8.4.1 Purpose
The purpose of Assess Enterprise Limitations is to determine how factors external to the solution are restricting value realization.
8.4.2 Description
Solutions may operate across various organizations within an enterprise, and therefore have many interactions and interdependencies. Solutions may also depend on environmental factors that are external to the enterprise. Enterprise limitations may include factors such as culture, operations, technical components,
stakeholder interests, or reporting structures.
Assessing enterprise limitations identifies root causes and describes how enterprise factors limit value realization. This assessment may be performed at any point during the solution life cycle. It may occur on a solution component during its development or on a completed solution prior to full implementation. It may also occur on an existing solution that is currently working within an organization. Regardless of the timing, the assessment activities are similar and require the same skills.
8.4.3 Inputs
- Current State Description: the current internal environment of the solution including the environmental, cultural, and internal factors influencing the solution limitations.
- Implemented (or Constructed) Solution (external): a solution that exists. The solution may or may not be in operational use; it may be a prototype. The solution must be in use in some form in order to be evaluated.
- Solution Performance Analysis: results of the analysis of measurements collected and recommendations to solve performance gaps and leverage opportunities to improve value.
8.4.4 Elements
.1 Enterprise Culture Assessment
Enterprise culture is defined as the deeply rooted beliefs, values, and norms shared by the members of an enterprise. While these beliefs and values may not be directly visible, they drive the actions taken by an enterprise.
Business analysts perform cultural assessments to:
- identify whether or not stakeholders understand the reasons why a solution exists,
- ascertain whether or not the stakeholders view the solution as something beneficial and are supportive of the change, and
- determine if and what cultural changes are required to better realize value from a solution.
The enterprise culture assessment evaluates the extent to which the culture can accept a solution. If cultural adjustments are needed to support the solution, the assessment is used to judge the enterprise’s ability and willingness to adapt to these cultural changes.
Business analysts also evaluate internal and external stakeholders to:
- gauge understanding and acceptance of the solution,
- assess perception of value and benefit from the solution, and
- determine what communication activities are needed to ensure awareness and understanding of the solution.
.2 Stakeholder Impact Analysis
A stakeholder impact analysis provides insight into how the solution affects a particular stakeholder group.
When conducting stakeholder impact analysis, business analysts consider:
- Functions: the processes in which the stakeholder uses the solution, which include inputs a stakeholder provides into the process, how the stakeholder uses the solution to execute the process, and what outputs the stakeholder receives from the process.
- Locations: the geographic locations of the stakeholders interacting with the solution. If the stakeholders are in disparate locations, it may impact their use of the solution and the ability to realize the value of the solution.
- Concerns: the issues, risks, and overall concerns the stakeholders have with the solution. This may include the use of the solution, the perceptions of the value of the solution, and the impact the solution has on a stakeholder’s ability to perform necessary functions.
.3 Organizational Structure Changes
There are occasions when business analysts assess how the organization’s structure is impacted by a solution.
The use of a solution and the ability to adopt a change can be enabled or blocked by formal and informal relationships among stakeholders. The reporting structure may be too complex or too simple to allow a solution to perform effectively.
Assessing if the organizational hierarchy supports the solution is a key activity. On occasion, informal relationships within an organization, whether alliances, friendships, or matrix-reporting, impact the ability of a solution to deliver potential value. Business analysts consider these informal relationships in addition to the formal structure.
.4 Operational Assessment
The operational assessment is performed to determine if an enterprise is able to adapt to or effectively use a solution. This identifies which processes and tools within the enterprise are adequately equipped to benefit from the solution, and if sufficient and appropriate assets are in place to support it.
When conducting an operational assessment, business analysts consider:
- policies and procedures,
- capabilities and processes that enable other capabilities,
- skill and training needs,
- human resources practices,
- risk tolerance and management approaches, and
- tools and technology that support a solution.
8.4.5 Guidelines and Tools
- Business Objectives: are considered when measuring and determining solution performance.
- Change Strategy: the change strategy used or in use to implement the potential value.
- Future State Descriptions: boundaries of the proposed new, removed, or modified components of the enterprise, as well as the potential value expected from the future state.
- Risk Analysis Results: the overall level of risk and the planned approach to modifying the individual risks.
- Solution Scope: the solution boundaries to measure and evaluate.
8.4.6 Techniques
- Benchmarking and Market Analysis: used to identify existing solutions and enterprise interactions.
- Brainstorming: used to identify organizational gaps or stakeholder concerns.
- Data Mining: used to identify factors constraining performance of the solution.
- Decision Analysis: used to assist in making an optimal decision under conditions of uncertainty and may be used in the assessment to make decisions about functional, technical, or procedural gaps.
- Document Analysis: used to gain an understanding of the culture, operations, and structure of the organization.
- Interviews: used to identify organizational gaps or stakeholder concerns.
- Item Tracking: used to ensure that issues are not neglected or lost and that issues identified by assessment are resolved.
- Lessons Learned: used to analyze previous initiatives and the enterprise interactions with the solutions.
- Observation: used to witness the enterprise and solution interactions to identify impacts.
- Organizational Modelling: used to ensure the identification of any required changes to the organizational structure that may have to be addressed.
- Process Analysis: used to identify possible opportunities to improve performance.
- Process Modelling: used to illustrate the current business processes and/or changes that must be made in order to achieve the potential value of the solution.
- Risk Analysis and Management: used to consider risk in the areas of technology (if the selected technological resources provide required functionality), finance (if costs could exceed levels that make the change salvageable), and business (if the organization will be able to make the changes necessary to attain potential value from the solution).
- Roles and Permissions Matrix: used to determine roles and associated permissions for stakeholders, as well as stability of end users.
- Root Cause Analysis: used to determine if the underlying cause may be related to enterprise limitations.
- Survey or Questionnaire: used to identify organizational gaps or stakeholder concerns.
- SWOT Analysis: used to demonstrate how a change will help the organization maximize strengths and minimize weaknesses, and to assess strategies developed to respond to identified issues.
- Workshops: used to identify organizational gaps or stakeholder concerns.
8.4.7 Stakeholders
- Customer: people directly purchasing or consuming the solution who may interact with the organization in the use of the solution.
- Domain Subject Matter Expert: provides input into how the organization interacts with the solution and identifies potential limitations.
- End User: people who use a solution or who are a component of the solution. Users could be customers or people who work within the organization.
- Regulator: one or many governmental or professional entities that ensure adherence to laws, regulations, or rules; may have unique input to the organizational assessment, as relevant regulations must be included in the requirements. There may be laws and regulations that must be complied with prior to (or as a result of) a planned or implemented change.
- Sponsor: authorizes and ensures funding for a solution delivery, and champions action to resolve problems identified in the organizational assessment.
8.4.8 Outputs
- Enterprise Limitation: a description of the current limitations of the enterprise including how the solution performance is impacting the enterprise.
