PJM 6610 Northeastern University Week 2 Foundations of Business Navigating Complexity Analysis Use insights from the Pulse of the Profession: Navigating Co

PJM 6610 Northeastern University Week 2 Foundations of Business Navigating Complexity Analysis Use insights from the Pulse of the Profession: Navigating Complexity. Based on your reading and the
insights gained this week, identify – for each category of complexity – specific issues to be addressed. Then, using the format
of the Business Analysis Plan, determine how this plan can be used to address the project’s complexity elements. Week 2: Foundations of Business Analysis –Business Analysis and Complexity
Overview and Rationale
In order to demonstrate proficiency with the content in this course we will complete a number of different assignments to validate
your learning – and allow you to implement relevant practices a real-world setting.
Week 2 Learning Objectives
•
•
•
•
Create the Business Analysis Plan
Compare and describe the core tools and techniques that can be leveraged in the business analysis lifecycle.
Organize and structure a proactive approach to planning which ensure that all critical components of the business analysis process
are incorporated into the structured plan
Address complexity though application of the BA Framework
Essential Components
For this assignment, use insights from the Pulse of the Profession: Navigating Complexity. Based on your reading and the
insights gained this week, identify – for each category of complexity – specific issues to be addressed. Then, using the format
of the Business Analysis Plan, determine how this plan can be used to address the project’s complexity elements. You may
choose how to document your assignment. The following table shows the minimum requirements for the assignment:
Complexity Characteristic
Provide explanation for why this was
chosen and how it affects this project
What sections of the BAP can help
address this complexity?
Include the Section(s) and an
explanation for how it will be focused
to aid in dealing with this complexity
characteristic.
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
…
Then, use your work from above to summarize in this table:
Business Analysis Plan
•
Elicitation Plan
•
Analysis Plan (Lists
deliverables)
Recommendations for what to include in this section to address Complexity
Analysis (This is a summary across the 5 complexity characteristics for each
section of the BAP)
•
Requirements Prioritization
Process
•
Requirements Prioritization
Process
•
Traceability Approach
•
Communication Approach
•
Requirements
Verification/Validation
Processes
•
Requirements Change
Management Process
•
•
Solution Evaluation Process
Assignment Rubric
Category
Above Standard
Meets Standards
Approaching
Standards
Below Standards
Not
Evident
Assignment
requirements
(70%)
Goes well above the
requirements of the
assignment.
Provides new
information, tools,
and/or techniques
Goes above the
minimum
requirements of the
assignment
Meets minimum
assignment
requirements
Meets some
assignment
requirements
Does not meet the
requirements of the
assignment.
Critical Thinking
(15%)
Professional insights
into depth and breadth
of assignment – goes
WELL beyond
assignment
requirements to
explore risks and/or
relevant new
techniques.
Comprehensive
explanation of the
issue; exploration of
expert viewpoints and
use of evidence to
inform interpretation
and analysis; thorough
evaluation of the
context (historical,
ethical, cultural,
environmental or
circumstantial
settings), and self and
others’ assumptions
and perspectives when
stating a position; wellinformed conclusions
based on methodically
prioritized evidence
and perspectives.
Includes an explanation
of the issue;
exploration of expert
viewpoints and use of
evidence to inform
interpretation and
analysis; includes an
evaluation of the
context (historical,
ethical, cultural,
environmental or
circumstantial
settings), and self and
others’ assumptions
and perspectives when
stating a position;
conclusions are based
on methodically
prioritized evidence
and perspectives.
Includes a general
explanation of the issue
but is vague or is not
clearly linked to the
identified risks;
includes some
exploration of expert
viewpoints and use of
evidence to inform
interpretation and
analysis; includes a
general evaluation of
the context (historical,
ethical, cultural,
environmental or
circumstantial
settings), and self and
others’ assumptions
and perspectives when
stating a position, but
Does not explain the
issue; does not explore
expert viewpoints or
use evidence to inform
interpretation and
analysis; does not
provide an evaluation
of the context
(historical, ethical,
cultural, environmental
or circumstantial
settings), and self and
others’ assumptions
and perspectives when
stating a position;
conclusions are not
based on prioritized
evidence and
perspectives.
lack specificity;
conclusions are based
on prioritized evidence
and perspectives.
