120
BUSINESS ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES
What are the gaps between the current and desired processes to handle these
business events? Is there a current process defined to carry out this activity
and handle this event?
Are there any standards adopted when performing this activity, and are there
any required standards?
Are there any performance measures to be monitored, and are there any to be
defined?
How well do the IT systems support the activity?
This further analysis work will often require additional investigation of the
activities in order to clarify the gaps and problems.
Using gap analysis
Gap analysis compares the current and desired business systems. When
examining these views, the following questions should be asked:
Does this activity exist in the current business system? Sometimes, gap
analysis exposes an absence of certain activities. Typical examples of this
are where performance information is produced but it is not used to monitor
performance, or where problems with performance are identified but not
tackled. Another common issue is the lack of resources to carry out the work
effectively. The ‘plan’, ‘enable’, ‘monitor’ and ‘control’ activities on a Business
Activity Model (Technique 28) often highlight these problems during gap
analysis.
If the activity does exist currently, how well is it carried out, and are there
problems acknowledged with this activity? Current system investigations
often expose known problems that have not been tackled by the organisation.
Gap analysis helps to show the impact of these problems on the other
activities that are dependent upon the work being carried out correctly. The
‘to be’ business process models show how the work should be carried out in
the desired system, so a comparison with the ‘as is’ business process models
will help to identify where changes should be made. Some activities are
performed perfectly well in the current business system, so it may not be
necessary to change them. Given that budgets are usually limited, it is
important to prioritise the work following gap analysis – so identifying areas
that can be addressed with minimal effort, or even left as they are, is
extremely helpful. Some activities will exist in the current situation but be
performed poorly. These need to be the primary focus of any changes, since
they are likely to be the areas where most benefits can result.
If the activity does not exist, or only exists to a limited degree, is it an area
that should be examined within the scope of the study? Some activities are
not present in the current business system, and it is important to understand
both why this is the case and whether the current business analysis study
is required to address them. The scope defined in the terms of reference or
project initiation document will be helpful in identifying where this is the
case. It may be that an extension to the study will be required, because this
area might not have been identified previously, or it may be that there is
already work under way to address this gap. Where problems are highlighted