Kano analysis assists in identifying features that will have the greatest impact on customer satisfaction, either because they are exceptionally important or because their absence will cause intense dissatisfaction. This helps the team determine which features are most important to implement before releasing a product to market. Kano analysis rates product characteristics on two axes: 　

•the extent to which the feature is implemented in the product, and

•the level of customer satisfaction that will result from any given implementation level.

•threshold characteristics,

•performance characteristics, and

•excitement characteristics. 

Backlog Management

Purpose

The backlog is a wish list of requests for features to be included in a product. The backlog is a fluid collection of stories that evolves over the course of the project as more is learned about the product and its customers.

The product owner is responsible for ordering the items on the backlog based on business value, feature importance, or other relevant criteria. When managing a backlog, items should be ordered such that the most important items occur at the top of the list and are ordered based on descending priority.

During the planning sessions, items are selected from the backlog based on factors such as priority, risk, value to the product or customer, and ability to deliver the feature within the given release.

At the end of each release, feedback on what was developed may result in new items being added to the backlog, changed priorities, or removed items. The backlog is developed at the beginning of an agile project, but it does not need to be complete at this time since it will continue to evolve throughout the project. The backlog is sometimes referred to as a portfolio of options that the business can invest in. Other terms used are master story list and prioritized feature list.

Elements Items in the Backlog The backlog can contain user stories, use cases, features, functional requirements, and quality attribute stories as well as items that have been added by the team to support development of the requirements such as technical infrastructure.

User Story

The user story as described in the BABOK is information found that reflects and expands on the information in the context of agile development approaches.

User stories can be used to capture and prioritize user needs basis of

estimating and planning

product delivery generating

user acceptance test

way to monitor progress in delivering a value unit for tracing related requirements

basis of additional analysis unit of project management and reporting description

User stories are planning technique that enables agile teams to track features of value to customer or end user and are used as a basis for estimating work. User stories need to be

independent

negotiable

valuable

estimable

small and

testable

Following the basic invest criteria some of the elements included are the actual user story which captures T

he Who the what and the why

as an example as a user which is a role I need to do what so that what value can we deliver it also includes the acceptance criteria.

Acceptance criteria can be in Gherkin format. Gherkin format would be given when then.

Story mapping

Story mapping provides a visual and physical view of the sequence of activities to be supported by solution.
It uses a 2 dimensional grid structure to show sequencing groupings of key aspects of the product on the horizontal dimension, would detail in priority stories on the vertical dimension.
A story map is a tool to assist in creating understanding of product functionality the flow of usage and assist with prioritizing product delivery, such as release planning.
A story map is designed to be an information radiator used to visualize a product requests in the context of usage and priority. The story of map has a central backbone of the elements that will make up the product. The backbone of the large features sets that need to be delivered over the life of the project. The backbone is a sequential set of tasks that need to be enabled by the software. Below the backbone are the details stories that implement the specific pieces of functionality to enable the tasks to be accomplished.
Some of the disadvantages are when the larger context of a product is not accounted for agile projects can be subject to getting tangled in details with an inability to effectively put the components together. They are not good in complex projects an environments that are not process oriented tend to not do well with story Maps.

Story elaboration

Story elaboration provides the lowest level of story decomposition.

The key elements of story elaboration are

1. Elicitation
2. Story decomposition
3. Acceptance criteria
4. Any other optional elements

Story elaboration helps to identify tasks. It helps to develop data tables and you can actually develop mockups while using this technique.

The advantages of using the technique is that it decreases elicitation time and the disadvantages is the timing of when we gather requirements could be off. Eliciting it too early could end up resulting in rework.

BA Techniques: Story decomposition

Story decomposition breaks down information from goals to a lower level.

Story decomposition allows people to look at breath over depth. What that means is that it enables a business analyst to work on the goals and break it down into the objectives and then further break it down into user stories and the acceptance criteria.

