Tag: Best Practices

Project Management Tips and Tools

Written by Amy Lamare on November 9, 2011. Posted in Articles. 4 Comments on Project Management Tips and Tools

Successful project management abides by several principles. Essentially, every project needs three components to be successful: it must come in on time, within budget, and to the degree of quality that is expected. Sounds easy enough, but every experienced project manager knows that anyone who counts their proverbial chickens before they hatch will not complete the project on time, budget, or with quality.

Successful project management has tended to rely on time-tested and proven methods of planning, managing, and charting workflow throughout the project cycle. The old saying, “When it’s not broken, why fix it?” can certainly be applied here; however, what if a new way of managing the workflow in a project cycle was more efficient, more accessible and more transparent to all members of the team?

Consider the fact that one of the toughest things a project manager has to do is maintain the focus of his or her team. Often the team members are not committed to just one project. They have other projects. Increasingly, members of a team may be located in different locations. This makes the job of the project manager harder. How do you build in strong standards and practices when one team member is in California, another is in Colorado and a third in Connecticut? New web-based project management solutions offer an alternative to traditional workflow charts and software. With an interface that tracks all aspects of the project, everyone on the team can check the status and check for tasks assigned to them while the project manager has one easy place to go and oversee it all.

This solution minimizes rework and keeps projects on track so that they can be delivered on time and on budget. With email notifications, when the project manager changes something in the timeline, all members of the team are notified. Every good project manager knows that the first plan they lay out will not be the one they stick with. Project Management, by its very nature, is about planning then re-planning and then tearing the timeline apart and planning it again. As a project progresses, it takes on a life of its own and the collaboration between the team members will, in part, dictate the timeline. A good project manager knows how to manage and adapt to this changing aspect of the life cycle of the project.

An aspect of project management that holds true no matter what the nature of the project is that all deliverables and activities must be visualized and communicated in great detail. At the start of the project, the entire team must come to an agreement on what the finished project will look like. This enables the entire team to focus their efforts in the same direction. Web-based project management solutions ensure that all team members stay on the same page even as the life cycle of the project evolves.

The scope of work of any project evolves — it is the nature of project management. However, if all members of the team are not on the same page and focused on the same end goal, time and money can be lost when the project gets off track. Therefore, it is important for the project manager to build the deliverables — or the stages of the project — incrementally. Step A leads to step B and then to step C and eventually the team will get to Z. A project that is not focused on a step-by-step building toward the goals will inevitably fall off track and lose time. Build a little at a time, obtain incremental reviews and approvals, and maintain a controlled evolution.

Project Managers are the gatekeepers of a project and as such must be firm and in control at all times. Basically, the project manager must fight for the time to make sure things are done right. It isn’t enough to simply be accountable for the project’s outcome; a good project manager will ensure that they’ve obtained the time, authority and resources needed to deliver successfully at each stage of the project’s life cycle. The key to success in this arena of the project lies in documentation. The more thoroughly documented the needs of the project are, the more focused the efforts of the team will be with leads to the direct causation of successful completion of the project.

A key component of a good project manager lies in their ability to be a cheerleader and a salesman. Not only do they have to sell the customer or client on the project, but they must cheer their team along to keep them focused and on track. Web-based project management solutions can aid the project manager in this task as they provide an accessible place for everyone involved in the project — whether on the team completing it or the people receiving the deliverables — to check in and track the stages of the cycles and the evolution of the final product.

Needless to say, a project manager would be nowhere without the people that make up their team. Each member has a specific skill set that is integral to the success of the project. By bringing together the best people they can, a project manager can often compensate for having too little time or money to complete the project. Skilled team members can compensate for areas in which the project is lacking. It is the project manager’s job to protect their team from outside interruptions? By preserving their working conditions, the project manager is taking out insurance on the end result. Web-based project management solutions that allow team members to check in and brainstorm without wasting valuable time are the next wave in project efficiency.

Don’t forget to leave your comments below.

