A quick guide to business process analysis and system functional design

1. Business Analysis Thinking
Methodology
A quick guideline for business process analysis and system
functionality design
By Albert Pratama J. Oscar

2. Use the following points as a starting point in conducting business and
requirement analysis
Who is the client and what is its business ?
What are the varieties of product your client
sell ?
Who is the customer of your client ?
How do their run the business and get in touch
with their customer ?
2
First Thing First – Understand Your Client

3. 3
Who is the client and what is its business ?
What are the varieties of product your client sell
?
Who is the customer of your client ?
The Easiest way to do it, is by researching your client
through its Company Website
Find out its core business, its product / service varieties,
major customers, even financial statements

4. 4
How do their run the business and get in touch
with their customer ?
Use 5W1H to understand clients business process, and to
design the system

5. 5w1H as tools for BA
5W 1H Can help as tools to understand the client business process, and to
design system functionality
What
Why
Who
When
Where
How
5

6. What – Understand the Entities
Entity = is something that exists in itself, actually or potentially, concretely or
abstractly, physically or not
Common type of entities in a business process:
Main
Entity
Transaction
Validation
User
System
Attributes
6

7. What – Understand the Entities
Keyword in understanding entities:
Created / Modified /
Terminated in
Main
Entity
Transaction
For which a
set of
Validation
must be applied
Which
executed by
User (s)
And its all happen inside one or several
System (s)
As a result, the output of a process might
become the predecessor for another
Transaction
Attributes
Information needed by a Main Entity /
Transaction
7

8. What – Understand the Entities
Use Case Example:
A Telco Company would like to develop CRM system for its
corporate customer.
One of the objective is to help integrating Sales process, and service
provisioning process, and after sales service into one integrated
system.
The Telco company itself provide several main services:
1. Mobile telecommunication (Postpaid and Prepaid)
2. Fix Phone (PSTN) Services
3. Connectivity Services
Customer of the Telco Company :
1. Corporate Customer (Can have all services)
2. Retail Customer (Can have mobile services only)
8

9. What – Understand the Entities
Use Case Example:
Generally, The way they run its business (to sell mobile services) is by conducting the
following activities:
1. Sales executive Create an Opportunity to Track its sales activities
2. After a deal is closed with prospective customer, Sales handover the provisioning
activities to Sales Operation
3. Sales Admin Create a Sales Order to complete the provisioning . Mobile Phone
number (MSISDN) and GSM Card number (ICCID) is a mandatory information in a
sales order
4. Once a Sales order is submitted, the mobile services must be registered to Several
systems:
1. Billing System
2. Charging System
3. Network Related System
5. Once the mobile service information is registered to these system, the sales order will
be completed, and customer will have the subscription, and can use the service.
6. Customer with active subscription can submit a complain, update its information, or
submit a request to enhance its services. These kind of request will be handled by
customer care through a service request.
9

10. What – Understand the Entities
Use Case Example:
Important Information to be extracted from the case:
1. Sales executive Create an Opportunity to Track its sales activities
2. After a deal is closed with prospective customer, Sales handover the provisioning
activities to Sales admin
3. Sales Admin Create a Sales Order to complete the provisioning . Mobile Phone number
(MSISDN) and GSM Card number (ICCID) is a mandatory information in a sales order
4. Once a Sales order is submitted, the mobile services must be registered to Several
systems:
1. Billing System
2. Charging System
3. Network Related System
5. Once the mobile service information is registered to these system, the sales order will
be completed, and customer will have the subscription, and can use the service.
6. Customer with active subscription can submit a complain, update its information, or
submit a request to enhance its services. These kind of request will be handled by
customer care through a service request.
10

11. What – Understand the Entities
Based on the use case, there are entities that can be identified, as follows:
Main Entity
Customer Represent a person or a corporate using the service
Subscription Represent the services subscribed by the customer
Transaction
Opportunity Transaction to track and record sales activities
Sales Order Transaction to activate the service for the customer
Service Request Transaction to handle complaint / request from the customer
User
Sales executive User responsible to initiate sales activities
Sales Admin User responsible to conduct service provisioning
Customer Care User responsible to do customer care activities
11