Communication
(10%) (includes
grammar and
clarity)
Goes well beyond
assignment
requirements to
communicate
information in a
precise, insightful and
professional manner.
Assignment is well
organized, and the
format can be followed.
It is evident to reader
what is contained in
each section of the
report. High quality
grammar. No
misspellings.
Assignment is
organized, and the
format can be followed.
It is evident to reader
what is contained in
each section of the
report. High quality
grammar. No
misspellings.
Assignment is well
organized, and the
format can be followed.
It is evident to reader
what is contained in
each section of the
report. Good quality
grammar. Minor
misspellings.
Assignment is not
organized. It is not
evident to reader what
is contained in each
section of report. Low
quality grammar,
misspellings.
Formatting
(5%)
Virtually no errors in
formatting, citations,
or references.
Rare errors in
formatting, citations,
or references.
Some errors in
formatting, citations,
or references.
Multiple errors in
formatting, citations,
or references.
Does not submit
assignment materials
in APA 6 format.
NOTE: Gross
failure to
provide
PROPER
citations and
references –
particularly
with regard to
direct quotes –
will result in
sanctions as
outlined in the
academic
honesty policy
In-Depth Report
Navigating
Complexity
PMI’s Pulse of the Profession In-Depth Report: Navigating Complexity
September 2013
INTRODUCTION
Organizations that undertake ambitious programs and projects have always encountered the unforeseeable, the
unexpected, and the complicated. However, today’s world of expanding globalization, rapid pace of change, intense
competition, and continual innovation in a “do more with less” market environment is forcing organizations to
recognize that their strategies—and the projects executed to implement them—are becoming increasingly complex.
So are organizations prepared to deal with this increasing complexity? IBM’s 2010 Capitalizing on Complexity:
Insights from the Global Chief Executive Officer Study1 reported that the complexity of operating in an increasingly
volatile and uncertain world is the primary challenge of CEOs. However, more than half of CEOs expressed doubt in
their organization’s ability to manage it and when they were asked to look five years down the road, four in five CEOs
expected the level of complexity to increase.
PMI’s Pulse of the Profession™ In-Depth Report: Navigating Complexity explores the steps that organizations are
taking to improve the success of their complex projects and programs. It reveals that, regardless of the degree of
complexity, standardized project management practices, effective communications, and a strong talent base are
necessary for project and program success. But there is more.
High-performing organizations recognize another key ingredient in their talent pool—project executives with
superior leadership skills necessary to ensure that complexity in their projects and programs is navigated
successfully. This ingredient assumes even greater significance in organizations that deliver a higher percentage of
highly complex projects since typically there are more dollars at risk for these projects. Recognizing it is one thing, of
course, but acting on that recognition to create organizational capability is quite another.
This report identifies several strategies that are pursued by high-performing organizations to develop appropriate
organizational capability: strategies that together reinforce two important points. First, they demonstrate the vital
need for “joined-up” thinking that relates the successful mastery of complexity to both mature organizational
program and project management processes and to the development of a program- and project-capable workforce.
And second, they highlight the need for sustained and committed leadership from the very top of the organization if
such “joined-up” thinking is to be implemented intelligently.
The successful creation of an organizational capability to navigate complexity leads to more successful projects
and programs, fewer dollars at risk, and staying ahead of the competition. If your organization wants to be in that
situation, then this report provides essential pointers to what is involved in creating such a capability.
Terry Cooke-Davies, PhD
Group Chairman, Human Systems International
2
©2013 Project Management Institute, Inc. PMI.org/Pulse
PMI’s Pulse of the Profession In-Depth Report: Navigating Complexity
September 2013
THE NATURE OF COMPLEXITY
Complexity has different meanings for different people and in different
organizations. In the end, there may not be much value in wasting a lot of
precious organizational time and resources defining complexity. Instead,
if an organization thinks its work is complex, then it has to function in a
way that best navigates that complexity. Ultimately, how organizations
anticipate, comprehend and navigate complexity determines their
successes and failures.
There are many ways to characterize complexity (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Some of the terms that organizations, practitioners and subject matter experts use when characterizing complexity.