Amy Lamare is a staff writer for CollectiveSoft maker of TeamWork Live, a leading project management software based near San Francisco, CA. Amy specializes in creative and concept development for team collaboration, project deployment and user experience.

Scheduling 101: Remember the Basics

Written by George Pitagorsky on October 26, 2011. Posted in Articles. 4 Comments on Scheduling 101: Remember the Basics

Unquestionably scheduling is a challenge in just about any project. It becomes an even greater challenge when requirements change and resources are shared amongst multiple projects and between projects and operational activities.

My first project management job was on the Polaris project. A huge program but one in which most of the resources were dedicated full time and priorities and scope were stable. The hardest part of scheduling in that project was effort estimating and accounting for risk.

Since then I have found myself involved with projects in which resources are shared, there is little or no multi-project resource management and in which clients and users are up to their necks with day to day work so getting them to take part in requirements definition, decision making, testing and roll-out activities involves prayer, threats and the like.
So how do we schedule under those adverse conditions?

Well, one choice is to not schedule at all. Just do the work and finish when you’re finished. In this mode, frustration and escalation as well as diligence and commitment are the drivers for getting the job done. Sometimes projects never get done at all, staying on the back burner forever.

This is not my first choice. Like many who find themselves managing projects I want a bit more control. Clients and executives want to know when the results will be ready.

I have pretty much given up on certainty (uncertainty and impermanence are the only certainties). No amount of the best scheduling is going to provide a guaranteed end date. But, some reasonably accurate sense of “when” is needed and possible. That’s the message we need to get across to stakeholders and ourselves.

The key is realism. Begin with a solid sense of scope and a sense of how stable its definition is. Then create an estimate of how much effort is required. You’ll know this based on having done the work before and by breaking the work down into manageable chunks and estimating the chunks. If the project is unique, chances are many of the tasks are not that unique. Breaking the work down will enable you to identify the uncertainties and do a better job of estimating. If the project is like many others you’ve done before, life is easy. Do a top down analogous estimate. For tasks that have long lead times or are being done by people who are not effectively accountable (for example outside auditors, permit grantors, etc.) Build in a cushion.

As we know from basic training in PM the next step is sequencing to identify which tasks can be done in parallel and which must be done serially.

Next comes the hard part, resource allocation. If you are in an environment that maintains an accurate picture of how resources are allocated then this part is relatively easy. You can see who’s available when and schedule accordingly.

If on the other hand you are among the many without such an advantage you must be careful to estimate resource availability. Don’t fall into the trap of creating a schedule based on wishful thinking (or non-thinking). If you and other resources are bouncing from project to project to operational activities and back, build or if resources like clients, senior managers and end users (yes, these are project human resources) are hard to pin down for meetings and their task durations, then build contingency into your schedule. If you can, minimize interruptions and schedule projects or tasks so that they can be done without unnecessary starts and stops. Don’t be afraid to expand the schedule to accommodate multi-tasking, if you cannot get dedicated resources.

Manage risk. Keep in mind the difference between what is most likely to happen as opposed to what you would most like to have happen.

To account for uncertainty, use buffers or contingency funds rather than elongating individual tasks. At the task level, it is best to pin performers down to a specified target date. On the project level, it is realistic to expect completion within a range. Use contingency funds to manage task slippage and expectations.

Remember, scheduling is a means for managing expectations and performance. Make the initial schedule realistic and aggressive.

Be courageous. Don’t cave in to demands to set a target date that you know is a pipe dream. Adjust the schedule as actual performance and current perspectives dictate.

In the end, scheduling, and planning in general, does not determine the project outcome. The plan sets a direction and approach. They provide the map we use to determine if we are on course. If we are not on course we adjust. If the map is inaccurate we change it.