12. What – Understand the Entities
Based on the use case, there are entities that can be identified, as follows:
Related system
CRM System System to handle the sales, provisioning and customer care
Billing System System to handle billing and invoicing
Charging system System to handle the charging management
Network related system System to handle the network operation
Attributes
MSISDN Number Mobile Phone number is required in Sales Order transaction
ICCID number GSM Card Number is required in Sales Order transaction
12

13. Why – Understand the Reason
There is always a reason for why the entities are exist.
Understand the reason as a basis to design the following action
What information required to build the main entities.
Main Entities
Transaction
How and when a transaction should be executed
What are the lifecycle of the main entity
When and Where to build and to terminate the main entities
Validation
What are the validation need to be applied in an entity
When to applied the validation to an entity
What information required to execute a transaction.
What are the lifecycle of the main entity
13

14. Why – Understand the Reason
There is always a reason for why the entities are exist.
Understand the reason as a basis to design the following action
Which user is (are) allowed to execute a transaction
User (s)
Systems
What are the systems exist to support the transaction execution
When the user is allowed to execute the transaction
Which user is (are) allowed to access a specific information
In which system a transaction should be executed
How a system communicate to its surrounding environment
14

15. Why – Understand the Reason
15
Use Case Example (cont.):
From the previous example, let’s understand why entities / transaction
is exist. Take an example of why “Opportunity” transaction is exist:
1. To track the Sales activity progress for each prospective client
2. As early information keeper of who is the prospective customer
3. As early information keeper of what are the prospective product to
be offered to customer
4. For the sales manager to monitor the sales progress of his / her
team member

16. Why – Understand the Reason
16
Use Case Example (cont.):
Based on that information, design of the system must consider the
following:
1. Opportunity is a transaction act as starting point of sales activity
(No predecessor activity)
2. Opportunity must keep the information of prospective customer.
It means that Entity “Customer” act as attribute of Opportunity. In
this case, “customer” may have status “prospect”, because it is not
yet become a real customer
3. Opportunity will have several stages / lifecycle to accommodate
the need of tracking the progress of winning probability. The
higher the stages, the higher the probability of a sales executive
can close the deal

17. Why – Understand the Reason
17
Use Case Example (cont.):
4. Opportunity will have set of activities (can be predefined activities)
to help sales executive record its sales activities. Predefined
activities should be considered where it is necessary, to set the
standard on what sales must do.
5. Opportunity should contain the information of prospective
product to be offered to prospective customer. Changing in offer
history should be captured for analytical / reporting purpose.
6. Manager should be able to access / view the opportunities of his
team, in order to track the sales activities of his team

18. Who – Understand the user / system behind
the transaction
A Transaction is always started and executed by the following
entities:
User
System
or
18

19. Who – Understand the user / system behind
the transaction
A Transaction is started and /or executed by the user under the one of
the following condition:
• When there is no predecessor input
• When a decision must be given by human
A Transaction is started and /or executed by the system under the
following condition:
• When there is a clear rule of when and how the system should start
and run the transaction
• When the input for the transaction is available prior the transaction
• When there is a clear rule of when and how the system should stop
the execution
19

20. Who – Understand the user / system behind
the transaction
Use Case Example (cont.):
Continuing from the previous example, the designed will follow the
following things:
1. Transaction “Opportunity” is created and executed by Sales
executive
2. Transaction “Sales Order” is created and executed by Sales Admin
3. Transaction “Service Request” is created and executed by
Customer Care.
20

21. Who – Understand the user / system behind
the transaction
Use Case Example (cont.):
Another example (transaction executed by system).
For postpaid customer, if they do not pay their bill (invoice) for 3
consecutive months (90 days), their mobile services should be blocked.
After analysis, it is found out that
Billing system is the in charge system to authorize the blocking
process. Hence, billing system act as the initiator of the blocking
process, and the blocking process will be executed via an order in CRM
system
21

