Start learning from the best platform

Study any topic, anytime. explore thousands of courses for the lowest price ever!

26 Online courses

Explore a variety of fresh topics

Expert instruction

Find the right course for you

Lifetime access

Learn on your schedule

Top categories

Business Analysis

19 Courses
Project Management

4 Courses
Masterclass

3 Courses

Top courses

Top 10 Latest courses

Featured instructor

Latest blogs

Business Analysis Lessons from Cancer Diagnosis: Personal Stories from the 1st Quarter of 2016

Created by - Oludayo Awe

Business Analysis Lessons from Cancer Diagnosis: Personal Stories from the 1st Quarter of 2016

Prologue The Doctor’s face betrayed no emotion as he listened thoughtfully while constantly checking the previous test results on the Computer screen in front of him. He spoke gently, and tried to crack jokes on few occasions. Another battery of tests were recommended (including MRI), and the Doctor recommended that the test be carried out in another location. As plans were being made to go for the recommended tests, I was pulled aside by a relative and got the most shocking news of the year. “From all indications, it is most likely cancer”. My heart sank! Introduction The term “silver lining in a dark cloud” probably has no meaning until one life-changing event. While it is so easy to learn from other people’s experience; it is so critical to draw valuable lessons from happenings to self. While a few of us may have control over the shape and turnings of life, it is common knowledge that everybody can determine the final outcome of a situation by how we react to unexpected (and usually unpalatable) events. The year started on a great note; I was looking forward to many things. Of note among them being the farm (on the outskirt of the city), and the CBAP Certification Paper Based Testing (the first of its kind in the world). Many of the candidates went through our training program, including my wife (who has been preparing for the exam for almost one year). I was intrigued by the prospects of increasing the number of CBAP certification holders in Nigeria, I knew it was difficult for every candidate to pass but I was hopeful majority will scale through. The exam day passed with little drama, and I was back to my base awaiting the release of the results. The Phone Call I was out visiting with my Wife, when I got a disturbing phone call; a very close family member (let me give the name “Ruf” to this family member) has lost the use of his two legs. Immediately, my mind went into over-drive, trying hard to make sense of the news. I excused myself and went over to see things for myself. “Ruf” had been undergoing treatment for a “not too serious & fairly common condition”, only to discover that he was being treated (few weeks earlier) based on wrong diagnosis.  Naturally we assumed that “Ruf” inability to walk may have been caused by the wrong treatment ( “Ruf” received  26 injections during the course of this wrong treatment!), but that line of thought was shattered by the event relayed in the prologue.  It took two days to get the test result, and the Doctor’s hunch was confirmed. It was cancer and it had spread to the spine!  The 1st Lesson: Assumption is cheap but its consequence can be expensive The Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK V2) defines assumption as “any unsubstantiated fact”, a fact (or knowledge) that is yet to be put to the rigor of a test to determine its veracity. Assumptions can turn out to be right or wrong, however, basing a decision on assumptions alone is tantamount to gambling. Where an analyst must make decision based on assumptions alone, a proper risk analysis must be conducted to determine what will happen if the assumptions turn out to be false. It is bad enough that “Ruf” has been put through weeks of treatments based on some Doctors assumption. We were almost giving in to the assumption that “Ruf” inability to walk was due to the wrong treatment before the MRI test stated otherwise! The 2nd Lesson: A superb Team will triumph a Super-star One of the first things I had to do is to deal with my fears; fear incapacitates and blurs our vision to the possibilities that exists. Fear makes failure and defeat look imminent and victory like a long-shot. I know medical research will not be of help, so I turned to my faith to deal with fear. Though it took me a while, but I know everything will be alright once I dealt with my fears. As soon as we got the test result, we schedule an appointment with another Doctor (a brain-surgeon). From our interaction with him, it became very obvious that he is an outstanding personality who is well vast in his chosen profession, but same cannot be said of the nurses and support staff., while certain aspects of their services were manageable, the overall service left much to be desired and with this, it did not take the family long to decide to move “Ruf” out of the place. I will rather have a great team comprising of average individuals) than have a team comprising of a super-star in the midst of a sub-par team.  While I have nothing against a super-star (the corporate world’s celebrity), I am also aware of their limitation without a great team to work with. A superb team is one that is aware of its constraints, yet gives no room to fear; carrying out their tasks  without the fear of failure looming over them as the  fear of failure is worse than failure itself! The 3rd Lesson: You don’t know how much you know until you sleep over a situation The next step in “Ruf’s” treatment spanned almost a month. This included surgery, hospital admission, another MRI test and lots of healing messages. I was practically sleeping over at the hospital almost every other day meaning taking time off work and many other things. During this period, I realized that the hospital takes on a new look and “mien” in the night when there are fewer people around. It suddenly occurred to me that there will always be a gap in what I know about any enterprise unless I see such enterprise in their “night mode”, strangely, majority of analysis are conducted during the “day mode”. Sleeping in the hospital over a period of time means there was ample time to see the support staff (the cleaners, nurses, etc) in a new light and it became obvious that without their services the whole infrastructure will collapse. Concluding a phase “Ruf” was eventually discharged and is on the way to full recovery (defiling medical research and even some Doctors’ opinions). Some experiences are surreal and difficult for others to fully comprehend. Looking back at the first 3 months of 2016, it was a wonderful opportunity to see the world from another perspective and attain a very high level of self-discovery Challenges have a way of making you stronger and placing you on a higher pedestal, I believe that is what the term “silver lining in a cloud” is all about. Oludayo is currently the President, International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA) Nigeria Chapter & also a Member IIBA Europe Middle East and Africa (EMEA) Regional Board

