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The success of a Product, first step

 
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Society around the globe has different needs and ideas that can be realized through software. From simple landing sites, plugins, ERP-CRM systems, and others, those systems serve for giant businesses or even countries.

The success of a Product first step-header

 

Everybody goes into a project trying not to waste their money during the designing process of their ideas, mainly in such ways as:

  • Hire cheaper Staff/Outsourcing companies
  • Work with a smaller team than needed
  • Skip market research
  • Skip problem research
  • Skip hiring a consultant or business analyst.

Let’s review each point

  1. This is the common behavior of each immature company, European and American software-development companies charge more than outsourcing based in Ukraine, India, Russia, other CIS. The hiring of such companies is a good chance to save money.
  2. Companies overload their staff and make them work over standard performance - it reduces costs on the start but increases the expenses in the long-run.
  3. Market research is continuous and required constant market observation. It includes market state research, competitor’s analysis, product’s audience research, customer personas. It is a continuous process, required additional investments. It is a vital stage when a company decides to invest, or it will be a wasting of money.
  4. One more vital process for cost-saving is problem research, the research is a background for a solution. It defines the approach, how your company will spend money on reaching results. Mistakes on the step magnificently increase expenses.
  5. Initially, it’s obvious that less staff reduces costs, but then it turns against a company. Let’s consider why, and what are the business analyst role in your product success.

As is:

Imagine that project development is the building of a child constructor, and we have to design a tower. As a precondition, we do not have a limit for parts and assortment.

Building Blocks

Is that the tower you are expected? It is different from what I imagined.

Each of your teammates or employee(s) has their own imagination, each of them adds their own blocks in building the tower, that is why you get an unexpected final result.

What if you get unexpected results? You ask about changes. The development team starts the development process again, they make changes, consume more time and money. The process grows a few times more expensive than originally budgeted.

The most common question is why?

Question

This is a lack of business analysis. Stakeholders communicate directly with the whole team to provide requirements to them, but that information is not processed properly and described for the development team.

To be:

The availability of business analysts normalizes processes.

Business analysts have a lot of responsibilities, some are required before project start other ones are continuous during the SDLS. To meet expectations with the tower, what an analyst should do:

  • Elicit client’s needs
  • Confirm requirements with a client (verification)
  • Design solution and design them with the development team

 

As a result:

  • The client is confident, that the team received correct requirements
  • The team is acquainted with verified needs and able to design the correct architecture to meet expectations
  • The client gets expected result

Results


What is the result if a business analyst is involved?

Completed Project

Hiring the right staff on the initial phase save your company millions.


Advance Business Analysis Capabilities

Organizations can help their enterprise make better data driven decisions by empowering their business analysts to play a critical role in data science team. The IIBA Global Corporate Program provides the support and resources to build and enhance business analysis capabilities. Some of those resources include enterprise access to the Data Business Analysis guide, the BABOK guide, Corporate Leader Webinars, Corporate Benchmark survey, as well as membership and certification for the individual practitioners. Moreover, IIBA’s Global Corporate Program provides organizations an opportunity to help shape the future of our profession and the support IIBA provides back to our community.

 

 

 

About the Author:  

Mykyta (Nick) Melnyk, has over 3 years of experience in business analysis and project management. Now work for EPAM, previously worked in product and outsourcing companies. Love travel, always studying for something new.