Cheat Sheet: The Value-Driven BA
Not every organization has people in business analysis roles. Sometimes project managers have to take on some BA functions (and BAs do the same in return when a project manager isn’t stepping up or there isn’t one allocated yet/at all).
Laura Brandenburg, my go-to expert on all things BA, launched a book this year that condenses loads of good advice for people doing the BA responsibilities on projects.
I’ve done a book summary to give you the main takeaways.
The Value-Driven Business Analyst is written primarily for current or aspiring business analysts, but it’s highly relevant for project managers who work alongside BAs or who find themselves performing BA responsibilities, especially in smaller teams or hybrid roles.
Key Framework: The 8-Step Business Analysis Process
The core of the book is the 8-Step BA Process. For project managers, this acts as a hybrid BA/PM roadmap for structuring project conversations and deliverables around value.
1. Get Oriented
- Learn the landscape: systems, stakeholders, terminology
- Ask beginner questions: “What is the business problem we’re trying to solve?”
- Don’t assume alignment, verify purpose early and often
2. Discover the Primary Business Objectives
- Uncover stakeholder goals and what success looks like
- Use open-ended questions like: “What’s the trigger for this project?”
- Focus scope discussions around business objectives, not just task lists
3. Define Scope
- Identify what’s in and out of scope by anchoring back to objectives
- Use visual models or context diagrams
- Rein in scope creep by aligning scope to value, not assumptions
4. Formulate Your Business Analysis Plan
- Define how requirements will be gathered, documented, validated
- Clarify stakeholders’ availability and expectations
- Make the BA plan visible in the overall project plan, it sets the rhythm for discovery work
5. Define Detailed Requirements
- Engage stakeholders to refine features, rules, data, workflows
- Use models like use cases, process flows, and user stories
- Consider progressive elaboration here, don’t front-load every detail
6. Support Implementation
- Clarify requirements with developers and testers
- Handle scope clarifications quickly and confidently
- Use the BA as a buffer to reduce noise in delivery stages
7. Help the Business Get Ready for the Solution
- Contribute to change management, training, and user support
- Anticipate business readiness issues early
- This is often a gap: ensure someone owns operational transition, even if it’s you
8. Assess the Value Created by the Solution
- Post-implementation reflection: did it solve the problem?
- Use metrics where possible, stakeholder interviews where not
- Build this into your lessons learned and benefits realisation reviews
This framework can plug directly into any project lifecycle and gives you a repeatable structure for making sure the right product gets delivered.