7) Bark when you sense danger

Dogs will quickly alert their masters whenever they feel their territory or their “family” is at risk. Surfacing and communicating risk is a primary responsibility for the business analyst as well. The collection of requirements often does surface sizable risks, including significant disagreements between major stakeholders, requirements that conflict with each other, and differences between user needs and the overall business objectives of the project. The project manager and the sponsor are responsible for making the decision as to how to react to those risks, but – like our faithful canine friends – the business analyst is usually the first to recognize, and alert others to, these risks.

8) Defend your food

Even the most social of dogs can get “testy” when they are at their food bowl. It is difficult and unwise to interrupt them when they are eating. “Food” for the business analyst is the requirements they collect from their user community. Although not endless, the more food – or requirements – the business analyst collects, the better the Business Requirements Document (BRD) can become. Business analysts will continually fight for their right to produce the best BRD they can deliver – which will increase the probability of a successful project. Gather as much “food” as you can to ensure you understand all the requirements.

9) Simple signals work best

Dogs can try to communicate by barking and other “sophisticated” methods, but these techniques rarely work with humans. Simple approaches that are “obvious” like scratching by the cabinet where food is kept or standing by the door to go outside are much more effective. Success between humans parallels this tendency. Simple words, simple sentences and straightforward approaches such as the use of diagrams (use cases and flowcharts) are the most effective, and lead to requirements documentation that successfully details user needs.

10) Taste or smell anything, but don’t eat everything

The good ole’ family dog is famous for enthusiastically running to everything and anything that drops on the floor to test it out. There is a simple “success criteria” in this test – can I eat this? Business analysts need to have the same passion for testing – as early as possible. Each requirement needs to be “sniffed out” – and then the “success criteria” formula is - will it satisfy the user community?

Special acknowledgment for the material in this article goes to Toasty, Lady I, Coco, Butterscotch, Lady II, Jed, Ellie Mae, Chauncey, Bailey and Buzz.

Bob McGannon is a Founder and Principal of MINDAVATION, a company providing project management training and consulting, leadership workshops and keynoting programs throughout North America. Bob can be reached at MINDAVATION via the web at WWW.MINDAVATION.COM or by calling 866-888-MIND (6463).

<< back