Defining the role of the business analyst: The Business Analysis Service Framework HENLEY BUSINESS SCHOOL THE UNIVERSITY OF READING Debra Paul February 2018 Declaration I confirm that this is my own work and the use of all material from other sources has been properly and fully acknowledged. ……………………………………… Debra Paul February 2018 ii Acknowledgements There are many people who have supported me during this research process. Firstly, my supervisors, Dr. Yin Leng Tan and Dr. Vaughan Michell, who provided extensive, much- needed guidance and encouragement and without whom, this research would not have been accomplished. Secondly, all of the BA specialists (the ‘mini-cases’) who gave their time, experiences and insights so that I could gain understanding of the business analysis service offering, and the business analysts and project managers who provided observations that were invaluable in validating the research findings. I also wish to thank my colleagues at Assist Knowledge Development Ltd. for their support, and Lawrence Darvill for allowing me to report on the Business Analysis Manager Forum. My fellow DBA students have been an ongoing source of support, encouragement and humour along the way; I am extremely thankful for the friendship and all of the shared experiences. I also wish to thank Dr. Claire Collins, who offered wise advice at so many points, and the team at Henley Business School for all of their assistance. Finally, an endeavour such as this research inevitably requires a great deal of understanding and help from family and friends. My children, James and Catriona, deserve particular thanks for accepting my regular absences and for being sufficiently interested in my work to discuss business analysis (on far too many occasions). However, as always, my biggest thanks have to go to my husband Alan who has been my supporter-in-chief at every step of this process and without whom I could not have succeeded in completing this research. iii Publications and Presentations Academic conferences and journals Paul, D., Tan, Y.L., (2015), An Investigation of the Role of Business Analysts in IS Development, Twenty-Third European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS), Münster, Germany, 2015 Tan, Y.L., Nakata, K., Paul, D., (2016), Aligning Postgraduate IS Programs with Industry: Linking Business Analysis Curricula Design with Professional Body, Twenty-second Americas Conference on Information Systems, San Diego, 2016 Tan, Y.L., Nakata, K., Paul, D (pending). Aligning IS Masters Programs with Industry (submitted to Journal of Information Systems Education) Books Girvan, L. & Paul, D. 2017. Agile and Business Analysis, Swindon, BCS. Cadle, J., Paul, D. & Turner, P. 2014. Business Analysis Techniques, 2nd Edition, Swindon, BCS. Paul, D., Cadle, J. & Yeates, D. 2014. Business Analysis, 3rd Edition, Swindon, BCS. Thomas, P., Paul, D. & Cadle, J. 2012. The Human Touch, Swindon, BCS. Presentations at practitioner conferences Paul, D., 2017, Keynote: Recognition and Relevance: Two Sides of the BA Story, BA Camp, Vienna, 2017 Paul, D., 2016, Business Analysis: Enabling successful change, Department of Work and Pensions Business Analysis Seminar, Manchester, 2016 Paul, D., 2013, Keynote: Business Analysis: The Third Wave, Business Analysis Conference Europe, London, 2013 iv Abstract Abstract This thesis reports on an empirical study into business analysis (BA), a professional IS discipline. This subject is deemed relevant for investigation for three reasons: the volume of BA practitioners employed worldwide; the continuing problems reported regarding IS project outcomes; and the lack of empirical research that has been conducted into BA. A key area of concern for IS projects is the definition of requirements, an area that falls within the BA remit. However, there is limited extant literature concerning BA and there is ambiguity with regard to the business analyst role. Role theory (Solomon et al. 1985) suggests that a lack of role clarity can diminish performance and cause uncertainty on the part of practitioners and customers. Therefore, the aim of this research is to clarify the role of the IS business analyst and offer a service definition that will support the effective conduct of BA work. A conceptual framework for this study, adapted from the work of Pettigrew et al (2001), is used to examine the business analyst role from four dimensions: the organisational and personal context for BA; the content of IS projects; the process standards, skills and techniques for performing BA; and the outcomes from BA. Case study research has been carried out to explore perspectives on BA. The case is the Business Analysis Manager Forum (BAMF), a professional organisation for managerial-level business analysts. Selected BAMF representatives, all designated BA specialists, shared their experiences and observations regarding the business analyst role, activities and work practices. The data provided by the BA specialists was analysed using template analysis in order to identify themes within the data. Service science provided a theoretical basis for examining the activities performed by business analysts, the skills and techniques used, and the potential for value co-creation with business stakeholders. This enabled the identification and definition of the core services offered by business analysts. The study resulted in the development of two artefacts that are intended to support understanding and recognition of BA: the Business Analysis Service Framework, which defines six services and their corresponding activities, techniques and value proposition; and the business analyst T- shape, which has applied the T-shaped professional concept (Spohrer and Maglio, 2010) to define the skills and techniques required of professional business analysts. These artefacts are proposed as a means of clarifying the business analyst role for practitioners, their business stakeholders and future researchers and, as such, offer a positive contribution to BA theory and practice. v Contents Table of Contents Declaration ............................................................................................................................. ii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................... iii Publications and Presentations ............................................................................................. iv Abstract .................................................................................................................................. v Table of Contents .................................................................................................................. vi List of Figures ...................................................................................................................... xiv List of Tables ....................................................................................................................... xvi List of abbreviations ............................................................................................................ xix 1 Introduction to the study .................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Chapter introduction ................................................................................................. 1 1.2 The context for this study ......................................................................................... 1 1.3 IS business analysis in practice ................................................................................ 2 1.4 Theory relevant to IS business analysis ................................................................... 3 1.5 The pilot study .......................................................................................................... 4 1.6 The research aim and objectives .............................................................................. 5 1.7 The research design and method adopted ............................................................... 6 1.8 The structure of this thesis ....................................................................................... 7 1.9 Chapter summary ..................................................................................................... 9 2 Literature review ............................................................................................................ 11 2.1 Rationale and structure of this chapter ................................................................... 11 2.2 Role theory and IS roles ......................................................................................... 11 Role theory and role definition ......................................................................... 12 Prior research into IS roles .............................................................................. 14 The business analyst role ................................................................................ 18 Business analysis activities ............................................................................. 23 vi Contents Section summary: role theory and IS roles ...................................................... 27 2.3 The IS context for business analysis ...................................................................... 27 The nature and characteristics of systems ...................................................... 27 Socio-technical systems thinking ....................................................................