Business analysis is a discipline, a set of techniques and tools, adopted to understand the main needs and limitations of a company, as well as the potential and opportunities, in order to promote positive changes. In this way, it works as a complete diagnosis, which shows the best path to organizational growth and success at a given moment.
This process can be implemented as a project and brings a series of benefits, such as clarity about the organization’s strengths or differences and limitations that must be overcome to achieve its objectives. Furthermore, it is possible to use business analysis to support decision-making about action plans to be implemented and improvements.
Want to know how to perform an efficient business analysis? So, keep reading and find out what it takes to do a good job!
Define a scope of business analysis
When talking about business analysis, many people want to start by collecting detailed data about the company and diagnosing problems quickly.
Although such steps are important in the analysis, it is worth taking a step back to start with a clear definition of what the objectives and expected results of this process are and what their scope is. In other words: you need to define a scope.
The main focus of the business analysis that will be carried out in the company and those responsible must be understood. Furthermore, the necessary steps must be established and an execution schedule created for each of them.
It is also important to define who the main stakeholders and their interests are. It’s time to understand who the interlocutors will be throughout the project and, even, what deliverables will be offered to them.
Raise team awareness about business analysis
When talking about business analysis, it is necessary to define someone responsible for the project and, perhaps, a team that will help you achieve the objectives.
It should also be considered that a company is made up of a series of other teams and collaborators who will need to contribute and generate important information so that the analysis can be carried out with quality.
Therefore, it is also important to talk to all employees about the project, explaining its objectives and the contribution it will make.
In this aspect, it is worth making it clear that this is not the time to identify those “culprits” for errors, but rather to understand how they occur and the best way to resolve them, reassuring the team and eliminating the feeling of threat that the project can generate.
Understand your value proposition
It is essential to know that, in business analysis, the focus is always on generating value for the company’s end customer. In other words: this project aims to help the business understand how it generates value for the customer and how this can be enhanced.
Therefore, understand what value your company effectively offers. What problems or pains do you propose to solve with your products or services?
At this point, it is also possible to identify the differentiators that the business is capable of offering, starting to diagnose improvements that must be made to add even more value to its customers.
Identify business objectives
Does your company already have a structured strategic plan? If so, it’s time to review it in order to identify what the business objectives are, how they relate to the value you generate for the customer and what their main needs or demands are. If you haven’t already, start drawing a draft of what this strategic plan would be.
Therefore, be clear about the business objectives and how analysis can help achieve them. Take the opportunity to also review the role of each of the company’s areas in achieving these objectives and the goals proposed to employees.
Review your internal processes
Each sector of the company has specific internal processes. Even the areas most distant from the end customer are able to contribute to their satisfaction with the products or services offered, that is, they are able to add value. Therefore, it is important that you review all your internal processes during the business analysis.
To map all processes, it is essential that you contact each area of the company to understand how activities are carried out, those responsible for them, the expected results and the relationships between the different departments. Take the opportunity to identify problems that employees already notice.
From there, review each of the activities in order to identify how they are capable of generating value for the company’s end customer. You may discover that some important internal processes are not taking place within your business.
On the other hand, you can also notice activities that do not add value and, therefore, can be automated or even eliminated.
Document analysis and create action plans
Knowledge management is essential in all projects you implement in the company, which includes business analysis. This way, create a report with the information collected, conclusions about what was analyzed and even proposals for action for the future.
This document must come out of paper through action plans to improve the company as a whole. Therefore, use the results of the analysis to create strategies and enhance the results of your company as a whole. Don’t forget to measure results periodically to ensure that they are achieving the expected objectives.
As you can see, business analysis is very important for you to understand the potential of the business and the limitations that must be overcome, which can generate improvement projects.
Project management software can be essential for you to organize the analysis steps and monitor the results. You can have projects focusing on business analysis or business analysis within larger projects. In addition, it is also possible to have tools for mapping processes, creating reports or action plans and automating processes.
Do you want help carrying out business analysis in your company? So, contact Smart Consulting right now and find out how we can be your greatest allies in this process!
