Business analysis processes are systematic approaches to define business needs, gather and analyze requirements from stakeholders, document those requirements clearly, manage changes to requirements, and evaluate potential solutions against the documented needs to drive successful project outcomes.
The PMI Guide to Business Analysis outlines a set of 35 business analysis processes mapped across 6 Process Groups and 6 Knowledge Areas.
However, instead of covering all the processes individually, we will group them into 5 broad categories as outlined below and cover them at a high level in this guide. You only need to get a high level understanding of these processes for the CAPM exam.
- Needs Assessment
- Business Analysis Planning
- Requirements Elicitation and Analysis
- Traceability and Monitoring
- Solution Evaluation
One crucial aspect of business analysis that encompasses all the business analysis processes is stakeholder engagement. Effective stakeholder engagement is crucial throughout the business analysis processes to ensure that stakeholder needs and expectations are understood, addressed, and managed appropriately. It is important for the business analyst to identify and engage the right stakeholders at the right time, using appropriate communication and collaboration techniques.