More details

Published - Mon, 28 Mar 2016

Never Walk Alone, the Tale of Two Snakes: Why Traceability Matters

Created by - Oludayo Awe

Never Walk Alone, the Tale of Two Snakes: Why Traceability Matters

Prologue It was early Sunday morning; as I had woken up early, I stood right in front of my room to brush my teeth in preparation for going to the school chapel.  After brushing, as I turned to return to my room, I noticed the transfixed gaze of some students as they stared in my direction.  Within seconds, I bolted towards the girls’ hostel (it was the race of my life), as Kamoru (the school 100 meter champion) chased me with a big and long snake on a stick. I could hear students screaming and urging me on. On a normal day it will be impossible to beat Kamoru to a race, but this was not a normal day. It is never fun to have someone chase you with a big snake; it was indeed a very scary situation!   Introduction Though not a Liverpool Football Club fan (nor a supporter of any football club asides our national team), I love their slogan “You will never walk alone”. Few people (if any) like loneliness, humans are defined as social beings. However, there are many animals that prefer to run “solo show”, prominent among them are snakes. I can’t stand the sight of a snake and do all I can to avoid them (even in Zoos). In Africa snakes typify evil and danger, and it is normal (and considered acceptable) to kill a snake.   The following statistics provide interesting facts: Out of the 2500-3000 species of snakes worldwide, only about 500 which represent 17% to 20% are venomous (venomous refers to an organism that injects poison) and Australia has the highest number of venomous snakes.Only one species of snakes is poisonous (poisonous refers to an organism that poisons through touch or ingestion).Snakes rarely live and move around in group, an average snake moves around alone. But there is a particular species of snake that stands out; the male and female always move around together. While the male glides from tree to tree, the female move on the ground. While the male is highly venomous, the female is non-venomous. While it is easier to take out just one snake, the coordination (or relationship) between this pair makes them a formidable threat to any predator (including humans). The Two – Snake Gang: (Requirement) Relationships Matter Requirements form the backbone of any project or business initiative, they specify the reason(s) why we do what we do. Where we live, what we drive and numerous other choices of ours are largely based on requirements. Just like personal requirements (or preferences), there are requirements that drives enterprises. Business Analysis has divided Enterprise Requirements into four classifications, and they are as follow; Business RequirementsStakeholders RequirementsSolution RequirementsTransition Requirements Requirements have inherent relationships (they are connected to each other), and understanding the connections helps analysts and decision makers make informed decisions. Requirement traceability can be defined as having an in-depth understanding of how requirements are connected to one another. The two-snake gang operates an effective partnership, while the venomous male provides protection for the female, the female acts as the scout for the team. It will take an experience farmer to take out this gang by first going for the venomous male, before attempting to neutralize the female. An ignorant farmer trying to neutralize the female first would be risking his/her life! While it may not be as obvious as in the case of the two-snake gang, requirements are also related or connected to one another, and an action (or inaction) on one, will definitely affect the other(s). Removing a requirement without carefully considering the effect of that removal on other related requirements is the beginning of the failure of that initiative. A good understanding of requirement relationship can help an analyst conduct a thorough Change Impact Analysis on a project or business initiative, the five kinds of requirement relationship (as defined by BABOK) are; NecessityEffortsSubsetCoverValue Conclusion Just as life will be difficult without meaningful relationships, failure to understand requirements relationship will make achieving success on any project or business initiative very difficult. It is only the farmer that understands the synergy between the two-snake gang that will live to tell the story. Epilogue I lost my footwear as I ran towards the girls’ hostel, but it was a successful strategy as Kamoru was forced to call off the chase. I later learnt that the snake on the stick was a dead one, but Kamoru’s original plan was to put the snake on my bed (thinking that I will still be in bed)! Even though the snake was dead, who will like to wake up to see a dead snake by his/her side! Despite all the facts quoted above, I still prefer to stay away from snakes.