©2013 Project Management Institute, Inc. PMI.org/Pulse
3
PMI’s Pulse of the Profession In-Depth Report: Navigating Complexity
“I think ambiguity derives from
a lack of planning. I think every
project starts off with a good idea
but we don’t necessarily always
nail down that idea.”
~~ Matthew Handi, Project Management
Specialist in a large insurance firm
“Well, the starting point of
ambiguity is scope: what is this
project about, and why are we
doing it? When I sit down with
stakeholders to learn what the
project’s about, I ask about scope,
and value. And if we haven’t had
a chance to do a really thorough
expectation study up front, that
will make the project ambiguous.”
September 2013
In Redefining Program Management for the Unique Challenges of Complex
Programs, Booz Allen Hamilton identifies complexity in projects as “the
exponential increase in ambiguity surrounding stakeholder expectations,
especially regarding the certainty of program outcomes and schedules.”2
An organization’s portfolio—its set of strategic initiatives, which are
delivered through projects and programs—determines the nature
of complexity. Our research finds that there are several common
characteristics of complex projects (Figure 2a). This in-depth report
focuses on the strategies necessary to managing two of the most defining
characteristics of complexity in projects: multiple stakeholders and
ambiguity.
Not surprisingly, ambiguity is central to the complexity conversation
for organizations dealing with a high percentage of complex projects.
Sixty-four percent of organizations whose portfolios are filled with
mostly highly complex projects3 report that ambiguity is the most
defining characteristic, compared to just 44 percent of organizations
whose portfolios have few projects that are highly complex (Figure
2b).4 This suggests having a portfolio filled with complex projects forces
organizations to search for effective methods to deal with ambiguity.
~~ Bailie Foss
Project Manager in a Fortune 100
financial services company
Defining characteristics
Characteristicsof
ofcomplexity
Complexityininprojects
Projects
Most defining
57%
Multiple stakeholders
48%
Ambiguity of project features, resources, phases, etc.
35%
33%
29%
28%
26%
25%
23%
18%
Significant political/authority influences
Unknown project features, resources, phases, etc.
Dynamic (changing) project governance
Significant external influences
Use of a technology that is new to the organization
Use of a technology that has not yet been fully developed
Significant internal interpersonal or social influences
Highly regulated environment
Project duration exceeds the cycle of relevant technologies
10%
Figure 2a: Characteristics of complexity.
4
©2013 Project Management Institute, Inc. PMI.org/Pulse
PMI’s Pulse of the Profession In-Depth Report: Navigating Complexity
Another common characteristic of complex projects is managing multiple
stakeholder demands. Research on complexity conducted in 2010
with PMI’s Global Executive Council5 found that dealing with multiple
interfaces was one of several factors that have an impact on the ability to
navigate complexity.
PMI’s practice guide on navigating complexity6 details several reasons why
effective stakeholder engagement is an important focus area:
zz The diversity of stakeholder agendas may have an adverse impact
on assumptions about and constraints upon a program or project.
zz Social and political stakeholder interactions may produce difficult
conditions for the program or project manager and the team.
September 2013
Most Defining
Characteristic
of Project
Most Defining Characteristic
Complexity–Ambiguity
of Project Complexity–
of
Project
Ambiguity ofFeatures,
project features,
Resources,
etc.
resources,Phases,
phases, etc.
64%
jects
Most Pro
Highly
Complex
44%
cts
Few Proje
Highly
Complex
zz Stakeholders may have strong and diverse opinions regarding
processes and methods for managing a program or project.
Understanding, managing and connecting this diverse set of internal
and external stakeholders in a project or program can be enormously
challenging even for the most experienced project manager. And the
challenge clearly exists; nearly three out of five organizations report that
managing multiple stakeholders is a defining characteristic of complexity
in projects (Figure 2a).
There are potentially many risks and repercussions for organizations
from poorly managing complexity: scope creep, time and cost overruns,
communication breakdowns and outright project failures.
The bottom line is that organizations must address the nature of
complexity for three very critical reasons:
? Complexity is not going away and will only increase.
Just three years ago, IBM’s 2010 report Capitalizing on Complexity:
Insights from the Global Chief Executive Officer Study revealed that
the complexity of operating in an increasingly volatile and uncertain
world was the primary challenge of CEOs. More than half of the
CEOs expressed doubt in their organization’s ability to manage
it. And four out of five CEOs expected the level of complexity to
increase within the next five years.