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Three Tips for Solving the Communications Dilemma

Written by Elizabeth Larson on October 12, 2011. Posted in Articles. 6 Comments on Three Tips for Solving the Communications Dilemma

Oct12_Feature Recently I talked to a colleague with a communications dilemma. She wondered how she should communicate with her various stakeholder groups. Thinking out loud she pondered, “When I’m with business people, I always try to use business language, including their acronyms, which I’ve gone out of my way to learn. But what about when I’m talking to the technical experts? Should I talk techie to them?” She went on to say, “I write a lot of proposals. I have some stakeholders who let me know right away about typos or if my grammar is not exactly right. I have other stakeholders who have told me that my writing style is too formal and that I shouldn’t use such correct grammar. They feel it’s intimidating and unfriendly.”
As BAs and PMs we know we’re supposed to be good communicators, but what exactly does that mean? We are trained to be aware of others’ communication style. We use our intuition, empathy, and awareness of body language to “read” others. But is that enough? And does that apply equally to our written and our verbal communication? What about the language we use? I have always loved the quote from the poet William Butler Yeats, “Think like a wise [person] but communicate in the language of the people.” Does that mean, however, that when we are talking to someone who misuses the language, that we should match our language to theirs? I don’t think so. Matching the communication style does not necessarily mean mimicking their language. However, we do want a communication style that makes our stakeholders comfortable.

How can we solve this communications dilemma? Here are three tips for both written and verbal communications that can help.

Take the time to keep it simple. We are all aware of the wisdom of keeping it simple, but simple doesn’t mean easy. Simple doesn’t mean careless. It is often harder to keep it simple, because keeping it simple requires thought, precision, and a good command of the language. I find that it takes a great deal of thought to write concisely and say everything I want to in language that all stakeholders will understand.

That same principle of simplicity applies when we paraphrase, or restate what was said in different words while keeping the nature of what was said intact. I think paraphrasing is one of the most difficult skills to master. It requires the ability to take in a lot of information, to synthesize it, to concentrate on what is being said, and at the same time to rework the ideas to make them understandable. It’s tough work!

Be correct without being pretentious. When we use incorrect grammar or when we don’t bother to check our work, we run the risk of being judged poorly, of reducing our credibility, and of not being taken seriously. On the other hand, when we use ornate language and complex sentence structure, we run the risk of losing our audience. I remember taking a multiple choice test in high school where the correct answer was “It is I who am going shopping.” Wow. And of course there’s the famous line from Churchill. Apparently his editors rewrote a sentence to make it grammatically correct, and apparently he responded with the famous line, “This is the sort of bloody nonsense up with which I will not put,” pointing out the ridiculous nature of obscure grammatical rules. In a nutshell, I think we should strive for communications that are both intelligent and clear.
Use language that both technical and business people understand. I have found that when I use technical language with business people, they have a harder time understanding me than if I use business language with technical people. Using business language, then, tends to be more easily understood by all stakeholders. As a project manager working on software development projects, I always encouraged the developers to use business terms, even when the subject was technical in nature. For example, instead of saying DB17, I encouraged the team to talk, even among themselves, about the Price Change database.

Another example I use is that when we need to find out about data business rules, we might walk into a requirements workshop and ask about the cardinality and optionality, but we’d probably get some blank stares. However, we can translate those concepts into questions our SMEs can understand and answer. For example, we might ask if end-users can set up customers who don’t have any accounts. Or what information the end-users need to enter before they can leave the web page. I have always believed that translating technical concepts into business English, while annoying to some team members and technical whizzes, has always been worthwhile. It encourages us to focus on the business need rather than the technical solution.

Finally, let’s look at the intent of the communications. If we all understand each other and what we’re trying to say, then I believe we are communicating effectively, even if our grammar isn’t perfect or we don’t use the right words. And I believe that most stakeholders get that and won’t judge us harshly. However, for those stakeholders who want each “i” dotted, let’s proof our work. It will help build our credibility. The key is to know our stakeholders, but that’s a topic for a different day.

Don’t forget to leave your comments below.

