Coming from an IT background, I learned that the role of a Business Analyst was to understand both process and content.  Business Analysts defined the requirements process, had to fully understand the business, gather requirements from the business client, and often made scope decisions – therefore, a Business Analyst could not be a Facilitator, the role violated neutrality.  But, with the growth of Business Analysis, thanks to the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA), I have changed my view.  “Why can’t a Business Analyst be Facilitative?” Business Analysts are more successful if they are able to guide their group through a facilitated process to accomplish their task.  They produce better results that have the buy-in of all stakeholders enabling the greatest chance of success.

International Institute of Business Analysis’ (IIBA’s) handbook for Business Analysts – A Guide to the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK®) describes business analysis independently of what type of business the project is for.  In other words, business analysis is business analysis – whether it’s for insurance, construction, marketing, or any other business.

Facilitator Role versus Business Analyst Role

Facilitator Role

“A Facilitator is a content neutral person who guides the group to consensus using effective processes to enable a group to make effective decisions while supporting a collaborative and respectful environment that encourages full participation and helps groups overcome barriers to accomplish their task.  The Facilitator is responsible for the context.” (Rush, 2011, p 1)

Looking at the definition, a Facilitator defines a process for a group that enables them to accomplish a task and then guides the group through the process to accomplish their task.

Effective Facilitators are able to seamlessly integrate the process to accomplish a task along with the emotional group cycle while considering the people’s characteristics.  Facilitators are content neutral – that is, they must not engage in or bring in information or opinions regarding the subject matter or business being discussed.  They do however, through preparation, provide effective processes for a group to follow.  The effective processes brought by the Facilitator focuses the content knowledge brought by the group, enabling effective decision-making.

Facilitators are process experts – experts in the facilitation process.

Business Analyst Role

According to the BABOK® (IIBA version 2.0), “Business Analysis is the set of tasks, knowledge, and techniques required to identify business needs and determine solutions to business problems.  Solutions often include a systems development component, but may also consist of process improvement or organizational change.”

Looking at the definition, Business Analysts are process experts – experts in analysis and requirements definition making them responsible for the context.  It doesn’t state that they have to be content experts.

Rethinking the Role – The Facilitative Business Analyst

What’s required to do business analysis, as described, leads me to rethink the role and believe that a Business Analyst who uses facilitation skills and facilitates requirements can focus on the analysis process and be more effective.

Let’s look at the similarities between them:

• Business Analysts are process experts – experts in analysis and requirements definition.
• Facilitators are process experts – experts in the Facilitation process.
• Both are more knowledgeable about process than about content – they are content neutral.

Business Analysts gather requirements and analyze business just as Facilitators gather information during a workshop.  If analysis is analysis regardless of the type of business, why do Business Analysts need to know content?  So, why can’t we redefine the traditional view of the role of the Business Analyst?

Facilitative Project Manager Core Competencies

To begin, let’s start with the Core Competencies of a Facilitator (IAF, 2003):

1. Create Collaborative Client Relationships.
2. Plan Appropriate Group Processes.
3. Create and Sustain a Participatory Environment.
4. Guide Group to Appropriate and Useful Outcomes.
5. Build and Maintain Professional Knowledge.
6. Model Positive Professional Attitude.

Given that the two roles are similar, we can apply the same core competencies to a Business Analyst as follows:

1. Create Collaborative Client Relationships.

Facilitator: This addresses the Facilitator’s relationship with the client.  Does the Facilitator prepare properly by interviewing the client to define commitment, roles, and outcome?

Business Analyst: The Business Analyst must develop a collaborative client relationship to ensure the requirements are what the client wants.

Business Analysts need to prepare by interviewing their clients to ensure that the business is well understood and the requirements are what the client wants.  This preparation establishes a collaborative relationship.

2. Plan Appropriate Group/Analysis Processes.

Facilitator: This addresses the Facilitator’s ability to design and select the right processes and tools that deliver the desired outcome while supporting a diverse group of people, characteristics, and thinking styles to reach consensus.

Business Analyst: The Business Analyst needs to design and select the right processes and tools that deliver the agreed to requirements while supporting a diverse group of people, their characteristics, and thinking styles.

Business Analysts knowledge of analysis processes properly defines the processes they follow when they facilitate.

3. Create and Sustain a Participatory Environment.

Facilitator: This addresses the ability of the Facilitator to manage communication, manage conflict, enable creativity, and encourage participation.

Business Analyst: The Business Analyst must manage communication, manage conflict, enable creativity, and encourage participation.

Business Analysts must know how to listen, how to enable the creativity of the client, and how to manage conflict all while ensuring that everyone has an equal opportunity to participate.  Note: Understanding how groups evolve (Tuckman, 1965), how diversity impacts groups, and how people think and learn are important to creating and sustaining a participatory environment.

4. Guide Group/Project to Appropriate and Useful Outcomes.

Facilitator: This addresses the Facilitator’s ability to execute the designed processes, guide the group, stay on track, and achieve the desired outcome.

Business Analyst: The Business Analyst needs to execute the selected processes by guiding the group ensuring that barriers are removed.

