Talking about Tools of the Trade

In This Chapter
Exploring how different kinds of tools support the way you work
Discovering how to select a tool so that you get what you need
Leading your team through tool implementation
Business analysis professionals (BAs) have specialized tools to help them
accomplish the work at hand and perform their business analysis work more
quickly and effectively. You can improve your productivity in two primary
ways — facilitating efficiency and enhancing effectiveness — and commonly
used business analysis tools always serve one or both of those objectives.
BAs typically use general or specialized tools that fit into five different
categories: communication, collaboration, definition, innovation and idea
capture, and requirements management. The first two are general tools and
support productivity across all business analysis activities, while the last
three
are specialized and focus more deeply on enabling particular activities and
achieving specific analysis goals. In this chapter, we overview the different
types of tools out there and help you think about their benefits so you can
identify the ones for your business analysis needs.
We don't, however, give you the brand names of different tools because
technology products and options change at the speed of light. Tools that were
big players two years ago have slipped, and others that were hardly a blip last
year now are very powerful. Business analysis tools and the vendors that
provide them change faster than in any other industry. To find our
recommendations, check out the Resources section on our B2T Training
website (www.b2ttraining.com), where we maintain a current list of tools for
reference. You can also do a web search by typing "software" + "workflow
modeling" (or your topic of choice) + "vendors." The list that pops up will be
immediately relevant and pretty much guaranteed to include whatever two to
three tools we'd choose to highlight at that moment.
Productivity tools aren’t a substitute for sound business analysis.
Used poorly or for the wrong reasons, tools may create more problems
than they solve.

Examining Communication Tools

for
Every Situation
Communication tools are the most basic of all the productivity tools. In fact,
you probably use most of the common communication tools in the following
sections every day, whether you’re performing analysis or not.
Talking about your options
Several tools facilitate urgent transfer and delivery of messages. These
choices are good for situations where you can’t be face-to-face in the
moment
but still need someone’s real-time attention:
Text messaging: Great when you just need to share information quickly
or ask an immediate yes/no/opinion question that really can’t wait.
Chat or instant messaging: The electronic equivalent of sticking your
head into someone’s office. It’s a helpful relationship builder for remote
colleagues, but if your question is more than one or two lines long or the
chat will take more than two minutes to complete, switch to phone (or email,
if the matter requires less-immediate attention).
Phone calls: Tone of voice plays a significant role in communicating
effectively, so picking up the phone is the best way to go when you can’t
meet in person but need to discuss a potentially sensitive topic, convey
understanding, or build teams and strengthen relationships.
When you need to communicate directly with a specific person but
immediate
connection isn’t possible or appropriate, try one of the following:
Voicemail: Great for getting an important message or question delivered
to a specific individual with appropriate tone of voice.
Most voice mailboxes are private, but this setup isn’t always the
case. When in doubt about privacy, leave a brief, general message that
conveys the topic and requests a return call.
E-mail: Useful for longer messages, sharing attachments, and tracking
communication history. E-mail often gets information and some media
transmitted most quickly, but actual communication speed depends on
how frequently the recipient checks or receives e-mail and her initiative
and interest in writing back.
Postal mail (snail mail): Useful in situations where a hard copy is
important — like if special paper, binding, or color printing is needed —or
you need the recipient to sign and return papers. If documents are long,
stakeholders may find reading a physical document more convenient than
an electronic one.
Some tools are built for group communications, allowing people to
correspond at their convenience without an influx of e-mails. Recipients
connect when they have time and desire. Be aware that a delay occurs
between posting and receiving information, so these tools aren’t ideal for
time-sensitive messaging:
Message boards: One person posts a message or question, and others
respond. Good for discussions on specific, single-topic items, for issue and
risk management, and for gathering feedback on specific requirements
prior to decision-making.
Social networking tools: Corporate/inter-office/private networks similar
to message boards. However, they feature multimedia and significantly
more interaction. They’re terrific for relationship-building and
ideageneration.
When you need to share information with large audiences but discussion is
less appropriate, these one-way communication tools may be effective:
Public broadcast television or radio: Despite being used very
infrequently in the business analysis world, these media can be still helpful
in getting a message out to public audiences where appropriate. You can
recommend using these options to solicit potential focus group members,
request volunteers for market research or solution user testing, or to
distribute particular marketing messages.
Video: Video is useful for getting info out to large audiences while
incorporating tone of voice and body language. It’s especially useful
during times of managing change because it’s great for building situational
understanding, communicating commitment, inspiring solutions and
implementation efforts, and ensuring that all audiences get the same
message.
Webinar or web conference: With or without a video component, these
options are great for building understanding, commitment, or action.
They’re useful for change efforts, as well as solution demonstrations,
requirements walk-throughs, or information previews. They can be
tailored to small or large audiences and can include document display and
multimedia. Although audience participation is possible in webinars, large
audience discussions are difficult to manage without a special producer.
In some circumstances, you may need to communicate with people
who are hearing-impaired. Tools such as captioned telephone,
teletypewriter (TTY) or telecommunications relay services (TRS) can
help.
Choosing the right communication tool
The communication tool or method you choose should be appropriate for the
audience, content, purpose, and message giver of the communication (as a
BA, you may create communications for others to deliver). When evaluating
communication tools, consider the following:
Number of people involved: What works well for 10 people may not
work well for 80.
Type of info to be shared: Are you sharing verbal or visual information?
If it’s visual, do you share text, illustration, photos, or video? Some tools
are better suited for visuals than others.
Amount or volume of info being communicated: A few paragraphs of
information may need 20 minutes and a different communication method
than a 40-page document requiring 2 hours.
Frequency of exchange: Consider “why,” “how often,” and “for what
purpose?” Depending on your need, the solution may be a weekly team
meeting, team members communicating project information three times a
day, or a sponsor giving quarterly updates to solution users.
Desire/need for discussion or response: Your approach may differ if
communications need to be two-way/back-and-forth versus one-way
outbound, such as for announcements or content broadcast.
Sensitivity of the message and expected audience reaction: You may
need to take privacy and security into account:
• Privacy needs: Sometimes people react unexpectedly when hearing
about organizational impacts of solutions, so think about how best to
deliver messages so people hear them as intended. Consider whether it
makes sense for group members to connect individually (personal
reactions held more privately) or as a group (reactions are more public
and experienced with the group).
Sensitive topics may be best discussed in real-time instead of
being sent over e-mail to be read alone and interpreted. Set up
individual calls or a conference. For larger groups, use a conference call
or video/web conference, followed by an e-mail to emphasize key
message points.
• Security needs: How sensitive is the message? Implement information
protection methods where appropriate. If privacy is required but
conversation or conferencing isn’t possible, be sure to use security
encryption on e-mail. Also consider document settings that disallow
printing or forwarding of materials. If you’re using phone or web
conference, disable settings that allow participants to initiate or save
recordings of the session.
Need for live communication: Phone or conferencing tools are good
choices for situations where information and reactions are discussed
immediately. If topics need review or thoughtful consideration before
discussion, use a delayed or off-line approach. For instance, send
information ahead for prereading, but discuss it later in a different
communications setting.
Interest in recording or reviewing communications later: Sometimes
getting everyone you need together at one time is impossible. If you want
to ensure everyone hears the same information, consider recording the
session and sharing it in an encore performance.