More details

Published - Mon, 24 Aug 2015

Eight Hours at the Gas Station: Mob Lessons for the Business Analyst

Created by - Oludayo Awe

Eight Hours at the Gas Station: Mob Lessons for the Business Analyst

Prologue It was some minutes past 4 am, the first light ray was yet to break the hold of the darkness as I dressed up for a very important outing. This was the first for me but I was not looking forward to it, though I knew thousands of people experience it every day. I was getting ready to go and hunt for a gas (fuel) station in order to join the long queues that have become permanent features on my city’s roads. My estimate for the time I will spend on the queue? Three hours, if all goes according to my expectations! Background My car’s fuel gauge signal turned red, and a decision to buy Premium Motor Spirit (popularly known as Petrol) from the black market stared at me in the face. But I decided against it; the risks were too high. Apart from paying over 300% higher than the official rate, there is also the risk of buying adulterated fuel with the attendant risk of damage to the fuel pump. I decided to set out as early as possible to join the long queue, the only other option is to leave the car and pay high fare for the chaotic and unreliable public transport service. Introduction This is not the first time that fuel scarcity would happen, but I have never felt the effect like this before. The longest time I have ever spent on a queue before was roughly one hour, and most of the time, many people had been of help in getting this essential commodity in time of scarcity. It will interest you to know that even though Nigeria is the biggest producer of crude oil in Africa and the seventh largest in the world, fuel scarcity is becoming a recurring event here. The Set Out Leaving my house by 4:45 am (which I considered too early) I set out for the biggest fuel station in town. I was shocked when I saw 2 to 3 kilometer-long queues (in a double lane format). I saw nothing less than 350 units of vehicles on the queue. I visited another station (also with an unbelievable long queue for such a time of the day) before deciding to join the queue at the third station. I soon realized that many people on the queue passed the night there (in their cars), and that many were spending the second straight day on the queue! The Community and the Economy As soon as the first streams of light busted through the dark cloud, many of the drivers on the queue started coming out of their cars, and before long, a topic was being discussed (you will think the men had known themselves for long). My curiosity got the better part of me and I joined a group of two men nearby. We immediately got immersed in discussion about renewable energy and the imminent government transition our country. One of the guys I was talking with has a Masters Degree from Hong Kong University and works with a renewable energy firm. Eventually the group grew to about nine men, and I noticed that kids selling wares ranging from water to snacks started coming around. This queue has a community, and just like any other community it has given birth to many economic activities. By the time it was 7:30 am, it became clear that I would have to readjust not just my estimate but also my schedule for the day. We were informed that the fuel station manager would not start selling until 8:30 am. I was furious but also seemed helpless. I didn’t have enough fuel in the car’s tank to start going elsewhere, and anyway, I was not sure there would be a fuel station without any queue (or a better one) at that time of the day unless such station has no fuel to dispense. I decided to go and find out what was happening at the fuel station (which was like a kilometer from where my car was), after convincing another man to go with me. What I found surprised me; many people on the queue were still sleeping in their vehicles while some were observing their early morning prayers. It seemed these hopeful petrol buyers were trying hard to maintain a semblance of normality even in the face of acute hardship. My companion on the walk gave me another insight into suffering. According to him, “suffering is not just when you don’t have money to spend, but when you have money but still cannot buy your daily needs”.  