Business Analysis For Dummies

Chapter 17

Ten Ways to Prepare Yourself for a New Project

In This Chapter

Figuring out your starting point

Fostering communication with all parties involved

No matter what the variables are on a project — size, type, stakeholders involved, or whatever — taking a few particular steps before you jump in is always a good idea. In this chapter, we present ten smart things you should always do to get yourself ready to start a new project.

Hit the Ground Running and Get Up to Speed

The best thing you can do for yourself after you’re assigned to a new project — even if you’re not going to start for a few weeks — is to begin the ramp-up process. No matter what stage of a project you accept a business analysis role in, you’re already a touch behind and have some catching up to do. Unless you conceived the project, someone ahead of you has already identified the issues and business drivers, determined the solution, made the case for the project, or started building or executing the project plan. Therefore, at a minimum, you’ve got some background and context to catch up on!

Even if you don’t know much about your new project, you can use your fabulous elicitation skills and techniques to do a little research. Try the following:

First, look at the domain area — your stakeholder’s key problem ...