Business Analysis Agility

Description

• Uncover the real customer problems hidden behind assumptions and conventional solutions
• Hypothesize potential solutions and quickly test them with safe-to-fail probes
• Understand how people, hardware, software, organizations, and other components come together in an optimal customer experience
• Write stories that help you find solutions that deliver more value to customers and the business
• Think about problems and projects in more agile, nimble, and open-minded ways

As a developer, to deliver real value, you must understand what your customers truly value, and solve the problems they really need solved. Business analysis can help you do this–and it’s as crucial in agile environments now as it always has been. In  Business Analysis Agility, leading experts James Robertson and Suzanne Robertson show how to perform business analysis in an agile way: trying new things, adapting to changes and discoveries, staying flexible, and being quick. Drawing on their unsurpassed experience of hundreds of projects and organizations, the Robertsons help you prioritize relentlessly, focus investments on delivering value, and learn in ways that improve your results.

“James and Suzanne have brought their deep and wide experience in business and systems analysis to bear on the importance of good analysis in agile domains. They cut through the hype and tackle the misconceptions that are rife around agile analysis by providing concrete advice and useful tools for anyone undertaking the vital analysis activities in agile development.”
— Shane Hastie, Director of Agile Learning Programs – ICAgile; Lead Editor – Culture & Methods, InfoQ.com

“What is a user story but a requirement? But is it the right requirement? The user said it was, but how does the user know? And how can you discover it? “Two words: Step back. “If you step back—and this book shows you how to do that—you can discover the real requirement. Why do you do this? It’s the only way to deliver real value to your customer. “And what could be more agile than that?”
— Stephen J. Mellor, Signatory to the Agile Manifesto

“This new book is a must-have for business analysts looking to bridge the gap between agile and other development approaches. It combines the best of both, into clear and simple guidance, presented in a delightful and light style.”
— Neil Maiden, Professor of Digital Creativity, Cass Business School, City, University of London

“ Business Analysis Agility provides the express on-ramp that business process change projects have sorely needed.”
— Stephen McMenamin, Ex CIO & VP of Hawaiian Electric

“The Robertsons share a plethora of tools and techniques that help you infuse agility in your business analysis. The book includes multiple examples and lively scenarios that engage and invite smart problem and solution exploration.”
— Ellen Gottesdiener, Agile Product Coach, Founder EBG Consulting

• Efficiently deliver software people actually want, because it solves the problems they actually have
• Indispensable for business analysts who work with agile development teams, and agile team members who want to perform effective business analysis
• Proven practical content based on in-person courses taught by world-renowned authors James Robertson and Suzanne Robertson

As a developer, to deliver real value, you must understand what your customers truly value, and solve the problems they really need solved. Business analysis can help you do this–and it’s as crucial in agile environments now as it always has been. In  Business Analysis Agility, leading experts James Robertson and Suzanne Robertson show how to perform business analysis in an agile way: trying new things, adapting to changes and discoveries, staying flexible, and being quick. Drawing on their unsurpassed experience of hundreds of projects and organizations, the Robertsons help you prioritize relentlessly, focus investments on delivering value, and learn in ways that improve your results.

James Robertson is a business analyst, problem solver, author, speaker, instructor, photographer, designer, and coach. He trained as an architect but left that for a career in IT and the sociological side of technology.

He left the security of employment in Australia to move and start his own company (with his brilliant wife) in the United Kingdom. Since then he has gone on to co-author seven books, numerous courses, and the Volere requirements techniques and templates, which have been adopted by organizations all over the world as their standard for gathering, discovering, communicating, tracing, and specifying solution needs.

James’ career is broad, both in a geographical sense and the areas and systems that he has worked with. It is fair to say that James has worked on almost every type of commercial IT project—from a start as a programmer in a software development house in Sydney, to consulting in New York, London, Rome, and most European capitals. He has earned his experience at the sharp end of both project and research work.

He divides his time between London and the French Alps. He skis for as much of the winter as demands on his time allow, and hikes all summer.

Suzanne Robertson is having a stellar career in information technology and systems engineering. She is a teacher, practitioner, writer, instructor, and guide.

Suzanne is a pioneer in adapting ideas from other domains for automated solutions. She has collaborated in workshops using experts from fields as diverse as modern music, visualization, and cookery. Ideas from these domains were adapted to make major breakthroughs in creative ideas for domains ranging from air traffic control to local government.

She is co-author of the best-selling Mastering the Requirements Process, among other books and courses. She is co-creator of the Volere requirements techniques. She was the founding editor of the Requirements Column in IEEE Software.

She has also made an impact in the socio-technical arena. This includes research and consulting on managing project sociology, both individually and as collaborative efforts between business, technology, and academia.

Her experience with different projects in both the private and public sectors has given her experience in a wide variety of systems and locations. She has worked in Europe, Australia, the Far East, and the United States.

Suzanne is a founder and principal of the Atlantic Systems Guild. Her other interests include opera, cooking, skiing, and finding out about curious things.

• Chapter 1: Agile Business Analysis
• Chapter 2: Do You Know What Your Customers Value?
• Chapter 3: Are You Solving the Right Problem?
• Chapter 4: Investigate the Solution Space
• Chapter 5: Designing the Business Solution
• Chapter 6: Writing the Right Stories
• Chapter 7: Jack Be Nimble, Jack Be Quick
• Glossary
• Bibliography
• Index

Understand and Solve Your Customers’ Real Problems with Agile Business Analysis

To deliver real value, you must understand what your customers truly value, and solve the problems they really need solved. Business analysis can help you do this—and it’s as crucial in agile environments now as it always has been. In Business Analysis Agility, leading experts James Robertson and Suzanne Robertson show how to perform business analysis in an agile way: trying new things, adapting to changes and discoveries, staying flexible, and being quick. Drawing on their unsurpassed experience of hundreds of projects and organizations, the Robertsons help you prioritize relentlessly, focus investments on delivering value, and learn in ways that improve your results.

• Uncover the real customer problems hidden behind assumptions and conventional solutions
• Hypothesize potential solutions and quickly test them with safe-to-fail probes
• Understand how people, hardware, software, organizations, and other components come together in an optimal customer experience
• Write stories that help you find solutions that deliver more value to customers and the business
• Think about problems and projects in more agile, nimble, and open-minded ways

The Robertsons’ approach to analytical thinking will be valuable to anyone who wants to build better software in agile environments: analysts, developers, team leads, project managers, software architects, and other team members and stakeholders at all levels of experience.

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