We met an old man (he should be in his late 60s or early 70s) who told us he also spent the night on the queue! I asked him to join us to go and have a meeting with the station manager; I believed we could convince him to start selling as soon as possible. The old man declined, but offered me his place on the queue because he had decided to go home. My new position meant I moved forward on the queue, beating nothing less than 40 cars in the process. My joy knew no bound, you would have mistaken me for a winner of a multi-million dollar lottery jackpot! The Mob of the Queue Eventually the fuel pumps started dispensing some minutes past 10 am (almost 5 hours after I joined the queue), but it was anything but an orderly process. Many people jumped the queue, despite spirited efforts from others to maintain order. I witnessed an angry set of people attempting to push a car out of the line because the driver jumped the queue; many car tires were deflated in an attempt to maintain order. Welcome to the world of the mob of the queue, this is an unusual group. Not the Al-Capone type that was portrayed on the Hollywood blockbuster, The Godfather. This mob consisted of responsible citizen looking for social justice even on the queue.  I was amused by what I saw, especially the coordinated actions of people to maintain social order. Several “black market entrepreneurs” were also having a field day. They had a well rehearsed process that ensured they got to buy fuel before every other person on the queue! The mob I saw at the fuel station reminds me of the “mob” I sometimes encounter during stakeholders engagement. Though stakeholders’ aggression is usually channeled through subtle means, but the message is always loud and clear, “The solution you are proposing is ‘jumping the queue’ here and we are determined to push it out.” The Mob Lessons The mob is not always entirely made up of mobsters, nor does it only operate on the street. There are mobs in the boardroom too.Many gentlemen (and ladies) will join a mob action if they deemed it as a necessary line of action.Shouting, begging or cajoling the mob is not the best course of action, addressing the causative factor as soon as possible is the only way out.It’s an exercise in futility to attempt to take on the mob as a whole; the mob is at its weakest state when the members are dispersed and they are acting and making decisions individually.   Conclusion I eventually got the opportunity to fill my car’s fuel tank by 1:06 pm (8 hours after joining the queue), and it could have been longer if not for the kind old man’s offer. I managed to get a full tank, but not until I had to take on the fuel station attendant that told me he would only be selling half tank to me based on the instruction of the manager! Epilogue My initial 3 hours estimate to get fuel was wildly off the mark, I even considered myself fortunate to get a full tank. It’s not impossible for some people on the queue to go back empty handed that day. I hope the fuel situation will improve as soon as possible, because I dread going back to the queues. I was gratified by the fact that I have a full tank of fuel, so much so that I felt like just parking the car in my garage to conserve the fuel. Of course not a logical choice, for why spend 8 hours looking for a fuel I will not use.

