Reorganizing Business Analysis in an Information Technology Environment

Abstract

This project was initiated to identify changes needed for the existing structure of the business analysis process and the organization of Business Analysts within the Information Technology (IT) department of a major financial institution. The organization currently experiences a large number of quality issues that are found after the products are implemented rather than during project Initiation, Planning or Execution phases. This results in re-work costs, shortage of resources for strategic initiatives and issues with both employee morale and customer satisfaction. Management has identified weak business analysis processes as a key driver in the high number of resource hours spent on day-to-day unplanned issues. Analysis of data collected from interviews conducted with a cross-section of the IT staff were used to identify areas to be considered for process improvement. The current state was researched using data obtained from the interview process and data analyzed and prioritized using Cause and Effect Analysis. Pareto and Tornado analysis provided further insights into the data. Using the results of the data analysis, some potential short-term and long-term solutions were selected to address identified weaknesses, and potentially reduce time spent on unanticipated non-discretionary tasks, thereby increasing the availability of resources to address the organization’s key initiatives.