Create: Thinkpiece

Overview

Requirements Analysis and Design

Thinkpiece Assignment

Overview and Rationale

Every week we cover in-depth topics related to requirements management and analysis.

Business Analysis is consistently changing and thought leadership ensures you inform the

future of our profession. Therefore, instead of an exam, you will draft a thinkpiece that

bridges theory and practice and aims to inform the field.

Why a thinkpiece?

To help you find your voice as a thought leader,

To critically engage with the literature of the field.

To syntehsize information to form unique and interesting connections.

To "play" with the field's ideas, techniques, and frameworks.

When is the thinkpiece due?

You can submit it any time beginning Module 2 and ending Module 5.

It is recommended that you familiarize yourself with the questions during Module 2

and review the syllabus and your schedule to determine when to best submit your

thinkpiece.

Do not wait until week 5; the thinkpiece requires knowledge gained throughout the

modules. Work on it as your thinking evolves with the course content.

What are the assignment requirements?

Develop and defend a perspective on the literature we are engaging with.

Apply concepts of Business Analysis from the Project Management Institute (PMI)

and International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA) standards.

Incorporate class readings into your response.

Use sources to support, extend, and inform, but not substitute, your own

development of an idea.

Diagrams and visual representations that add value to the thinkpiece are welcome

and encouraged.

12pt Times New Roman font, single spaced, well organized, 3-8 pages following the

latest APA edition for citation of sources.

o As a reminder, blogposts and product demos are not trustworthy sources.

o Plagiarism is stealing and will result in a zero on this assignment. Regarding

plagiarism, I especially set high standards for BAs, as it's our job to analyze

and make meaning. Copying the work of others or simply summarizing work

without critical analysis is a direct contradiction to our profession.

1Please choose one of the following questions to center your thinkpiece on:

1. As you have seen in this course, there are many processes for requirements

management and analysis. Therefore, it is easy for organizations to get lost in trying

to follow a process. They end up losing the essence of requirements analysis. What

is your understanding of the essence of requirements analysis? What 4-5 criteria

can organizations use to tailor a requirements process to fit their needs? (Use

Module 1-3 resources)

2. All requirements analysis work needs to be linked to the strategy and objectives of

the organization. How can business analysts ensure this alignment? What strategies

and techniques can the BA use to work with stakeholders in "connecting the dots"

between requirements work and the business strategy? Are there any requirements

modeling techniques that would be helpful in such an endeavor? (Use Module 2-4

resources)

3. Services like hotels, airlines, spas, coffee shops, and financial services have a mix of

tangible and intangible components. How might we develop a requirements

management process for services? What aspects of requirements management do

you envision to be critical for services? What aspects are unnecessary? (Use Module

3-5 resources)

4. Nonprofits/nongovermneal organizations, governments, and the United Nations

(UN) run many projects, programs, and products that aim to resolve some of

society's most complex issues. How might we develop a requirements process for

such organizations? What do you envision requirements writing and prioritizing to

look like within this context? (Use Module 1-3 resources)