More details

Published - Thu, 07 May 2015

Racing against a Porsche: A Business Analysis Perspective on Ebola Virus Disease

Created by - Oludayo Awe

Racing against a Porsche: A Business Analysis Perspective on Ebola Virus Disease

Prologue It was an early Sunday afternoon in August, and I had a meeting to attend. The Maitama-Berger highway (arguably the best motorway in Nigeria) was perfect for speeding and there were few cars on the road, but I kept resisting the thought of driving above my “personal speed limit” despite the fact that I was running behind schedule. Thankfully I had sent a text message earlier to the meeting convener that I might get to the meeting late, which helped me control the urge to speed. As I was approaching a major intersection on the motorway, I noticed a posh sport car (I initially thought it was a Buggati) driving on the opposite side of the road but getting to my meeting on time was all I had on my mind. In less than 10 seconds, I caught a glimpse of the car (it was a Porsche 911) in my rear mirror (an average car will take at least 2-3minutes to turn at the intersection) and before I could get my eyes back to my wheel the car had overtaken me! Within a split second (and without thinking it through) I decided to see if I could overtake the Porsche, which marked the beginning of my race with this Porsche. Introduction In this very competitive world, it is very tough getting a news item onto the global front burner, yet in a period full of many news worthy events, very few people can afford to ignore any news on the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD). Hundreds of lives have been lost, millions of lives have been disrupted, millions of dollars have been earmarked to combat the outbreak, many borders have been closed while many industries are destined for hard times unless a miracle happens soon. As the body bags keep piling up, with researchers and drug companies doubling their pace to find a vaccine or an antidote to this deadly disease, many critical questions are begging for answers, one of which is “Is there anything we can learn from the current EVD?” The “how” also matters: Why the cost of having 1 visitor might be more than 2 visitors The late Patrick Sawyer’s trip to Lagos introduced EVD into Nigeria, by that singular act, lives of millions of Nigerians have been put at risk. While on the other hand, two Americans infected with the EVD were recently flown to Atlanta, yet no American’s live was put at risk. The major difference is in “the how” -how these Ebola victims were flown to their destinations. One took a commercial flight; the rest took a specially fitted jet. Business analysis places as much emphasize on the business process (“the how”), as the deliverable or the result (“the what”). Result is not a perfect indicator of the health of any organization or unit. Profit does not automatically mean that an organization is on the right track, but a loss might give the total picture of what is happening to the organization. The best way to gauge the health of any unit, organization, or nation is to examine their business process (how things are done).   Know Thyself: The changing concept of the world class approach According to the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK©), “the best approach is any approach that brings the best possible result considering the current condition in which the approach is being deployed“. An approach that works perfectly well for a firm in America might spell doom for a similar firm in Nigeria. The best way to know the best approach is to conduct an “Enterprise Analysis”.  Enterprise Analysis describes the business analysis activities carried out to enable an organization: Analyze its business situation in order to fully understand business problems and opportunities.Assess the capabilities of the enterprise in order to understand the change needed to meet business needs and achieve strategic goals.Determine the most feasible business solution approach.Define the solution scope and develop the business case for a proposed solution.Define and document business requirements (this consist of the business need, required capabilities, and solution scope and business case). The performance of all enterprise analysis activities are governed by the business analysis plan and a properly thought out business analysis plan which produces an enterprise analysis result that paints a true picture of things to the discerning and without it we might just be treating EVD with heavy doses of salt! Conclusion I am sure there are a million and one lessons we can learn from the current EVD and I am hoping that at least this will compel our health authority to improve on our capability (as a nation) to deal with major health situation and see reason(s) to strengthen our ability to detect and contain “viral terrorism” at our nation’s borders. Epilogue Keeping up with the Porsche was a tall order for me as the car’s center of gravity is lower than mine. O two or three occasions I caught up with the car at intersections on the highway, but it took this Porsche few seconds to literally disappear. While I had to negotiate bends on the road carefully (with my leg on the brake pedal), the Porsche seemed to fly without showing its brake light. After 15 minutes (or thereabout), I admitted that it will take a Porsche engine in my car for me to drive like a Porsche. I stopped racing and went back to driving. I then realized that the awareness of my limitations must alter my preparation, the only way I can beat the Porsche to a  race would be to start racing before the Porsche driver gets out of his bed. We may all experience the same event, but the different outcomes we get depend largely on “the how”, knowing our limitations and drawing up a good plan to mitigate our limitation. If it’s not a Porsche, then it can’t race like a Porsche.   Dayo is the President of IIBA Nigeria Chapter and also sits on the IIBA Europe, Middle East and Africa, EMEA, Regional Board.

More details

Published - Mon, 18 Aug 2014

View all

Join now to start learning

Get started

Become instructor

Join now