Get Good In, Get Good Out...and Keep BA's Happy!

So I saw this posting and had to share it.  Funny how the first thing I thought about was how it applied to business stakeholders and business analysis.

But think about it for a few.  How many times have you read a business case and wondered how in the world the person came to the conclusion!?  I love the business case of a 12 month project that was submitted, but revenue projections show that they will be bringing in revenue on the second month of the project when the product will not official be available for sale until at least half way through the project!  

The thought that if you act like an adult and think about what value means and how to achieve it and spend some thought about what it will take to achieve this, then you will get more scrutiny from the BA than our minion is providing here.  Yet time and time again I see business cases submitted with the same amount of energy as the decision making being done above.  

Picking the project with the cooler sounding name will only make you cool as long as it takes to read the title.  After that the metal hits the pavement and you have to produce.  Projects fail if they were not well conceived to even start with.  And I adamantly defend BA's that projects do not fail because of bad requirements, but because they were not even setup to scope ANY requirements.  Some forethought to consider what might be involved, even a simple checklist can save a TON of resources!

Get the businesses to consider a simple checklist before submitting any kind of proposal, whether major project or small work enhancement:

• Is there IT components?  (Could there be IT components?)
• Do we do this work in house today?  
• What Legal issues are there?
• What Compliance rules do we have to worry about?
• Have we complied with Branding requirements?
• Who will be my testers to evaluate the solution?
• Do I know my budget?  Have I taken in account budget for any changes?
• Who are the people who use this process?
• Who are the people who support this process?
• Who are the people who pay for this process?
• Who has no clue about this process?  (Should they?)

And I could go on and on - but considering asking someone to look at these questions and for any question they do not know the answer to, then they must NOT submit their request and go find out.  A small checklist can save you a TON of time and headache from trying to work with a project manager to deliver an unrealistic project.  You may not be able to change the stakeholder's mentality but you can get them to consider a few conditions prior to asking for the world.  Then you'l be as happy as a BA with a 'bunch' of requirements!

Spheres of Control, Influence and Control

Working on a team that includes Business Analysts, Project Managers and Software Developers, the sphere of responsibility can quickly grow out of control.  Like any team or organization, prioritization always represents a challenge and a great manager made an interesting thought when some discussion was being made:

"Consider your sphere of control, your sphere of influence and sphere of concern."

I loved this visual concept when thinking about priorities.   I found it a great way to reset myself. 

Think about the things you CAN do (whether you should or not is another thing to think about later) - these are things in your control.  If you can't change how the other team will react, what their priorities are, etc., then stop trying to control it.  Control what you can and prioritize that accordingly.  Then those things you're worrying about - consider what you can influence.  And then only focus on those items.  If you think you have no effect on the outcome, then save your time.  And then concern - what do you need to know so that you can best plan your actions for the future.  These thoughts are great when considering which meetings to attend.  Setup a meeting when you need action - control what you can and influence others to attend and contribute so that you can move on with your deliverables.  When responding to a meeting invite as what your level is for that meeting - control, influence, concern. 

And this can go both ways, especially when considering organizational structures.  A manager that chooses to attend a meeting may positively or negatively influence those attending. 

Everyone is given 24 hours in a day - it is up to you how you spend it, so prioritization gets to be a key component in your daily actions.  So remember what you can control, influence and are concerned about and see if this approach helps you streamline your day for more attention to higher priorities (like surfing! :) ).

What are your thoughts?