INTRODUCTION

1.1 OVERVIEW AND PURPOSE OF THIS GUIDE

The PMI Guide to Business Analysis, referred to here as the guide, is intended to serve the needs of organizations and business analysis professionals by providing practical knowledge and good practices needed to contribute to portfolio, program, project, and product success and support the delivery of high-quality solutions. This guide is intended to enable business analysis to be effectively performed regardless of the project life cycle, whether a predictive, iterative, adaptive, or hybrid approach is used, and provide guidance for business analysis regardless of the job title of the individual performing it. This guide:

* Defines what the work of business analysis is and why it is important;

* Describes the competencies, processes, tools, and techniques needed to effectively perform business analysis tasks and activities;

* Defines concepts related to business analysis that can be applied consistently across all product and project life cycles, product types, and industries to deliver successful business outcomes within portfolios, programs, and projects;

* Highlights collaboration points between those who perform business analysis activities and other roles that business analysts typically need to work with collaboratively; and

* Provides and promotes a common business analysis vocabulary for organizations and business analysis professionals.

According to PMI's Pulse of the Profession® In-Depth Report: Requirements Management: A Core Competency for Project and Program Success [1], 47% of unsuccessful projects fail to meet original goals due to poor requirements management. In the 2017 Pulse Report: Success Rates Rise — Transforming the High Cost of Low Performance [2], 39% of failed projects identify inaccurate requirements gathering as a primary cause of failure. Research continues to validate that when organizations do not embrace business analysis and overlook the importance of establishing effective processes to perform it, there is a direct impact to their ability to perform effectively on projects. Those organizations that demonstrate maturity in business analysis practices are 55% more successful in implementing strategy and are much more likely to achieve the expected value from the investments made on programs and projects. These are just a few of the statistics obtained from recent PMI research proving the value of business analysis.

Currently organizations are interested in understanding how best to:

* Strategically leverage business analysis to ensure that investments are allocated to the highest-value initiatives;

* Adequately invest so that product teams have the resources they need to properly identify and solve the right problems; and

* Deliver solutions that provide measurable business value and meet stakeholder expectations.

Such trends are driving the need for additional skilled business analysis professionals globally.

PMI research has also shown that improved business analysis skills and practices can significantly impact the success of an organization, including providing a competitive advantage in the marketplace. In this research, business analysis was identified as a contributor to gaining a competitive advantage over the past five years by 81% of the business analysts who stated they work in an organization where business analysis practices are considered highly mature [2]. In addition to skills development and process maturity, organizations are also taking steps to champion an improved and stronger integration of business analysis with project management, recognizing the contributions of each role in ensuring project success.

Business analysis professionals from every level of experience and competency, regardless of where they report functionally, require a business analysis standard that can be universally applied in any size organization, industry, or region of the world. Business analysis professionals need a standard that recognizes generally accepted good practices to support the practice of business analysis efficiently, effectively, and consistently to deliver solutions that provide the most value.

This guide identifies business analysis practices that are generally recognized as good practice. These terms are defined as follows:

* Generally recognized.Generally recognized means the knowledge and practices described are applicable to most portfolios, programs, and projects most of the time, and there is consensus about their value and usefulness.

* Good practice.Good practice means there is general agreement that the application of the knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques when performing business analysis contributes to the successful delivery of the expected business values and results across portfolios, programs, and projects. Good practice does not mean that the knowledge described should always be applied uniformly to all portfolios, programs, or projects; the business analysis professional, working with stakeholders and the product team, determines what is appropriate for given situations.

This guide is different from a methodology. A methodology is a system of practices, techniques, procedures, and rules used by those who work within a discipline. The guide, on the other hand, is a foundation upon which organizations can build methodologies, policies, procedures, rules, tools, and techniques needed to practice business analysis effectively. This guide aligns the global community on what comprises the business analysis profession and aims to help organizations realize improvements in business analysis capabilities by ensuring that business analysis is commonly defined and understood.

1.1.1 THE NEED FOR THIS GUIDE

As organizations strive to meet market demands, the expectation is to deliver better solutions in a faster and less expensive manner. Recent PMI research identified business analysis as a key competency to help organizations achieve this goal. The Standard for Business Analysis and the PMI Guide to Business Analysis are intended to assist organizations and individuals in understanding the business analysis discipline as a basis for attaining mature and effective business analysis processes.

1.1.2 INTENDED AUDIENCE FOR THIS GUIDE

This guide is intended for anyone who performs business analysis activities, regardless of job title...