6.2.1 Purpose
The purpose of Define Future State is to determine the set of necessary conditions to meet the business need.
6.2.2 Description
All purposeful change must include a definition of success. Business analysts work to ensure that the future state of the enterprise is well defined, that it is achievable with the resources available, and that key stakeholders have a shared consensus vision of the outcome. As with current state analysis, the purpose of future state analysis is not to create a comprehensive description of the outcome at a level of detail that will directly support implementation.
The future state will be defined at a level of detail that:
- allows for competing strategies to achieve the future state to be identified and assessed,
- provides a clear definition of the outcomes that will satisfy the business needs,
- details the scope of the solution space,
- allows for value associated with the future state to be assessed, and
- enables consensus to be achieved among key stakeholders.
The future state description can include any context about the proposed future state. It describes the new, removed, and modified components of the enterprise.
It can include changes to the boundaries of the organization itself, such as entering a new market or performing a merger or acquisition. The future state can also be simple changes to existing components of an organization, such as changing a step in a process or removing a feature from an existing application.
Change may be needed to any component of the enterprise, including (but not limited to):
- business processes,
- functions,
- lines of business,
- organization structures,
- staff competencies,
- knowledge and skills,
- training,
- facilities,
- desktop tools,
- organization locations,
- data and information,
- application systems, and/or
- technology infrastructure.
Descriptions may include visual models and text to clearly show the scope boundaries and details. Relevant relationships between entities are identified and described. The effort required to describe the future state varies depending on the nature of the change. The expected outcomes from a change might include specific metrics or loosely defined results. Describing the future state allows stakeholders to understand the potential value that can be realized from a solution, which can be used as part of the decision-making process regarding the change strategy. In environments where changes result in predictable outcomes and predictable delivery of value, and where there are a large number of possible changes that can increase value, the purpose of future state analysis is to gather sufficient information to make the best possible choices among potential options.
In cases where it is difficult to predict the value realized by a change, the future state may be defined by identification of appropriate performance measures (to produce an agreed-upon set of measures for business value), and the change strategy will support exploration of multiple options.
6.2.3 Inputs
- Business Requirements: the problems, opportunities, or constraints that the future state will address
6.2.4 Elements
.1 Business Goals and Objectives
A future state can be described in terms of business objectives or goals in order to guide the development of the change strategy and identify potential value.
Business goals and objectives describe the ends that the organization is seeking to achieve. Goals and objectives can relate to changes that the organization wants to accomplish, or current conditions that it wants to maintain.
Goals are longer term, ongoing, and qualitative statements of a state or condition that the organization is seeking to establish and maintain. Examples of business goals include:
- Create a new capability such as a new product or service, address a competitive disadvantage, or create a new competitive advantage.
- Improve revenue by increasing sales or reducing cost.
- Increase customer satisfaction.
- Increase employee satisfaction.
- Comply with new regulations.
- Improve safety.
- Reduce time to deliver a product or service.
High-level goals can be decomposed to break down the general strategy into areas that may lead to desired results, such as increased customer satisfaction, operational excellence, and/or business growth. For example, a goal may be to “increase number of high-revenue customers” and then be further refined into a
goal to “increase number of high revenue customers in the 30-45 age bracket by 30% within 6 months”.
As goals are analyzed they are converted into more descriptive, granular and specific objectives, and linked to measures that make it possible to objectively assess if the objective has been achieved. Objectives that are measurable enable teams to know if needs were addressed and whether a change was effective.
Defining measurable objectives is often critical to justify completing the change and might be a key component to a business case for the change. A common test for assessing objectives is to ensure that they are SMART:
- Specific: describing something that has an observable outcome,
- Measurable: tracking and measuring the outcome,
- Achievable: testing the feasibility of the effort,
- Relevant: aligning with the enterprise’s vision, mission, and goals, and
- Time-bounded: defining a time frame that is consistent with the need.
.2 Scope of Solution Space
Decisions must be made about the range of solutions that will be considered to meet the business goals and objectives. The scope of the solution space defines which kinds of options will be considered when investigating possible solutions, including changes to the organizational structure or culture, capabilities and
processes, technology and infrastructure, policies, products, or services, or even creating or changing relationships with organizations currently outside the scope of the extended enterprise. Solutions in each of these areas generally require specific expertise from both the business analysis and the delivery team. The analysis for this might happen on different levels in the enterprise, and the scope of the solution space is not necessarily related to the size of the change. Even a small change might require looking at the enterprise-level business objectives to ensure alignment.
If multiple future states can meet the business needs, goals and objectives, it will be necessary to determine which ones will be considered. This decision is typically based on the value to be delivered to stakeholders and requires an understanding of possible change strategies. The critical considerations for the decision are dependent on the overall objectives of the enterprise but will involve an understanding of the quantitative and qualitative value of each option, the time needed to achieve each future state, and the opportunity cost to the enterprise.
.3 Constraints
Constraints describe aspects of the current state, aspects of the planned future state that may not be changed by the solution, or mandatory elements of the design. They must be carefully examined to ensure that they are accurate and justified.
Constraints may reflect any of the following:
- budgetary restrictions,
- time restrictions,
- technology,
- infrastructure,
- policies,
- limits on the number of resources available,
- restrictions based on the skills of the team and stakeholders,
- a requirement that certain stakeholders not be affected by the implementation of the solution,
- compliance with regulations, and
- any other restriction.
.4 Organizational Structure and Culture
The formal and informal working relationships that exist within the enterprise may need to change to facilitate the desired future state. Changes to reporting lines can encourage teams to work more closely together and facilitate alignment of goals and objectives. Elements of the organizational structure and culture may need to change to support the future state. Describing the components of the future state provides insight into potential conflicts, impact, and limits.
.5 Capabilities and Processes
Identify new kinds of activities or changes in the way activities will be performed to realize the future state. New or changed capabilities and processes will be needed to deliver new products or services, to comply with new regulations, or to improve the performance of the enterprise.
.6 Technology and Infrastructure
If current technology and infrastructure are insufficient to meet the business need, the business analyst identifies the changes necessary for the desired future state.
The existing technology may impose technical constraints on the design of the solution. These may include development languages, hardware and software platforms, and application software that must be used. Technical constraints may also describe restrictions such as resource utilization, message size and timing, software size, maximum number of and size of files, records, and data elements. Technical constraints include any IT architecture standards that must be followed.
.7 Policies
If current polices are insufficient to meet the business need, the business analyst identifies the changes necessary for the desired future state.
Policies are a common source of constraints on a solution or on the solution space. Business policies may mandate what solutions can be implemented given certain levels of approval, the process for obtaining approval, and the necessary criteria a proposed solution must meet in order to receive funding. In some instances, a change to an existing policy may open up alternative solutions that would not otherwise be considered.
