Techniques Purpose

1. Acceptance and Evaluation Acceptance criteria are used to define the requirements, outcomes, or conditions
Criteria that must be met in order for a solution to be considered acceptable to key
stakeholders. Evaluation criteria are the measures used to assess a set of
requirements in order to choose between multiple solutions.
2. Backlog Management The backlog is used to record, track, and prioritize remaining work items.
3. Balanced Scorecard The balanced scorecard is used to manage performance in any business model,
organizational structure, or business process.
4. Benchmarking and Market Benchmarking and market analysis are conducted to improve organizational
Analysis operations, increase customer satisfaction, and increase value to stakeholders.
Benchmark studies are conducted to compare organizational practices against
the best-in-class practices.
Market analysis involves researching customers in order to determine the
products and services that they need or want, the factors that influence their
decisions to purchase, and the competitors that exist in the market.
5. Brainstorming Brainstorming is an excellent way to foster creative thinking about a problem. The aim of
brainstorming is to produce numerous new ideas, and to derive from them
themes for further analysis.
6. Business Capability Business capability analysis provides a framework for scoping and planning by generating
Analysis a shared understanding of outcomes, identifying alignment with strategy, and providing a
scope and prioritization filter.
7. Business Cases A business case provides a justification for a course of action based on the benefits to be
realized by using the proposed solution, as compared to the cost, effort, and other
considerations to acquire and live with that solution.
8. Business Model Canvas A business model canvas describes how an enterprise creates, delivers, and
captures value for and from its customers.
9. Business Rules Analysis Business rules analysis is used to identify, express, validate, refine, and organize the rules
that shape day-to-day business behaviour and guide operational business decision
making.
10. Collaborative Games Collaborative games encourage participants in an elicitation activity to collaborate
in building a joint understanding of a problem or a solution.
11. Concept Modelling A concept model is used to organize the business vocabulary needed to consistently and
thoroughly communicate the knowledge of a domain.
12. Data Dictionary A data dictionary is used to standardize a definition of a data element and enable
a common interpretation of data elements.
13. Data Flow Diagrams Data flow diagrams show where data comes from, which activities process the
data, and if the output results are stored or utilized by another activity or external
entity.
14. Data Mining Data mining is used to improve decision making by finding useful patterns and
insights from data.
15. Data Modelling A data model describes the entities, classes or data objects relevant to a domain,
the attributes that are used to describe them, and the relationships among them
to provide a common set of semantics for analysis and implementation.
16. Decision Analysis Decision analysis formally assesses a problem and possible decisions in order to
determine the value of alternate outcomes under conditions of uncertainty.
17. Decision Modelling Decision modelling shows how repeatable business decisions are made.
18. Document Analysis Document analysis is used to elicit business analysis information, including
contextual understanding and requirements, by examining available materials
that describe either the business environment or existing organizational assets
19. Estimation Estimation is used by business analysts and other stakeholders to forecast the cost
and effort involved in pursuing a course of action.
20. Financial Analysis Financial analysis is used to understand the financial aspects of an investment, a
solution, or a solution approach.
21. Focus Groups A focus group is a means to elicit ideas and opinions about a specific product,
service, or opportunity in an interactive group environment. The participants,
guided by a moderator, share their impressions, preferences, and needs.
22. Functional Decomposition Functional decomposition helps manage complexity and reduce uncertainty by
breaking down processes, systems, functional areas, or deliverables into their
simpler constituent parts and allowing each part to be analyzed independently.
23. Glossary A glossary defines key terms relevant to a business domain.
24. Interface Analysis Interface analysis is used to identify where, what, why, when, how, and for whom
information is exchanged between solution components or across solution
boundaries.
25. Interviews An interview is a systematic approach designed to elicit business analysis
information from a person or group of people by talking to the interviewee(s),
asking relevant questions, and documenting the responses. The interview can
also be used for establishing relationships and building trust between business
analysts and stakeholders in order to increase stakeholder involvement or build
support for a proposed solution.