22. Who – Understand the user / system behind
the transaction
Use Case Example (cont.):
Generate Invoice
Check Invoice Age
Age >
90
days?
Inform CRM to
create Block Order
Create Block Order
END
STA
RT
yes
no
BillingsystemCRMsystem
Notes: The process in this flowchart is simplified. The purpose of this flowchart is only to show that a transaction (in
this case, block order) can be initiated and executed by system(s). In reality, a block process follow more complex
procedures.
22

23. When – Understand the timing
To Understand when a main entity or a transaction must exist,
BA should pay attention to the following point :
Main Entity
Or
Transaction
What are the predecessor
main entity should exist
What are the predecessor
transaction should be
executed
Is there any transaction
need to be executed after
it?
Is there any entity resulted
(exist) as a result of the
transaction ?
23

24. When – Understand the timing
Use Case Example:
Taking Example from Telco company use case, a BA should understand
that “Sales Order” transaction will follow the following condition:
Sales Order
Transaction
Predecessor Entity:
Customer (with status
prospect}
Predecessor transaction:
Opportunity
Possible transaction to be
executed after order
complete : Service Request
Entity resulted (exist) from
a sales order transaction:
Subscription
24

25. Where – Understand the venue
To Understand where a main entity or a transaction should be
executed, BA should pay attention to the following point :
• Core capabilities of each system
• In which system an entity / transaction information should be
stored
• What are the system that accessible by the user
• What are the system accessible by the IT operation / admin
only
• Capability of each system to communicate to the other system
25

26. Where – Understand the venue
Use Case Example (cont.): Taking from previous example, the following diagram
describe which system generate invoice, and execute the blocking order
Notes: The process in this flowchart is simplified. The purpose of this flowchart is only to show that a transaction (in
this case, block order) can be initiated and executed by system(s). In reality, a block process follow more complex
procedures.
26
Generate Invoice
Check Invoice Age
Age >
90
days?
Inform CRM to
create Block Order
Create Block Order
END
STA
RT
yes
no
BillingsystemCRMSystem

27. How – Understand the process
In order to design a process, please keep in mind the following
things:
• Main Entity always have lifecycle
New
Active
Inactive
Main
Entity
Lifecycle
Example
Initial lifecycle
Main lifecycle
End lifecycle
Note : There is always possibility of having another lifecycle in the middle
27

28. How – Understand the process
In order to design a process, please keep in mind the following
things:
• Because main entity has lifecycle, main entity can be created.
Under certain circumstance, it might be able to be modified,
and terminated
• System should always provide a way to track a creation /
modification / termination of a main entity
Created Modified Terminated
Main Entity
28

29. How – Understand the process
Use case example (cont.)
• Entity such as “Customer” may have the following lifecyle:
– Prospect : When a prospective is not yet subscribe any service
– Active: If a customer already subscribe and currently use the service
– Inactive: If a customer is no longer using a service
• Depend on the rule of the client, an inactive customer may
become an active customer again once is subscribe another
service
Prospect Active Inactive
Customer
29

30. How – Understand the process
In order to design a process, please keep in mind the following
things:
• A transaction always have status
Created
In progress
Completed
Transaction
status
example
Initial status
Work in progress
Transaction is
finish
Note : There is always possibility of having another status
30

31. How – Understand the process
Use case example (cont.)
• A Sales order transaction have the following status:
Created
In progress
Completed
Sales Order
status
When Sales admin
create the transaction
When Sales admin
submit the transaction
When System
complete the
transaction
Note : There is always possibility of having another status
31

32. How – Understand the process
In order to design a process, please keep in mind the following things:
• Transaction information can only be modified / cancelled when it is
created and when it is in progress, depending on the condition
• Once a transaction is completed, it cannot be modified
• Main entity status is changed by using transaction
New
Active
Inactive
Main Entity
Lifecycle
Transaction 1
Transaction 2
Transaction 3
32

33. How – Understand the process
Use case example (cont.):
• A customer lifecycle changed as a result of transactions
Prospect
Active
Inactive
Customer
Lifecycle
Opportunity
Sales Order
Termination
order
33

34. Now, Apply it in SDLC
34
DEFINE DISCOVER DESIGN CONFIGURE VALIDATE DEPLOY
Understand
the Client
What Why
When Where
Who How
Validate ALL

35. 35
“ Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish”
-- Steve Job
Thank You