Technique 24: Background research
This is also called report analysis or background reading.
Description of the technique
There are many reasons for initiating a business analysis project. These include
a change in business strategy, a request from a senior manager, changes to a
related business area, and legal or regulatory changes. One may even follow on
from a feasibility study. This usually means that documentation exists to explain
why the business analysis is required. There may also be a Terms of Reference
statement for the study, or formal project documentation such as a Project
Initiation Document. Examining such documentation will often provide
information that will help the analyst uncover a wide range of stakeholders,
including those working outside the area under investigation. For example, a
feasibility study might have included discussions with managers and staff from
areas of the organisation that, at first sight, appear to be unrelated to the project,
or the source of the original idea might be an external stakeholder such as a
major customer or supplier. Any individuals or groups identified when examining
background documentation should be entered on the list of initial stakeholders.
Using background research
It is important to locate the documents that could be helpful in identifying
stakeholders, and sometimes these are not obvious. If there are pre-project
or project documents then they should be made available to the analyst.
However, sometimes work has been done by a different team or under the
authorisation of a different sponsor, and it can be difficult to find the related
documents. The key approach here is to find out if there have been any other
studies looking at similar areas, and obtain copies of the documentation that was
produced.
Other documents that are often found within organisations and can be useful
when identifying stakeholders are Organisation Charts or Project Structures.
The Organisation Charts will show where stakeholders sit in the organisation,
and can be the source of valuable information. For example, there may be
work areas that have not been mentioned previously but are potentially linked
to the business situation under investigation, or may be affected by any
recommendations. Any such stakeholders need to be identified and
categorised during stakeholder analysis.
One tool that can be extremely useful for stakeholder identification is the
Organisation Diagram (Technique 35). It is described in full in Chapter 4, ‘Analyse
needs’, since its primary use is in the analysis of business process improvements.
This diagram includes an analysis of the external suppliers of resources to the
organisation, and the customer groups that receive products, services and
information. The breakdown shown for these groups can provide a great deal of
insight into these stakeholders and their perspectives. In addition, the diagram
shows the organisations that are competitors, some of whom may be stakeholders
for a particular business analysis assignment.
Technique 24: Background researchThis is also called report analysis or background reading.Description of the techniqueThere are many reasons for initiating a business analysis project. These includea change in business strategy, a request from a senior manager, changes to arelated business area, and legal or regulatory changes. One may even follow onfrom a feasibility study. This usually means that documentation exists to explainwhy the business analysis is required. There may also be a Terms of Referencestatement for the study, or formal project documentation such as a ProjectInitiation Document. Examining such documentation will often provideinformation that will help the analyst uncover a wide range of stakeholders,including those working outside the area under investigation. For example, afeasibility study might have included discussions with managers and staff fromareas of the organisation that, at first sight, appear to be unrelated to the project,or the source of the original idea might be an external stakeholder such as amajor customer or supplier. Any individuals or groups identified when examiningbackground documentation should be entered on the list of initial stakeholders.Using background researchIt is important to locate the documents that could be helpful in identifyingstakeholders, and sometimes these are not obvious. If there are pre-projector project documents then they should be made available to the analyst.However, sometimes work has been done by a different team or under theauthorisation of a different sponsor, and it can be difficult to find the relateddocuments. The key approach here is to find out if there have been any otherstudies looking at similar areas, and obtain copies of the documentation that wasproduced.Other documents that are often found within organisations and can be usefulwhen identifying stakeholders are Organisation Charts or Project Structures.The Organisation Charts will show where stakeholders sit in the organisation,and can be the source of valuable information. For example, there may bework areas that have not been mentioned previously but are potentially linkedto the business situation under investigation, or may be affected by anyrecommendations. Any such stakeholders need to be identified andcategorised during stakeholder analysis.One tool that can be extremely useful for stakeholder identification is theOrganisation Diagram (Technique 35). It is described in full in Chapter 4, ‘Analyseneeds’, since its primary use is in the analysis of business process improvements.This diagram includes an analysis of the external suppliers of resources to theorganisation, and the customer groups that receive products, services andinformation. The breakdown shown for these groups can provide a great deal ofinsight into these stakeholders and their perspectives. In addition, the diagramshows the organisations that are competitors, some of whom may be stakeholders
for a particular business analysis assignment.
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