Turnaround of Business Analysis teams to eradicate delays and improve quality of deliverables to end-customer
The Situation
In two different organisations I have been brought in to ‘turnaround’ the business analysis / business analyst (BA) teams. On my arrival the BA teams were causing delays of at least 2-3 months to the delivery of change projects due to a lack of quality in analysis output, and the slow pace of work.
The Task
- Eradicate project delays caused by the BA team by improving both efficiency and effectiveness
- Improve BA teams’ relationship with others in the delivery process, from business stakeholders through to developers and testers. Transform BAs into a trusted partner
- Improve team morale and reduce staff turnover
- Reduce reliance on long-serving, expensive contractors and instead promote internally
The Action / Approach
- Along with other departmental leads introduced Agile(Scrum) enabling delivery of Minimum Viable Product capability much faster compared to the previous Waterfall approach
- Trained teams in how to elicit requirements from business stakeholders via different techniques (e.g. wire-framing, business process modelling)
- Instructed teams on how to write effective Epics, Features, User Stories & Acceptance Criteria for project Product Backlogs
- Mentored and reviewed BA output to ensure quality
- Created a knowledge repository for the BAs to make it easier to understand the current state of each organisation’s operating model, including existing system functions
- Overhauled the recruitment process to become more competency-based, including introducing a case study assessment
The Result
- Eradicated the 2-3 month project delay caused by each BA team and, after 12 months, all complaints associated with the quality of BA work
- After 12 months permanent staff turnover was reduced from 30% to 0%, and the contractor population from 50% of the team to 20%
- BA team morale initially rated at around 40% on my arrival, on my departure it had increased to over 70%
Focus In On: Responsible for Digital Business Transformation
New Areas of Value:
Direct positive impact on internal and external customer satisfaction
Increased credibility, confidence and influence across the business
More satisfied and engaged employees with increased retention and productivity
Creating a culture of involvement, empowerment and connection to the business
Improved business agility and ability to rapidly respond to change and opportunity
Digital transformation that drives, moves and resets the organisation’s vision
Successful, timely delivery of evidence-based digital transformational outcomes; beyond digitisation
Improvements around:
Lack of agreement of transformation governance and stakeholder understanding leading to a fragmented approach
Lack of availability of the right people at the right time across both business and technology areas
Lack of clarity around existing operating model, internal business ecosystem or cross-functional teams
Conflict between perception and reality of digital skills, tools, methods and talent required and available
The IT function is not aligned to the digital business strategy and vision
Cynicism, lack of buy-in and resistance to change
Unclear and siloed business strategy leading to misaligned goals across the organisation that conflict with transformation
Lack of exec sponsorship and ownership
