The Simple Progression method is about listening
Getting under the skin of your business, then developing agile answers to your challenges, to create positive change.
- What is Agile Business Analysis?
- The Agile Business Analysis Process
- What does an Agile Business Analyst Do?
Agile business analysis helps businesses manage their processes in highly unpredictable environments.
It helps you re-imagine and reconstruct your business in such a way that it is resilient and flexible enough to face future challenges, even in uncertain times.
Agile business has its origins in software development, but, increasingly, it works across a broad range of sectors.
It is especially well suited to a digitalised business culture, bridging the gap between business and technology.
Understanding your business purpose
Clarifying your objectives
Writing a business plan
Detailing your project requirements
Supporting implementation
Completing your project
Assess and establish the requirements of the business, and ensure that business teams can deliver and implement them.
Businesses and organisations have different structures and needs. The agile business analyst’s role is to develop clear paths to resolve complex issues and to embed lasting solutions.
This is why the critical first stage of the process is about me gaining a clear understanding of your business and how it works.
Simple Progression is all about understanding your organisation or enterprise, to help you recognise and overcome your pain points and any barriers to change and growth.
Business Analysis and the Agile Mindset
Business analysis is all about understanding your organisation or enterprise, to help you recognise and overcome your pain points and any barriers to change and growth. Applying the agile mindset in business analysis makes the path to change clear and provides an accessible, measurable framework for action.
This is a structured approach, and one we can repeat and apply, with any modifications, depending on your individual project requirements.
Full lifecycle business analysis involves these key stages:
Analysing your enterprise
Extracting your requirements
Analysing these requirements
Assessing and approving solutions
Planning and monitoring
Communicating and coordinating action
Embedding continuous improvement
We assess and analyse your requirements carefully, to ensure they will meet your business needs.
By applying working software and using clear communications at every stage, we can develop and apply the right solutions to make positive change happen for your business.
What makes the agile mindset different to the waterfall model?
The traditional, waterfall model is a series of linear steps, making logical progress towards change and completion of projects.
Issues can arise when you want to go back and change things that have occurred at an earlier stage.
The waterfall model is logical but not flexible. Because its outcomes are confined to the end stages of the process, it can mean high degrees of risk and uncertainty. It is therefore not suitable for all types of business or organisation.
The agile mindset involves an alternative approach:
It is an iterative model, meaning it involves a repeatable cycle of actions and operations, taking small steps to deliver your goals and objectives.
These incremental steps create tangible value, and allow you to gather feedback at each stage of development.
The agile mindset promotes better collaboration and interaction among the teams and individuals working for you.
We can ensure your transition from waterfall to agile is a simple progression.
We do this by working closely with you and your teams, supporting individuals and interactions.
Our recommendations and actions are clear and measurable.
Simple Progression offers an advisory service for smaller enterprises, providing a consultant business analyst for as many days as you require, to set up your projects.
Our smaller clients have found this service especially useful for operating successfully in regulatory environments.
Are You Ready for Change?
For more information about business analysis, applying the agile mindset to your business set-up, or mentoring support, please contact us.
Applying business analysis to your project makes the path to change clear and provides an accessible, measurable framework for action.
Why Would you Need the Services of a Product Owner?
The product owner plays a key role in the scrum framework of an agile business. They drive the development cycle and make sure concepts will translate into real-world actions.
Essentially, this is about taking on the responsibility for managing and delivering defined outcomes related to specific products, projects or services.
The product owner role is multi-disciplinary, combining several important skills and functions:
Business strategy
Market analysis
Product design and development
Project management
Stakeholder engagement
Client liaison.
This is about seeing the bigger picture while also being able to focus on precise details where necessary.
High level perspective defines the team’s goals and creates an overall vision for product development.
At the core of it all is communication. The product owner maintains open lines of communication with everyone involved with, or impacted by, the project.
As your product owner, I maintain the vision of your project by creating a roadmap for the product. This acts as both a practical plan and a strategic guide for stakeholders.
