Preparing for Analysis › Establish the Analysis Team

Establish the Analysis Team

As in any project, success relies heavily on assembling an effective project organization.

In analysis, that organization include the following roles:

• Sponsor

  This is a senior executive within the business who is seeking an improvement.

  The sponsor:

  • Exercises authority and responsibility over the project
  • Ensures the availability of work force and resources as required
  • Eliminates political obstacles by championing the project to management

  By providing aid, the sponsor facilitates the timely and orderly completion of analysis. Do not expect the sponsor to contribute much time to analysis.

• Analysis team

  This is the full-time staff performing the analysis. The size of the team is sufficient to address the project scope.

  Typical participants are:

  • Project manager

    The project manager understands the business and possesses good communication and presentation skills.

  • Joint working group of information services and user staff

    This group includes several business analysts and members of the user community who are familiar with the business. They work together to formulate requirements and agree on the necessary information systems to be developed.

  • Analysis expert (possibly a consultant)

    Team member who either creates or refines a subset of the information architecture that is initially developed during planning or develop a starter model that is based on the initially identified requirements. This individual is proficient in the techniques that are used in analysis.

  • Stakeholders

    People who have a vested interest in the system being developed because their departments interact with the system.

  • Planners

    Team members who establish the scope and boundaries of the project either as part of an Information Strategy Plan, or by a short definition of initial requirements that satisfy a specific business need. Planners use the analysis model to define the system or systems to be developed and to plan for transition to the new systems.

  • Other specialists

    These individuals provide expertise at various times during the analysis; for example, facilitators to run facilitated sessions and specialists who are familiar with current systems.

  • Project steering group

    This group is established to provide management direction for the project.

• User team

  This is a reference group of users who can supplement the knowledge of the analysts and review analysis results.