IT Consulting and Business Analysis

With the proliferation of technology at an ever-increasing pace, it is important to enable businesses to adopt technologies not only as an enabler but also use them as their business strategy. In this regard, IT Consulting (sometimes referred to as Tech Consulting) plays a very crucial role. A related body of knowledge is ‘Business Analysis’ which is the practice of enabling change in an enterprise by defining needs and recommending solutions that deliver value to stakeholders.

The notes from the sessions delivered on this topic by Prof. Selvaraj is captured for reference of students. The relevant sources and references are indicated below and wherever appropriate.

IT Consulting

1. Consulting Basics
2. Types of IT Consulting
3. Critical Skills for IT Consultants
4. Consulting Process
5. Pricing of Consulting Services
6. Request for Proposals (RFPs)
7. Proposal Writing
8. Illustrative models_frameworks_techniques_and_tools used in consulting
9. Managing Client Expectations and Relationships

Business Analysis

1. Introduction to Business Analysis
   • What is Business Analysis?
   • Business Analysis Core Competence Model;
   • BA Knowledge Areas
   • BA Process View
   • Roles and Career progression of BA
   • Foundation competencies for BA roles
   • BA Tools and Techniques
2. Stakeholder Management
   • Who is a stakeholder?
   • Stakeholder Categories;
   • Typical stakeholders;
   • Stakeholder identification approach;
   • Stakeholder analysis and management strategies
3. Types of Requirements
   • What is a requirement?
   • Business Requirements, Stakeholder Requirements, Solution (Functional and Non-Functional) Requirements, Transition Requirements;
   • Categories of Non-Functional Requirements, Impact of Non-Functional Requirements on each other
4. Requirement Elicitation
   • Types of Elicitation Techniques – Collaborative, Research and Experimental;
   • Collaborative Techniques (Interviews, Focus Group Discussion, Brainstorming, Survey and Workshop);
   • Research Techniques (Document Analysis, Business Rules Analysis, Interface Analysis, Process Modeling and Analysis, Benchmarking and Market Analysis);
   • Experimental Techniques (Observations and Prototyping).
   • Selecting Elicitation Technique (s)
   • Elicitation of Non-Functional Requirements
5. Requirement Analysis and Design
   • Requirement Analysis
   • Vision Statement (A template and illustration)
   • Sample Business Objectives
   • What is a Model? What are the Model categories?
   • List of Modeling Techniques (An exhaustive list of techniques listed in BABOK)
   • Modeling Techniques Explained (Decision Models; Swimlane Diagram; State Modeling; Feature Tree; Context Diagram; Use Cases; Use Case Diagram;
   • Use Case Template
   • User Stories
   • Sample Non-Functional Requirements
   • Characteristics of Ideal Requirement Statements
   • Characteristics of Ideal Requirement Collections
   • Verification of Requirements
   • Validation of Requirements
6. Requirement Lifecycle Management
   • MoSCoW Framework of Prioritization of Requirements
   • Quantitative Approach to Prioritization of Requirements
   • Multipass Requirement Prioritization
   • Traceability of Requirements

Agile Methodologies

Any discussion on Technology Consulting is incomplete without introducing Agile Methodologies. Refer the page on Agile_Methodologies for an introduction and pointers to few learning resources.

While there are several benefits of Agile Methodologies, one of the challenges of these methods is on the choice of pricing models for IT projects. Refer the page on Pricing of Agile Projects for a detailed discussion on the challenges and possible solutions.

AI Tools for Consulting and Business Analysis

AI tools are used in every profession for improving the speed, efficiency and quality. It is very much applicable for Consulting Profession. Some practical scenarios of AI usage are provided in the AI tools for Consulting and Business Analysis page.

References

• Management and IT Consultancy – Sanjiva Shankar Dubey: Tata McGraw Hill
• BABoK-Business Analysis Body of Knowledge, IIBA, Version 3
• Wiegers, K., & Beatty, J. (2013). Software requirements. Microsoft Press.
• Paul, D., Cadle, J., & Yeates, D. (Eds.). (2014). Business analysis. BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT.
• Cadle, J., Paul, D., & Turner, P. (2010). Business analysis techniques: 72 essential tools for success. BCS, The Chartered Institute.