This is the presentation for BABOK version 2 that Kevin Brennan of the IIBA gave in San Diego.
From the ESI Horizons May 2008 Newsletter:
"How do the professions of project management and business analysis create their work synergies? It’s all about process. The process of successful project execution is reliant upon the business analyst providing the correct inputs to the project that the project manager uses to manage the entire delivery of the project. In short, the business analyst (BA) provides the input (via requirements) for which the project manager (PM) uses to manages the “triple constraint” of a project."
From the IIBA website...
"The fiercely competitive twenty-first century business environment poses challenges at every turn. Both public and for-profit organizations must be flexible and adaptable to remain competitive. It is through successful projects that organizations manage change, deliver new business solutions, and ultimately, achieve their strategies. However, we continue to struggle to manage complex business change initiatives. Organizations around the globe are striving to improve their business analysis capabilities to: (1) drive changes from strategic goals; (2) invest in the most valuable projects – those that deliver the highest value at the lowest cost and risk; and (3) execute projects optimally to achieve business benefits from the new solutions as quickly as possible. This paper explores our disappointing project performance track record, the nature of twenty-first century projects, the need for a central focus on business analysis as a critical component of organizational transformation, and the role of a business analysis center of excellence in organizations."
Many organizations are using agile approaches for their software development projects. Since agile does not focus on written requirements, business analysts are often excluded from the team. This article shows that having an experienced business analyst on the team adds real value because their skill set supports the agile project environment.