How to document gap analysis
Gap Analysis in 5 Steps.
Timecodes:
when you're assigned to a project do you
find it difficult to visualize the
future State or to get stakeholders to
articulate the requirements if so you
need to be performing a gap analysis hi
everyone I'm dr. white the founder of
the business analysis doctor and today
I'm gonna be discussing how to perform a
gap analysis but before we get started
be sure to go ahead and subscribe to the
page and like the video if you find it
helpful a gap analysis is a fundamental
part of any business analysis activities
it almost serves as a road map to
requirements elicitation activities so
let's talk more about what a gap
analysis is so what is a gap analysis a
gap analysis really an analysis of the
current state the definition of the
future state and the steps and
activities that need to happen in order
to transition from the current state to
the future state it can help scope out
the areas where new requirements and
capabilities will need to be implemented
the output for the gap analysis is
usually a change strategy which would
generally serve as an outline for the
requirements for the initiative now
let's talk about the steps to perform a
gap analysis step one is to define the
problem that you're trying to solve or
the opportunity that you're trying to
take advantage of step two is to define
your business goals objectives and
outcomes these are your business
requirements now the business
requirements should come from the
stakeholder however from a business
analyst perspective we want to
facilitate the process and make sure
that they're clearly articulated and
that the objectives are measurable and
also that there's a shared understanding
of these business requirements step
three is to analyze the current state or
the current situation and this can be
done in a number of different ways so
you generally want to start by preparing
yourself by doing some type of document
analysis
by reviewing procedures organization
charts process Maps anything that's
going to give you some additional
context for when you start to shadow the
business then perform some type of
shadowing or observation activities for
all of the key areas that are involved
in this initiative once that's completed
be sure to model or describe the process
focusing on the areas that's related to
the particular initiative step number
four define the ideal future state now
this should be determined by the key
stakeholders however the business
analyst should be facilitating and
guiding them through the discovery
process a lot of the times stakeholders
will find it challenging to articulate
the future state because they often have
limited beliefs based on current
constraints on technology skill set or
resources so you'll need to be able to
encourage the stakeholders to define the
ideal future state as if there were no
limitation on technology or resources if
the stakeholders are having challenges
defining the future state a more formal
approach such as a value stream map may
be necessary to get you through that
process now if the project is driven by
a problem that's not fully known or
understood a formal root cause analysis
may be warranted such as a fishbone
diagram or the five why's method also
it's important to document the current
state in the future State with the same
process that way you can simplify a
comparison of the two step number five
identify the gap so this is where you're
going to actually identify the
capabilities and functions in the
desired future state that don't exist in
the current state this should form a
list of gap items now once you have the
list you want to classify the items by
categories such as resources
organizational structure functions and
Technology
now after categorizing them group them
all based on their category
the items that fall under resources and
organizational structure will outline
your transition requirements while the
items that fall under technology and
functions will outline your stakeholder
requirements or your user stories now
you're going to use this list to form
your change strategy which is a
comprehensive list of key activities and
events that need to happen to transition
from the current state to the future
state once your change strategy is
refined and analyzed it's going to serve
as an input to other business analysis
deliverables such as your business case
your BRD your stake in requirements or
your user stories now in addition to the
techniques and tools mentioned
previously some other techniques that
might assist with performing a gap
analysis might include a SWOT analysis
the McKinsey 7s a business capability
analysis a brainstorming session or a
risk analysis well there you have it
folks those are the five steps to
performing a gap analysis in business
analysis I hope you can use this
information on your next project so that
your business analysis activities can be
a little bit healthier for more learning
opportunities be sure to visit the
website at the ba dot-com that's th e ba
do C calm I hope you have a productive
and prosperous week and I wish you all
the best until next time bye now
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