The ability of a business to achieve its goals and objectives is largely
dependent on the quality and adaptability of its information systems. The
business analyst needs to understand the automated systems at an
architectural level. By developing a good understanding or
their strengths, weaknesses and interdependencies, the business analyst can
help the organization sensibly migrate to a future state business model
without unnecessary pain and expense.
The business analyst should always take a "top-down" approach when
assessing computer systems. This helps to ensure that he/she does not
fall into the black hole of detail and exception and that the systems
assessment is done based on business goals and objectives.
The first step is to create an inventory of application systems and to
understand the role of each system in the inventory. It is shocking
how many organizations don't maintain good, up-to-date system inventories,
given the huge costs of developing, enhancing and operating these systems.
It is equally surprising how many corporate application systems actually
exist in an organization. Often the "unofficial" MS Access that runs
under the radar on Joe's desktop computer is as mission critical as many of
the "official" corporate application systems.
The business analyst should initially focus on the "systems of record"
which are the operational systems used to captured and manage data.
These systems should be assessed from both a functional perspective (i.e.
Does system meet business requirements?) and from a technical perspective
(i.e. Is system technically stable and using appropriate technologies?)
The business analyst must also understand how the systems integrate or
interface with each other (i.e. transaction types, data shared, frequencies,
frequency of interaction).