The key elements of story decomposition are

1. Solution or product goals
2. Minimal marketable components meaning what’s the minimal component needed in order to satisfy the goal
3. User Story or use cases
4. Acceptance criteria which provides the lowest level of detail

Story decomposition could end up being a wasteful activity if it us performed earlier on in the project. Therefore sometimes people have a tendency to revert back the old ways of gathering the information The timing is important and when the analysis is conducted using this technique is important.

BA Techniques: Value Stream Mapping

Value stream mapping is the technique used to understand the whole picture and the context. it helps in the elimination of waste.

A value stream map represents the flow of material and information required to bring a product and or service from raw material to the customer. A value stream map is a graphical representation that captures a snapshot of the value stream. ‘

The steps to incorporate value stream are as follows:

1. Prepare for the start of the value stream mapping.
2. For the value stream map you need to gather the cross functional team
3. Assign an owner
4. Select a product/ process to improve on and define scope
5. Identify customer value received

 

2. Create a Current State Value Stream Map:

The next step in creating the value stream map is to:

1. Create the current state in order to create the current state you must observe the value stream or the process
2. Draw the value stream map
3. Capture the information flow
4. Validate the current state with your stakeholders

 

3. the next step is to analyze the current state:

In order to analyze the current state you need to

1. identify the value add versus the non value add items value i.e. this could mean anything from regulatory requirements (Value Add) to non value add which could end up being excessive people work

 

4. Create the Future State Value Stream Map
5. Identify waste with team on value stream map
6. Capture the future state value stream

 

5. The last step is to implement the process

Some of the advantages of the value stream mapping exercise is it is more comprehensive than a regular process flow and it gives you an understanding about lead time versus cycle time and how to eliminate waste. Some of the drawbacks to watch out for are they are not easy to construct in comparison with other visual techniques and it does not work well with ongoing improvement efforts.

 

 

 

BA Techniques: Persona’s

Persona analysis is a technique used for understanding the whole picture and the context of the effort. This is a use centered design technique from a user perspective:

Although these use fictional characters that demonstrate how this character interacts with a product, the technique does provide a deeper understanding into the key stakeholders than one would typically get.

They are often used in agile practices.

The data elements that the analyst should look for are basic demographic data points such as:

Age

Gender

Profession

Goals

Personal Attitudes

Motivators: (What motivates the user to use the products, e.g. are they motivated to use amazon because of the cheap products?)

Triggers: (What triggers the user to use the product?)

Day in a life: (Write a narrative of a day in  a life of the user)

Image: (Include an image – a cut out from a magazine)

By using the technique, they give you the ability to group the requirements based off similar sets of users. Some of the disadvantages are that persona’s are based on fictional characters and could tend to make using unrealistic characters.

Why Trace Your Requirements

According to the BABOK

Traceability is the ability to look at a requirement and others to which it is related, linking business requirements to stakeholder and solution requirements, to artifacts and to solution components.

Requirements are a way to document the needs of the business in an organized fashion. Tracing a requirements back to it’s lineage has the following advantages:

1. Potential reduction in project costs
2. Easier way to identify and track changes
3. It complies with the industry standard.

There may be reasons as to why people would want to avoid tracing requirements. A typical reason is it takes a lot of time. Another one is it does not add value.

Traceability is a link from the user, stakeholder to the actual product features and going backwards from the product features back to the stakeholder, user.

Facilitating Meetings

Have you ever attended those never ending requirements meetings where people just talk over each other and multi task, which results in no decisioning? It all boils down to how does one facilitate meetings effectively to reach the objective that was set out originally.

1. Agenda: Prepare an Agenda for the meeting. This boils down to what are the objectives and outcomes that the team needs to achieve.
2. Stakeholders: Which stakeholders (Attendees) must you include to meet those objectives.
3. Timebox: How much time should each block of the agenda take and lay it out for the attendees.
4. Closing: Close the meeting by providing a Summary of what was discussed and next steps.
5. Publish Meeting Notes: Publish meeting notes and email it to the group. The notes should include the action items, who is responsible for those and when do they need to be delivered by.

No one likes chaos and the steps above could lead to an effective and constructive meeting.