The Business Analysis Handbook – 2nd Edition
Upgrade your career and organization with this handbook offering expert guidance on the business analysis role, supported by tools and templates.
The Business Analysis Handbook was ground-breaking in providing a hands-on guide to the business analyst role. This second edition reflects key developments and new career pathways in the profession.
Business analysis helps organizations to develop an informed understanding of the solutions they need to drive effective change. In the age of digital transformation, the role is more important than ever. Written by an expert, the book provides practical advice on both the skills and the nitty-gritty activities of the profession and outlines tools and techniques with guidelines on how and when to apply them.
This second edition offers increased guidance on remote working and different career pathways in business analysis. Readers will also benefit from a new chapter on how to build the business analysis function effectively in an organization, supported by skills matrix examples, training strategies and tips on career development. It also features examples of hot topics such as agile, sustainability and digital transformation. This is an indispensable guide for business analysts looking to upgrade their skills set and careers. It will also be invaluable for business leaders seeking to harness the value of the business analysis function within their organizations.
Testimonials
“More enterprises are delivering complex business change in shorter time scales than ever before. If you are keen to build your work experience portfolio, this new edition of The Business Analysis Handbook has answers to the most frequent questions, observations and lived scenarios out there. Consider this book like being in conversation with the author; an author with the clarity and passion to inspire your career goals.“
Jag Sohal
Senior IT Business Relationship Manager and BCS Early Careers Advocate
“The Business Analysis Handbook provides us with all the tools to analyze the business needs and requirements of our IT projects. What sets this book apart from other books on this subject is the way Helen Winter succeeds in connecting theory with practice through the use of interesting lifelike cases and ready-to-use templates. These templates now form the basis of our business analysis documentation“
Peter Goedemé
CIO, Katholiek Onderwijs Vlaanderen (Catholic Education Flanders)
“Indispensable for any professional aiming to enhance their expertise in the field, the second edition of The Business Analysis Handbook is an exceptional guide, distinguished by the inclusion of a chapter exploring business analysis maturity and transition.“
Harpal Lidder
Business Analyst, Ontario Pension Board
“Indispensable for any professional aiming to enhance their expertise in the field, the second edition of The Business Analysis Handbook is an exceptional guide, distinguished by the inclusion of a chapter exploring business analysis maturity and transition.“
Harpal Lidder
Business Analyst, Ontario Pension Board
“Whatever their job title might be, this book is invaluable to anyone carrying out business analysis. Full of hard-won knowledge from Helen Winter’s extensive experience of projects and programmes of change, it is filled with ways to apply business analysis within organisations right now. Containing guidance on key areas, as well as tips and templates to help you do a great job, this book is one you can turn to for support. I particularly like this edition’s new chapter and how it covers what business analysts might do next, as it charts out the wide range of possibilities that exist.“
Dr Penny Pullan
author of Virtual Leadership and co-author of Business Analysis and Leadership
“The Business Analysis Handbook is an accessible and practical review of foundational business analysis skills and principles. The FAQ format highlights questions and challenges I hear from Business Analysists every day, and the answers provide actionable and practical guidance to help current business analysts thrive in today’s fast-moving environment.“
Laura Brandenburg
CEO, Bridging the Gap and author of How to Start a Business Analyst Career
The Business Analysis Handbook
FINALIST: Business Book Awards 2020 – Specialist Book Category
FINALIST: PMI UK National Project Awards 2019 – Project Management Literature Category
The business analyst role can cover a wide range of responsibilities, including the elicitation and documenting of business requirements, upfront strategic work, design and implementation phases. Typical difficulties faced by analysts include stakeholders who disagree or don’t know their requirements, handling estimates and project deadlines that conflict, and what to do if all the requirements are top priority. The Business Analysis Handbook offers practical solutions to these and other common problems which arise when uncovering requirements or conducting business analysis.
Getting requirements right is difficult; this book offers guidance on delivering the right project results, avoiding extra cost and work, and increasing the benefits to the organization. The Business Analysis Handbook provides an understanding of the analyst role and the soft skills required, and outlines industry standard tools and techniques with guidelines on their use to suit the most appropriate situations. Covering numerous techniques such as Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN), use cases and user stories, this essential guide also includes standard templates to save time and ensure nothing important is missed.
The book is available from www.koganpage.com and all major print and e-book retailers.’