10 Key Success Factors for Application Implementation Projects

Written by Brenda Hallman on August 8, 2011. Posted in Articles. 88 Comments on 10 Key Success Factors for Application Implementation Projects

There are many factors in an application implementation-related project that over time have proved to be key contributors to the success of such projects. This includes items that may seem obvious, such as solid testing, communication, and involvement by key staff members, but these are often under utilized in favor of saving time. When projects skimp on these key items, it is likely to result in:

delays in meeting project dates,
disagreements on what the project is expected to deliver,
difficulty solving issues,
confusion on direction, work requirements, and status of the project,
lack of buy-in from team members and the end users,
additional stress and demands on the time of team members and end users, particularly near the end of the project,
less satisfaction from the client on the final delivered product.

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Many types of documents, templates, tools, and strategies exist for managing a project. This article will focus on 10 items that represent supported concepts in the project management industry and should, at minimum, be utilized for all significant application implementation projects.

Related Article: A Project Manager’s Guide to User Experience

1. Solid contract with software provider

A verbal agreement won’t cut the paper it’s written on. Get it in writing! If a contract is already completed and these items have not been included, you should work with your vendor to reach agreement on these terms. Additionally, you should work with your organization to see that these items are included in future contracts.

The components that you will want to have well defined are:

1. a payment schedule,

2. outline system performance criteria,

3. penalties related to performance issues and delivery delays,

4. documentation requirements,

5. training, which is provided,

6. inclusion of a test system, and possibly a training system,

7. issue resolution/turnaround time/escalation policy,

8. and vendor support during and after the application live event.

Having these items defined contractually is an assist to the project manager. It will provide you with agreed-upon criteria allowing you the leverage to hold your vendors accountable to their deliverables.

2. Involvement by key staff and resources

The organizational structure of those involved in the project is a significant indication of the success of a project and is one of the first things you want to have in place to start the project.

Make sure to have a:

Project Sponsor.

This person should be a senior manager head of the Steering Committee. They will be the source who authorizes the project, ultimately ‘owns’ the project, and sources the funding for the project. They would not and should not be a member of the project team.

Leadership Committee.

This leadership committee is responsible for following the status of the project, representing the project to their peers and senior management, and assuring all of the appropriate parties are involved. This group will make any decisions that the team cannot determine, they will assist rectifying business issues and with escalation of problems including to vendors or internal staffing. Use these people! They are there for you.

Project Team.

These are the folks that are performing the work for the project. You may have several teams, or workgroups, with different focuses.

Project Manager.

Hey! This is probably you! The Project Manager is responsible for overseeing that the work is getting completed as expected on schedule. They manage any deviation from the scope or schedule to get the project back on track. They are generally responsible for planning and often own and complete the project documents (such as the scope, staffing plan).

Additionally, consider the following while staffing the project team:

Be certain to include individuals who know the business. If there are different aspects of the business involved in the project, include a representative from each of these areas. These individuals will often serve the most benefit as project team members who are active in identifying processes, business needs, and performing testing and training.
Consider a ‘superuser’ strategy. This works well where individuals are identified early on in the project to serve as business/application experts. They may be those who perform testing and training as well as first line support for end users. These users can often serve as project team members.
A Project Staffing Plan should be completed to include the names of the individuals involved, the committee or teams that they are serving on, and the roles and responsibilities of those individuals and teams. All team members, and their managers, should approve this plan so there is agreement on the expectations.

3. Plan how the project will be managed

Create and share a Project Management Plan that will document how the project will be managed. This should be agreed upon with the resources and management.

Document how changes will be handled, especially those that impact the scope, dates, budget, or resources.
Document how issues will be managed and escalated.
State how the schedule will be managed.
Include all methods of communications that will be used for the project.
Once you review this with the team, you will likely be the sole audience for it. Really, it’s not that entertaining and you shouldn’t expect others to be interested in it. However, you will utilize the content to guide how various aspects of the project are to be managed and you may also refer to it if a deviation occurs where you need to reference the agreed-upon terms.

4. Define and agree upon the project scope

Write a project Scope, state what is and what is not included in the project.

