List of commonly used Business Analysis
terminologies explained with examples
Diwakar Singh
A
Acceptance Criteria: Predefined standards or
conditions that must be met for a solution to be
considered acceptable by stakeholders.
Example: In a software project, the acceptance
criteria for a login feature might include "User must be
able to log in with a valid email and password" and
"System must display an error message for invalid
credentials."
Agile: An iterative approach to project management
and software development that emphasizes
collaboration, flexibility, and customer satisfaction.
Example: A software development team using Agile
might break down a project into smaller, manageable
sprints and deliver working software at the end of each
sprint.
Benchmarking: Comparing an organization's
processes, products, or services against industry best
practices or competitors.
Example: A retail company might benchmark its
customer service metrics against those of its top
competitor to identify areas for improvement.
Business Case: A document that outlines the
justification for a proposed project or initiative,
including its costs, benefits, and risks.
Example: A business case for a new e-commerce
platform might include a financial analysis of the
expected return on investment and a description of
the potential risks associated with the project.
Business Process: A series of steps or activities
designed to achieve a specific business goal.
Example: The order-to-cash process, which includes
activities like receiving customer orders, fulfilling
them, and invoicing customers.
Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA): A systematic approach
to evaluating the costs and benefits of a proposed
project or decision.
Example: A CBA for a new marketing campaign might
compare the costs of the campaign (advertising, staff
time, etc.) to the expected benefits (increased sales,
brand awareness, etc.).
Critical Path Method (CPM): A project management
technique used to identify the longest sequence of
activities that must be completed on time for a project
to finish on schedule.
Example: In a construction project, the critical path
might include activities like obtaining permits, laying
the foundation, and framing the structure.
Data Modeling: The process of creating a visual
representation of an organization's data, including its
structure and relationships.
Example: A data model for a customer relationship
management (CRM) system might include entities like
customers, contacts, and opportunities, and their
relationships (e.g., a customer can have multiple
contacts).
Deliverable: A tangible or intangible product or result
produced as part of a project.
Example: Deliverables for a software project might
include design documents, code, test plans, and user
manuals.
Elicitation: The process of gathering information
about requirements from stakeholders.
Example: A business analyst might use interviews,
workshops, or surveys to elicit requirements from
users, customers, and other stakeholders.
Enterprise Analysis: The practice of analyzing an
organization's business needs to identify
opportunities for improvement.
Example: An enterprise analysis might involve
assessing an organization's current business
processes, technology infrastructure, and
organizational structure to identify areas where
changes could improve efficiency or effectiveness.
F
Feasibility Study: An assessment of the practicality
and viability of a proposed project or initiative.
Example: A feasibility study for a new product launch
might consider factors like market demand,
production costs, and regulatory requirements.
Functional Requirement: A statement that describes
what a product, system, or process must do.
Example: A functional requirement for a banking app
might be "User must be able to transfer funds
between accounts."
Gap Analysis: A technique used to compare the
current state of a system or process to the desired
state, and identify the differences (gaps).
Example: A gap analysis of a company's IT
infrastructure might reveal that the company's current
servers are not capable of supporting the expected
growth in data storage needs.
Gantt Chart: A type of bar chart that illustrates a
project schedule, showing the start and end dates of
tasks and their dependencies.
Example: A Gantt chart for a software development
project might show tasks like requirements gathering,
design, coding, testing, and deployment, and their
relationships (e.g., coding cannot start until design is
complete).
High-Level Requirements: Broad statements of the
overall goals and objectives of a project or system.
Example: A high-level requirement for a new website
might be "Improve customer engagement and
increase online sales."
Implementation Plan: A detailed plan outlining the
steps required to implement a solution.
Example: An implementation plan for a new CRM
system might include steps like data migration, user
training, and system testing.
Iteration: A cycle of development in an Agile project,
typically lasting one to four weeks.
Example: In a software development project, each
iteration might involve planning, designing, coding,
testing, and demonstrating a working increment of the
product.
Joint Application Development (JAD): A facilitated
workshop that brings together stakeholders to define
and prioritize requirements.
Example: A JAD session for a new e-commerce
platform might involve representatives from
marketing, sales, customer service, and IT to discuss
their needs and expectations for the platform.
Key Performance Indicator (KPI): A measurable
value that demonstrates how effectively a company is
achieving key business objectives.
Example: KPIs for a customer service department
might include average call handling time, first call
resolution rate, and customer satisfaction ratings.
Lessons Learned: A process of reviewing a project or
initiative to identify successes, failures, and areas for
improvement.
Example: A lessons learned session for a failed
product launch might reveal that the product was not
adequately tested with target users before release.
Low-Level Requirements: Detailed and specific
requirements that describe the functionality of a
system or process.
Example: A low-level requirement for a banking app
might be "The user must be able to transfer funds
between accounts by entering the recipient's account
number and the amount to be transferred."
Metrics: Quantifiable measures used to track
performance, progress, and quality.
Example: Metrics for a software development project
might include lines of code written, number of defects
found, and test coverage.
MoSCoW Prioritization: A technique used to prioritize
requirements by classifying them as Must Have,
Should Have, Could Have, or Won't Have.
Example: In a software project, a requirement to
integrate with a third-party payment system might be
classified as a Must Have, while a requirement to
provide real-time chat support might be classified as a
Could Have.
Non-Functional Requirement (NFR): A requirement
that specifies the qualities or characteristics of a
system or process, rather than its specific behavior.
Example: NFRs for a website might include
performance requirements (e.g., page load time),
security requirements (e.g., protection against
hacking), and usability requirements (e.g., ease of
navigation).
O
Organizational Change Management (OCM): The
process of managing the impact of change on an
organization's people, processes, and technology.
Example: OCM for a new software implementation
might involve communicating the changes to
employees, providing training, and addressing
resistance to change.
Outcome: The result or consequence of a project,
initiative, or action.
Example: The outcome of a successful marketing
campaign might be increased brand awareness, lead
generation, and sales.
PERT Chart: A project management tool used to
analyze and represent the tasks involved in
completing a given project. It is a method to analyze
the involved tasks in completing a given project,
especially the time needed to complete each task,
and to identify the minimum time needed to complete
the total project.
Example: A PERT chart for an office relocation project
might show tasks like selecting a new location,
negotiating a lease, designing the new space,
procuring furniture, and moving employees.
Prioritization: The process of ranking items or tasks in
order of importance or urgency.
Example: In a software project, requirements might
be prioritized based on their business value, technical
feasibility, and risk.
Qualitative Data: Non-numerical data that describes
qualities or characteristics.
Example: Qualitative data from customer feedback
might include comments about a product's design,
ease of use, or customer service.
Quantitative Data: Numerical data that can be
measured and analyzed statistically.
Example: Quantitative data from website analytics
might include page views, bounce rate, and time on
site.
Requirement: A condition or capability that must be
met or possessed by a system, product, service,
result, or component to satisfy a contract, standard,
specification, or other formally imposed documents.
Example: A requirement for a new mobile app might
be "The app must allow users to book appointments
with their healthcare providers."
Requirements Analysis: The process of studying and
documenting stakeholders' needs and constraints to
define a system's requirements.
Example: Requirements analysis for a new inventory
management system might involve interviewing
warehouse staff to understand their current
processes and challenges, and then documenting the
requirements