Testimonials
“This is a reference book for Business Analysts. In particular, if you are contemplating joining or are new to the profession, then you will benefit from the practical guidance. Many books on this subject limit themselves to technical skills like process modelling, data modelling, document production and so on. This book recognises and emphasises that an effective Business Analyst needs a mixture of both technical and sociological skills.
Some of the high points:
- Identification of the 5 main challenges of the Business Analysis profession
- Recognition of how modalities, personal tastes in communication, help the BA to plan
the most effective way of working with people- Overview of the most common process and data modelling techniques
- Understanding requirements in both business and system contexts
- Emphasis on effective working relationships
If you read this book from cover to cover you will get a clear picture of what Business Analysis is all about and what is expected of a Business Analyst. Equally you would do well to use the book as a reference to guide and inspire you in doing your everyday work.“
Suzanne Robertson
Principal
The Atlantic Systems Guild Ltd
“What makes this book unique from others is its no-nonsense approach to explaining key Business Analysis concepts, which are brought to life by Helen’s personal experiences. Whether you are new to Business Analysis or an experienced practitioner, the Business Analysis Handbook is an essential reference guide for your book collection.“
Pardeep Dhanda
IIBA UK Director
““Helen’s book provides a good overview of the business analysis role, processes, techniques, and deliverables. It is written, such that it is valuable to both someone wanting to enter the business analyst role and experienced business analysts looking for a thorough overview of the role. I like that the book goes beyond describing business analysis tasks, techniques, and deliverables. It covers both hard and soft skills required for a business analyst. It also addresses some of the challenges you will face as a business analyst, along with tips to overcome those challenges. I like how Helen pulls from her experience to provide real-life examples that demonstrate the techniques and their benefits. Finally, the book provides some valuable templates to help you get started. Overall, The Business Analysis Handbook is a very nice, well-rounded book for business analysts.“
Vicki McCracken
Requirements Analyst and author of Requirements for an MDM Solution
“I had the pleasure to work with Helen on a very challenging digital transformation program, where we collaborated on shaping the emerging practices, and Helen’s experience helped us all to keep the focus on outcomes. It was very inspiring to observe how Helen used her drive and vast experience to establish good BA practices in a wider business, and effectively design training programmes for her team, as well as iteratively improving practices in the agile delivery context. I am really looking forward to having this great reference on my bookshelf!“
Susan Engel
Lead Product and Innovation Consultant, Zuhlke Engineering
“Helens book is a great demonstration of her knowledge of business analysis.This book is a testimonial of her ability’s and the support she shares with the BA Community.
This book is a great aid for business analysts wanting to refer to techniques to help support them with current projects, tasks and people interested in the profession.
Having had the pleasure of working with Helen it’s great to see the final results and now more people will be able to benefit from her wisdom. “
Leanne Carnegie
Business Analyst
“Helen has produced an insightful and engaging addition to the published body of work on Business Analysis. This is a ‘must-read’ book for anybody considering a career in the profession or for practicing Business Analysts across all levels of experience.“
Marc Edwards
Business analyst
“Helen demonstrates in clear language the value of and need for the Business Analyst role. Through her vast business experience Helen has a deep understanding of Business Analysis techniques.
She shows how these can be applied to enable business change in a pragmatic manner by highlighting the importance of the Business Analyst in being an informed and trusted partner.
The ‘Business Analysis Handbook’ is the essential A to Z for both budding and experienced Business Analysts, which provides an invaluable balance of theory and application.“
Richard Snow
Head of Change
“So many people are ‘doing’ business analysis without even realising it, and certainly without formal training or recognition. This superbly organised book demystifies the subject, and serves as a valuable primer for anyone considering a career in the field or interested in applying its principles to their work: in a world where change and uncertainty are the new normal, embedding business analysis throughout the organisation leads to higher quality thinking, which in turn leads to better decision making. The section providing tools and templates will be especially welcomed by anyone wishing to understand and emulate best practice.’“
Alison Jones
Innovation strategist, host of the Extraordinary Business Book Club and founder of Practical Inspiration Publishing.
“This book is amazing, and I vouch that the techniques presented in this book are practical, as I have seen Helen deliver successful business change programmes using the techniques that she has shared in this book. I have recommended every staff of my company to read this book, as I truly believe that following the principles in this book will help one build a stronger trust with the customer and deliver solutions to their expectations. “
Anil Passi
Head of Architecture, Fusion Practices
“Helen is committed to growing her business analysis expertise (the profession has to grow to remain useful). This book is her gift to the business analyst community to help others grow.“
Alex Papworth
Adventurer