Document deliverables and assumptions.
Refer to any requirements that were gathered. If no requirements were gathered, meet with stakeholders across the board to determine their requirements so that expectations can be documented and agreed upon.
Include Milestones, which are significant events, with their due dates. Remember that “TBD” is not a date!
All project team members should understand the scope.
It is important to get formal approval from the Steering Committee on the scope before the project execution phases begin.

5. Development and management of a schedule

A Schedule is the central tool to managing a project’s activities and keeping on track.

Develop a schedule that documents the tasks that need to be done to complete all of the deliverables outlined in the scope.
Be sure to include dependencies, but not the work associated with those dependencies, on items that are outside the scope of the project.
Assign names and due dates to each task. Does that seem obvious? While it is probably obvious, it is not always done. Oh, “TBD” is not a person either!
Items that risk a delay should be done as early as possible. This may include such things as ordering hardware or scheduling training.
Highlight tasks that are milestones from the Scope. This will allow better tracking and reporting of those milestones.
Note items that are on the critical path (these are tasks that if delayed will delay the rest of the project). Special attention should be paid to these tasks to keep the project on time.

6. Management of an Issues List

Having one central repository to log issues is invaluable.

Each issue should include a clear description, name of who is assigned to own/resolve the issue, a due date, status, and priority. If an issue is being resolved by someone who is not on the team, it should be assigned to a team member who is responsible for tracking the issue. Another note, “ASAP” is not a date! Your ‘soon’ and someone else’s ‘soon’ can be two entirely different times!
“High” priority should be reserved for those issues that, if not resolved, could impact the stability of the application, the integrity of the data, or completion dates of critical tasks and events.
Track issues actively (daily or weekly). Include new ones as soon as they arise. Log updates to each issue as they become known.
Document issues even if they are likely to be easily solved. Those tend to be the ones that get away and should not be ignored.
Share the issues list with the entire project team; get updates regularly from the owners of the issues as well as team members who may have items to add.

7. Solid Testing

Testing is critical to understand how the application will work in the installed environment, if it performs according to expectations, and to identify any problems with the software or processes so they are addressed prior to the live event.

Document what type of testing must be done (i.e., database conversion, data flows, user front end, business flow). Include who will be involved in testing and how it will be performed.
Write Test Scripts that detail all scenarios that could occur. Business end users should be involved in this as they are most likely to understand all aspects of their business.
Test items that are standard operations as well as those items that occur infrequently.
Conduct user testing with staff members who are familiar with the business for which the application is designed. They should be validating the application for their business.
Allow time in the schedule to retest anything that did not work initially. If any changes are made to software or setup, run through most tests again to assure there is no negative impact in other areas.
Determine security access, setup, and test user accounts prior to live.

8. Training Program

Proper training is essential to assure that end users are prepared to use the application.

Identify all users early on in the project; this will help to confirm all possible scenarios are covered and all users are part of the project communication.
Training will be optimized, and sessions better received, if individuals who will have similar use of the application are trained together. Also, if there are users who are not familiar with computer systems, consider holding a general knowledge training first.
If the possibility exists, allow the users to have access to the test or training system before the live so they can practice. Consider providing practice scenarios for this occasion.
Create a Tip Sheet that is easy to read and highlights the top items a user would need to know. This can be useful for the live as well.

9. Preparation for Live Event

A review of all deliverables and tasks should occur weeks before the system is ready for production use.

Anyone involved in the project should verify that all tasks are completed, or will be completed as scheduled, for the live event.
Issues should be scrutinized at this time so a decision can be made regarding their potential impact to the live.
Assign staff who have a good understanding of the application and business to assist users during the first days of production use. Establish a central call number that is staffed with individuals who can track, solve, or escalate issues.

10. Communication

Communication is one of the key items recognized as leading to a successful project. It should also be noted that in projects experiencing problems, communication is often reported as lacking. So last, but certainly not least, are tips to improve this valuable activity.

