Role of the Business Analyst in an

Agile Project

Agenda

1: Introduction to Agile

2: Focus on Agile Principles

3: Business Analysis and the agile process

4: Addressing challenges

5: Close off and recap

1. Intro to Agile

What is perfect Agile?

Agile is…

1. Intro to Agile

Iterative

Agile Manifesto1. Intro to Agile

agilemanifesto.org

Individuals and interactions over processes and tools

Working software over comprehensive documentation

Customer collaboration over contract negotiation

Responding to change over following a plan

That is, while there is value in the items on

the right, we value the items on the left more.

Agile Manifesto

Working Software

Comprehensive Documentation

over

1. Intro to Agile

Business Value

Less on Documentation

1. Intro to Agile

Less Prescriptive Framework

1. Intro to Agile

Agile

RUP XP Scrum Kanban Lean

More Less

Henrik Kniberg

“These are all tools in a toolkit”

Agile tackles the following challenges

• Releases taking too long

• Stabilisation taking too long

• Software quality is low

• Often users don’t get what they need or expect

1. Intro to Agile

What about waterfall?

1. Intro to Agile

Winston W. Royce

“I believe in this concept,

but the implementation

described above is risky

and invites failure.”(1970)

Over the wall

1. Intro to Agile

Over the wall interactions create:

•Misunderstandings

•Less ownership

•Latency

•Wastage

2: Focus on Agile Principles

Principles (3 of 12)

“Agile is a mind-set, defined by values

guided by principles

and manifested through many different practices”

Welcome changing requirements, even late in development.

Agile processes harness change for the customer's

competitive advantage.

2. Agile Principles

Business people and developers must work

together daily throughout the project.

The most efficient and effective method of conveying

information to and within a development team is

face-to-face conversation

Welcome changing requirements,

even late in development.

Agile processes harness change for the

customer's competitive advantage.

2. Agile Principles

60% of requirements change

Welcome changing requirements...

2. Agile Principles

Software development is not a defined process. It

requires a empirical process.

“You NEVER end with the same specifications as

when you started”

Welcome changing requirements...

Software's version of

Schrödinger's cat

2. Agile Principles

“The very act of creating

the requirements will cause

them to change.”

Business people and developers

must work together

daily throughout the project.

2. Agile Principles

Work together...

collaboration & on-going engagement

vs.

project phases

2. Agile Principles

The most efficient and effective method

of conveying information to and within

a development team is

face-to-face conversation

2. Agile Principles

3: Business Analysis and the Agile process

The Agile BA

Business Analysis is represented in Agile

3. The Process

P.O. S.M.

Dev

Team

Scrum Roles

Product Owner vs. Business Analyst

3. The Process

P.O. B.A.

The evolving BA

3. The Process

“Alistair Cockburn”(pronounced Co-burn)

3. The Process

Beware of anti-patterns

User Interactions

3. The Process

“IKIWISI”I’ll know it when I see it

Specifications are 2 dimensional

3. The Process

breadth

depth

The Product Backlog

3. The Process

BDD concepts

As a ______

I want ____

So that ___

?Code this..

3. The Process

INVEST model

• Independent

• Negotiable

• Valuable

• Estimable

• Sized appropriately

• Testable

3. The Process

Traditional Specs….

3. The Process

As a ______

I want ____

So that ___Vs.

Quality

Functional

Non-Functional

3. The Process

“Build the right thing”

“Build the thing right ”

4. Addressing Challenges

• Different skills that are required in Agile

• Identify and remove communication barriers

• Over analysing

• “Over the wall” interactions

Things an Agile BA might do:

• Identifying Scope and Priorities

• Detailing the Functional Design

• Prototyping the User Interface

• Creating Other Artefacts

o Ie. Input into Value Stream Maps

• Incorporating User Feedback and Evolution

• Facilitate Business and Dev sessions

• Writing Stories / Scenarios and Acceptance tests

• Getting requirements ready for upcoming iterations

• Learning from the Retrospective // Continuous improvement

4. Challenges

Interview with a B.A.

4. Challenges

Back to the questionWhat is perfect Agile?

AgileTraditional

5. Recap

1. Business Analysts to be empowered and part of the

delivery team.

2. Improve collaboration and remove over the wall

activities, along silo’d roles within the team.

3. Agile welcomes changing requirements as this

reflects real world development processes.

4. Delivering business value is a primary focus in any

Agile/Scrum organisation

Thank you

Brent Blake