26. Item Tracking Item tracking is used to capture and assign responsibility for issues and
stakeholder concerns that pose an impact to the solution.
27. Lessons Learned The purpose of the lessons learned process is to compile and document
successes, opportunities for improvement, failures, and recommendations for
improving the performance of future projects or project phases.
28. Metrics and Key Metrics and key performance indicators measure the performance of solutions,
Performance Indicators solution components, and other matters of interest to stakeholders.
(KPIs)
29. Mind Mapping Mind mapping is used to articulate and capture thoughts, ideas, and information.
30. Non-Functional Non-functional requirements analysis examines the requirements for a solution
Requirements Analysis that define how well the functional requirements must perform. It specifies
criteria that can be used to judge the operation of a system rather than specific
behaviours (which are referred to as the functional requirements).
31. Observation Observation is used to elicit information by viewing and understanding activities
and their context. It is used as a basis for identifying needs and opportunities,
understanding a business process, setting performance standards, evaluating
solution performance, or supporting training and development.
32. Organizational Modelling Organizational modelling is used to describe the roles, responsibilities, and
reporting structures that exist within an organization and to align those structures
with the organization's goals.
33. Prioritization Prioritization provides a framework for business analysts to facilitate stakeholder
decisions and to understand the relative importance of business analysis
information.
34. Process Analysis Process analysis assesses a process for its efficiency and effectiveness, as well as its
ability to identify opportunities for change.
35. Process Modelling Process modelling is a standardized graphical model used to show how work is
carried out and is a foundation for process analysis.
36. Prototyping Prototyping is used to elicit and validate stakeholder needs through an iterative
process that creates a model or design of requirements. It is also used to optimize
user experience, to evaluate design options, and as a basis for development of the
final business solution.
37. Reviews Reviews are used to evaluate the content of a work product.
38. Risk Analysis and Risk analysis and management identifies areas of uncertainty that could
 Management negatively affect value, analyzes and evaluates those uncertainties, and develops
and manages ways of dealing with the risks.
39. Roles and Permissions A roles and permissions matrix is used to ensure coverage of activities by denoting
Matrix responsibility, to identify roles, to discover missing roles, and to communicate
results of a planned change.
40. Root Cause Analysis Root cause analysis is used to identify and evaluate the underlying causes of a
problem.
41. Scope Modelling Scope models define the nature of one or more limits or boundaries and place
elements inside or outside those boundaries.
42. Sequence Diagrams Sequence diagrams are used to model the logic of usage scenarios by showing
the information passed between objects in the system through the execution of
the scenario.
43. Stakeholder List, Map, or Stakeholder lists, maps, and personas assist the business analyst in analyzing
Personas stakeholders and their characteristics. This analysis is important in ensuring that
the business analyst identifies all possible sources of requirements and that the
stakeholder is fully understood so decisions made regarding stakeholder
engagement, collaboration, and communication are the best choices for the
stakeholder and for the success of the initiative.
44. State Modelling State modelling is used to describe and analyze the different possible states of an
entity within a system, how that entity changes from one state to another, and
what can happen to the entity when it is in each state.
45. Survey or Questionnaire A survey or questionnaire is used to elicit business analysis information—including
information about customers, products, work practices, and attitudes—from a
group of people in a structured way and in a relatively short period of time.
46. SWOT Analysis SWOT analysis is a simple yet effective tool used to evaluate an organization's
strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to both internal and external
conditions.
47. Use Cases and Scenarios Use cases and scenarios describe how a person or system interacts with the
solution being modelled to achieve a goal.
48. User Stories A user story represents a small, concise statement of functionality or quality
needed to deliver value to a specific stakeholder.
49. Vendor Assessment A vendor assessment assesses the ability of a vendor to meet commitments
regarding the delivery and the consistent provision of a product or service.
50. Workshops Workshops bring stakeholders together in order to collaborate on achieving a
predefined goal.