These are the skills related to the sensitivity and agility of the Business Analyst with the client and the Business Analyst’s ability to execute the processes or adjust as needed in support of the client.  Note: Effective Business Analysts don’t write the requirements, they guide others ensuring that barriers are removed so that the client is able to effectively define their requirements.

5. Build and Maintain Professional Knowledge.

Facilitator: The Facilitator continues to be part of the profession and continues to learn new concepts and ideas.

Business Analyst: The Business Analyst must maintain professional knowledge through continuing education.

Business Analysts who use only one method become stagnant.  New concepts and ideas are developed continuously.  Business Analysts need to continue learning.

6. Model Positive Professional Attitude.

Facilitator: This addresses the Facilitator’s ability to remain neutral, act with integrity, and be self-aware.

Business Analyst: The Business Analyst must manage process, act with integrity, and be self-aware.

Business Analysts set the tone.  Business Analysts model behavior that avoids, “Do as I say, not as I do.”  Business Analysts do as they say.

These six competencies define the “Facilitative Business Analyst Core Competencies”.

The Mandala

The Facilitative Business Analyst is a combination of his or her capabilities, personality, and beliefs (“The Self”) to analyze the business and develop requirements through active listening, belief in the group and process, respecting and honoring the individual and the wisdom of the team, and applying the six core competencies to achieve the project vision.  Together, this looks like:

When Business Analysts practice Facilitative Business Analysis, they support their core competencies with knowledge – being informed and prepared, listening to all stakeholders and enabling them to listen to each other, believing in the wisdom of the stakeholders, and respecting all stakeholders.  They:

• Create collaborative client relationships.  They identify the appropriate stakeholders who know the business content providing effective information and requirements.  This keeps the decision-making for scope, budget, and schedule with the stakeholders.
• Plan appropriate group processes.  Their knowledge of analysis defines the processes they follow when they facilitate.  Facilitating stakeholders to develop the requirements gains ownership and buy-in.  This buy-in makes the objectives achievable and clear because they were developed by and for the stakeholders.
• Create and sustain a participatory environment.  This increased involvement develops better ideas from a more involved set of stakeholders and shares responsibility for success.
• Guide group to appropriate and useful outcomes.  They don’t influence content directions.  This enables and pushes the stakeholders to make content decisions, e.g., scope, time, cost, quality, and priorities providing more ownership, higher quality, and more agility in adapting the specifications, plans, and approaches.
• Build and maintain professional knowledge. They continue to learn new concepts of analysis, new processes, “how to” manage group dynamics, and new concepts to engage stakeholders.
• Model positive professional attitude. They make facilitative business analysis contagious because they model what they practice.

The Facilitative Business Analyst is more flexible and agile in moving from one project to another because he or she does not need to know the content.  The Facilitative Business Analyst builds an effective client relationship with stakeholders who:

• Know the content of the business.
• Bring the skills needed for the specific project.
• Work as a collaborative team.
• Take ownership of their requirements.

Making it Work

Creating Facilitative Business Analysts requires a change in how organizations view and train Business Analysts.  Responsibility for the quality of requirements rests with all of the stakeholders, not just the Business Analyst.  Organizations need to emphasize this.

Creating an environment that enables Facilitative Business Analysis requires:

• Business Analysts to be trained in effective Business Analysis skills and processes.  (The most effective way to do this is through training that enables a Business Analyst to become a Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP)).
• Business Analysts to be trained in effective Facilitation Skills.  (The most effective way to do this is through facilitation training to become an IAF Certified™ Professional Facilitator (CPF).)
• Redefining the role to focus on process rather than content so that responsibility is shared across all stakeholders.  Everyone must understand that the Facilitative Business Analyst is responsible for the analysis process.  All stakeholders are responsible for requirements quality.
• Involving stakeholders in all aspects of requirements definition so that stakeholders are making content decisions guided by a Facilitative Business Analyst.

By redefining the Business Analyst’s role as a Facilitative Business Analyst, the organization gains:

• Facilitative Business Analysts who are skilled at bringing teams and stakeholders together to develop consensus and buy-in.  Requirements are more successful as a result.
• Facilitative Business Analysts who focus on the right processes to:
  
  
  • Identify requirements of the stakeholders.
  • Establish clear and achievable objectives.
  • Balance competing demands for quality, scope, time, and cost by involving the appropriate stakeholders.
  • Inclusively adapt the requirements to the needs of the stakeholders.

Conclusion

Facilitative Business Analysts produce better results that have the buy-in of all stakeholders enabling the greatest chance of success.

A Business Analyst should BE a Facilitative Business Analyst.

References

• International Association of Facilitators (IAF). (2000, Winter) "Facilitator Competencies". Group Facilitation: A Research and Applications Journal, Volume # 2 Number 2. Revised in February 2003.
• International Institute of Business Analysis. (2010) A Guide to the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK®) (IIBA Version 2.0).
• Rush, G. (2011) The FoCuSeD™ Facilitator Guide. Chicago, IL: MGR Consulting.
• Tuckman, B.W. (1965) “Development sequence in small groups,” Psychological Bulletin, Issue 63, pages 384-399.