The product owner manages this backlog, defining and creating items, adding them to the list and prioritising them.
The backlog is ever-changing, continually updating as project needs evolve throughout development.
Because the agile approach is based on tangible incremental gains, it is vital that the backlog is on track and up-to-date.
This requires a considerable depth of market knowledge and excellent communication skills.
Putting an experienced product owner in place not only keeps your project on track, but also that it is always at least several steps ahead of any potential obstacles or barriers.
Can Your Project Benefit from a Product Owner?
Having an experienced product owner on board can help to shape the design and development of your major projects, ensuring the kind of positive outcomes that enable enterprises to change and grow.
For more information about product owner services, the scrum framework and agile mindset for business analysis, please contact us.
The product owner plays a key role in the scrum framework, managing the product development team and its processes. This role is all about defining goals and creating a vision to drive development projects forward
Expert Mentoring for Business Analysts
Where do business analysts go for guidance?
Expert mentoring for business analysts focuses on you and your specific needs.
This is a dedicated, membership-based mentoring community. Joining it gives you access to specialist resources, in-depth professional knowledge, group sessions and one-to-one support.
A business mentor gives you something of extremely high value: their wisdom.
Why is this wisdom so valuable? Because it comes from experience. It comes from years of practical experience and the knowledge that comes with it.
When you choose a mentor, you begin a close relationship with someone who will help to guide you and give you clarity in your working life.
At the heart of this relationship is a genuine dialogue. Your mentor doesn’t instruct you formally. They build a two-way relationship with you, supporting you with their knowledge and experience.
Mentoring relationships are longer-term because the better your mentor gets to know you, the more they can offer guidance and support that meet your changing needs.
The coach drives the coaching agenda, asking you thought-provoking questions to help you in your decision-making.
In mentoring, YOU drive the agenda and ask most of the questions. This gains you access to the mentor’s expertise and wisdom.
Coaching outcomes are specific and measurable within a given time frame, indicating improvement or change in a specific area of your performance.
Mentoring outcomes come from the development of the mentoring relationship itself and tend to focus on your general development. This means they may shift and change over time.
I know from my own experience that many of the challenges and obstacles that arise will be very much down to a particular project and its surrounding culture. This makes it difficult to anticipate the issues you’ll face.
You need to think on your feet AND apply a depth of knowledge to the strategies and tactics you develop.
This can feel like walking a high wire without a safety net.
But with a business analyst mentor, you’ve got someone with whom you can share your pressures, problems, questions and issues.
They become your confidant, your guide AND your safety net. A mentor is there to support and enhance your skills and build a strong, trusting relationship with you.
Mentoring gives you a continuous, supportive structure in your work, as you progress as a business analyst.
Who Benefits from Mentoring?
Simple Progression’s mentoring service is for qualified business analysts looking for support and guidance in their professional careers.
The role of the business analyst is constantly changing and evolving to meet new challenges and situations. Having an experienced, knowledgeable mentor by your side helps you navigate these changes confidently and productively
Your Business Analyst Mentor
I’m Mauva Campbell. I’ve over 30 years of experience as a business analyst. Now, I want to use this experience to help and guide others.
My mentoring service will support your role and help you manage change in your working life, just as you help your clients with their challenges.
For full details about how to join my exclusive mentoring community, please contact me:
A mentor is not someone who tells you what to do, a mentor is someone who will support you, provide guidance and will help you search for the answers.
Latest Blogs
We constantly produce assets and reports for our clients, below are a selection of blogs outlining the Simple Progression thought process a little.
Why Do Digital Transformations Fail?
The road to digital transformation is not always a smooth one, and organisations that choose to go down this route do not always succeed in their digital transformations.
What is the Role of a Business Analyst in Digital Transformation?
If your organisation is considering digital transformation, you might reasonably ask whether you need a business analyst (BA) to help you achieve it.
Digital Transformation: What are the Benefits?
Digital transformation involves integrating technology into all areas of your business, but underpinning it must be a mindset for change and adaptability.