©2013 Project Management Institute, Inc. PMI.org/Pulse
Figure 2b.
“In terms of the current projects
we do for big companies in the
financial world, ambiguity seems
to be the norm because until the
project is underway, it seems like
they cannot define it well enough
for the scope to be signed off.
Regardless of that, they do sign
off. And always they have this
nomenclature in scoping that says
‘this is an estimate and the actual
will be billed later.’ What this
means for the team—and this ties
up with resources (how many and
what type of people are needed on
the team)—until the scope is clear,
you have to estimate the resources,
as well. And everything else is an
estimate, including time.”
~~ John Manickam
Program Manager in a large financial
institution
5
PMI’s Pulse of the Profession In-Depth Report: Navigating Complexity
September 2013
? Large budgets are at stake. PMI’s 2013 Pulse of the Profession™
“For any large bank, you have
your business stakeholders. And
your business stakeholders are
usually kept apart from the rest of
the bank’s business so there is no
conflict of interest. So you have
the stakeholders that propose
the project. Then you’ve got your
project managers and your IT
team who evaluate it. The IT team
looks at a project to see if it’s a
sound decision, if it makes sense
or not. They look at it as a bottom
line. So as a project manager,
you sort of straddle the line of
having to appease both sets of
stakeholders.”
~~ Marketing Manager in a global mortgage
lending bank
“I think when multiple
stakeholders are coming from
different backgrounds or even
from different perspectives in
terms of how they are looking
at something, that does cause
ambiguity. And I think that’s
where communication plays a
huge role.”
research reveals that the average budgets for projects that are
highly complex are nearly twice as large: there are more dollars at
risk for projects that are highly complex.
? Effectively navigating complexity delivers a competitive
advantage. Research from McKinsey supports a mature view that
when complexity is viewed as “a challenge to be managed and
potentially exploited, not a problem to be eliminated, businesses
can generate additional sources of profit and competitive
advantage.”7 These added values may also mean that organizations
have more strategic options, are better able to manage their
portfolios and are in a more prominent position to enable
innovation. McKinsey also suggests an additional competitive
advantage: “Companies that manage complexity are arguably
harder to imitate, since doing so requires their competitors to
replicate their organizational and operating-model decisions in
detail.”
With complexity increasing, more money at risk and the real
potential for added value, the imperative to successfully navigate
complexity is critical. Research reveals that successful organizations
implement specific techniques or approaches to proactively defy
complexity in their projects and programs and, ultimately, improve their
project success rates.
~~ Julie Tuttle
Project Manager at one of the largest
banks in the U.S.
6
©2013 Project Management Institute, Inc. PMI.org/Pulse
PMI’s Pulse of the Profession In-Depth Report: Navigating Complexity
September 2013
Spotlight: How You Handle
Ambiguity Can Mean Success or Failure
for Complex Projects
Ambiguity can mean many different things to
project managers. However, how it is handled
can mean the difference between a successful
project and one that falls short of the stakeholders’
requirements and expectations.
“I would define ambiguity as when we have
stakeholders that aren’t really quite sure themselves
what they want,” said a marketing manager in a
global mortgage lending bank. “So the challenge
as a project manager is trying to define what your
client wants—not having solid requirements is the
biggest problem.”
John Burbank, a project manager in a large asset
management firm, says that ambiguity can
come from stakeholders who may have a strong
background in a specific field, but may not have as
strong an understanding of the business and project
management as a discipline.
“So very often that ambiguity comes from the IT
manager who says we’re doing it this way, while the
legal and compliance people say we have to do it
that way. And you have to have a lot of discussion to
at least get on a similar page, if not the same page,”
says Mr. Burbank.
Communication also plays a big role in handling
ambiguity. And project managers need to facilitate
discussions between individuals of varying
backgrounds, says Julie Tuttle, a project manager in
one of the largest banks in the U.S.
“I like bringing all these people into the same
room or on a phone call, saying ‘This is what we
actually mean,’ and asking them, ‘Is this what you
understood?’ And the questions that come out,
time and time again, indicate that this meeting was
required,” she says.
This meeting can often lead to a clearer
understanding of the requirements of the project
and may even lead to new…
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