Impacts of Business Analysis.
What proportion of projects succeed?
All companies and projects will face hurdles, this is simply inevitable. However, these challenges do not need to equate to failure and a good business analysis service will make sure of this. Business Analysis works to discover the needs of a business and determine how to meet them whilst ensuring efficient use of costs and time.
According to PMI, 44% of projects fail due to a lack of alignment between business and project objectives. Business Analysis not only determines the scope and targets but also help strategise how to achieve these goals within a set time. This is done by essentially understanding and breaking down the problems into multiple smaller ones to determine the allocation of both funds and labour to solve the problem. With the economic environment constantly changing companies and teams need to not only adapt but use this change to their advantage. Technology and data insight play an increasingly significant part in this process, and as more companies attempt to generate a data-driven culture, you need to have Business Analysis Services incorporated into your delivery change teams.
Further statistics from Wellingtone's management show that the most critical path to project success is stakeholder engagement and communicating to set a clear direction and aim. A lack of contact between stakeholders change teams and IT teams instantly minimises the efficiency of the project. Business Analysts use their excellent communication and soft skills to bridge the gap between business and IT and between project stakeholders. It is also important to enable stakeholders to focus first on major priorities that provide value to the organisation to meet business outcomes.
Looking into return on investment, the money an investor in a business earns for the injection of financial capital. It is a performance measure used to evaluate the efficiency or profitability of an investment or compare the efficiency of a number of different investments. BA’s reduce the investments and costs required for success while maximising profits and returns. This is done by lowering costs through finding more cost-efficient solutions. They increase the benefits by determining new needs within the organisation, prioritising those needs by value, and making necessary changes.
It is evident that in today’s economic climate companies need the expertise and support business analysis provides. They identify the problem, suggest a solution and build the bridge between teams in a productive manner.
Why projects fail according to Gartner research
Sources:
The High cost of Low Performance | Pulse of the Profession 2016 (pmi.org)
Microsoft PowerPoint - The State of Project Management Survey 2018 (wellingtone.co.uk)
Gartner survey, Analyst: Lars Mienitz