POSTER 07
Section 3 · Business Analysis — The Discipline
Business Analysis & Its Six Domains
Business analysis is the set of activities that determine needs, recommend solutions and enable value delivery. In one line: BA finds the right problem and defines the right solution; the PM then delivers that solution right. The two are partners, not rivals.
Visual Map — The Six Business-Analysis Domains
1 · Needs Assessment
find & justify the right problem ▸ 2 · Stakeholder Engagement
plan BA & engage the right people ▸ 3 · Elicitation
draw out needs & requirements ▸ 4 · Analysis
model, specify & validate ▸ 5 · Traceability & Monitoring
link, baseline & manage change ▸ 6 · Solution Evaluation
prove value vs the need
find & justify the right problem ▸ 2 · Stakeholder Engagement
plan BA & engage the right people ▸ 3 · Elicitation
draw out needs & requirements ▸ 4 · Analysis
model, specify & validate ▸ 5 · Traceability & Monitoring
link, baseline & manage change ▸ 6 · Solution Evaluation
prove value vs the need
Stakeholder Engagement and Traceability & Monitoring run continuously across the others; Elicitation ↔ Analysis iterate as a tight loop. The chain is shown left→right but the work is iterative, not strictly sequential.
BA vs PM — Two Roles, One Goal
| Lens | Business Analyst | Project Manager |
|---|---|---|
| Core question | Are we building the right thing? | Are we building the thing right? |
| Owns | Needs, requirements, solution scope, value | Time, cost, resources, delivery, risk |
| Key outputs | Business case, requirements, traceability, evaluation | Charter, plans, baselines, status reports |
| Shared ground | Scope · stakeholders · change control · quality · communication | |
Key Concepts
- Need ≠ requirement: a need is the problem; a requirement is a stated condition the solution must meet.
- BA can be a role or a set of activities anyone may perform.
- BA is product-focused; PM is project-focused.
- BA spans strategy → delivery → value, including after go-live.
Exam Concepts
- Know the 6 domains and their order.
- Requirements are the heart of business analysis.
- BA precedes & outlives the project (needs → evaluation).
- Stakeholder engagement & traceability are continuous.
Executive View
- Good BA slashes costly rework by getting requirements right early.
- Ties every requirement to a business value.
- Bridges strategy and delivery — fewer orphaned features.
Industry Example
Defence
- Upgrading a vessel's combat-management system: BA elicits needs from operators & maintainers, defines requirements, traces each to a capability gap, and later evaluates the fielded system against mission outcomes.
Relationships
- Feeds the project charter (via the business case) and the PMBOK 7 value delivery system (Poster 4).
- Supports portfolio selection — needs assessment justifies the investment.
- Solution evaluation links to benefits realisation in programs (Poster 16).
Memory Hooks
- "Right problem · right solution · real value."
- Domain order — N·S·E·A·T·S: "Never Stop Eliciting And Tracing Solutions."
- BA = the "what & why"; PM = the "how & when."
60-sec Review
Name the 6 domains in order
BA vs PM core question
Need vs requirement
Which 2 domains are continuous?
Where BA outlives the project
PMI Visual Wall · Poster 07 · Business Analysis — Discipline & Domains · original instructional design · A3 landscape