Business agility is not an option
Business agility is, among other things, the ability to change rapidly and safely in response to, or in anticipation of, relevant changes in the external environment.
For every organisation, business agility is not an option.
Here is a list of some of the ways in which the best business analysts and business architects can provide real value by supporting their organisation’s capability to achieve business agility.
- Ensure that all business and IS/IT change is aligned with corporate strategic objectives.
- Understand the customers – both the internal ‘clients’ served by the analysis function and the external customers served by the organisation. Sales and Marketing understand customers; business analysts and architects can learn from them.
- Understand the drivers for change that affect the organisation.
- Analyse business situations to understand underlying problems and opportunities before anyone acquires a “solution”.
- Build relationships with the organisation’s business and technical communities – Base the relationships on mutual respect.
- Keep up to date with technical innovation.
- Try to understand how business analysts can help the organisation to take advantage of technical innovations.
- Express options for effective and feasible solutions in the language of your stakeholders.
- Take an agile approach to iteratively implementing change.
- Bring out and develop your interpersonal skills.
- Look constantly for effective new approaches that can be added to a master “analysis and architecture techniques toolbox”.
- Use the “techniques toolbox” to develop flexible risk based approaches.
- Learn from a variety of approaches but customise them.
- Develop a business analysis centre of excellence.
- Know which way is forward. Create a road map. Develop goals and priorities.