Keep committees and teams informed. The Steering Committee should be meeting at least once a month. The agenda should include a review of an up-to-date status report and focus on any issues or concerns with dates or deliverables. This committee should not be concerned with the work outlined in the schedule, but rather the higher-level milestones. The same holds true with issues. Only review high-priority issues that may have a negative impact on the project and not the entire issues list.
Team meetings should occur weekly or as needed. Even a short conference call meeting can be effective to get everyone together. Those involved will have an opportunity to state something that may otherwise be overlooked. Status on the work being completed can be shared with all team members to assure everyone is in line with what is expected.
Monthly or weekly Status Reports should be completed and shared with all involved individuals. The status report should include: status of milestones, recent work completed, what work is to occur next, high-priority issues, and changes to budget, scope, schedule, or resources. This should not be a detailed account of activities but rather a summary.
Users should be informed of the progress of the project as it evolves. Try to present them with demonstrations of the application in advance. Distributing emails or newsletters are a good way to get information out and often receives a positive response. End users do not need to know about problems, but the more they are involved with the status of the project, the more they will accept the change.
Remember that communication is vital to the success of a project. It allows for establishing expectations and keeping everyone informed. Only provide recipients with information they require and do not burden them with excessive details. Different audiences may require different formats or content.

Consider the above items when approaching your next project. Although this article describes some instances specific to application-related projects, most strategies will be valuable to any project.

Don’t forget to leave your comments below.

Brenda Hallman has over 15 years of experience in project management, most recently in the Project Management Office at Main Line Health where she is responsible for standards, tools, mentoring, education, and program development for project management staff. Ms. Hallman has a Bachelors of Science Degree in Computer Science and Mathematics from Edinboro University, a Masters Degree in Business from Penn State University, and a Masters Certification in Project Management from Villanova University. She has worked in the information services arena initially in software development and later in project management. She is PMP certified.

UAT Tips & Templates

Written by Abubakar Munawar on July 26, 2011. Posted in Articles. 4 Comments on UAT Tips & Templates

What is UAT?

User Acceptance Test, or UAT or Acceptance Testing, all defines the single meaning.

According to The International Institute of Business Analysis – Body of Knowledge V2.0, User Acceptance Test or UAT is defined as “Test cases that users employ to judge whether the delivered system is acceptable. Each acceptance test describes a set of system inputs and expected results.“

User acceptance test refers to the satisfactory test of solution by users before moving the solution to LIVE Environment. In UAT, users of the software validate the maximum possible scenarios that may come in LIVE environment, which are tested in the solution and found to be accurate.

If UAT is about testing the solution, then a question comes to mind: “What do Quality Assurance departments do at their end when they say they are testing the application?” For that I would simply say, there is a 360-degree difference in both types of testing, and the biggest difference is the goal/objective of both.

The goal of software testing is “to make sure the software meets the specification” or “to make sure that the developed software is bug free.“

Whereas the goal of User Acceptance Testing is “to make sure that system completely supports the day-to-day business scenarios along with other known possible scenarios that may create a hurdle in business operations, and to make sure that software will not hurt the LIVE operation when it will be running in a LIVE environment.“

UAT is considered a final stage of any software development initiative. Without successfully completing the UAT, the project cannot be considered as completed nor does any client accept.

The Myth:

While discussing the project issues with different colleagues, friends, community members and others, I have found that many Business Analysts try to implement the system directly in a LIVE environment, i.e., user starts entering LIVE entries and when all entries are entered and reports are matched, the system is considered as implemented and signed off.

Exceptional/abnormal scenarios are part of routine business, and they are also very hard to recall/identify. In the earlier-mentioned situation, when the user was focused on testing the system based on LIVE entries only, he definitely loses the focus on those abnormalities that arise usually in his business transactions. Further, there might be some special cases that were handled in some other way by the users; those cases will also be missed in testing based on LIVE data. All of these abnormalities, special cases and others issues will come someday in the LIVE environment when the user will be using the software, which will be the time the user will say, “I used to solve this case by pressing that button in legacy system” or “I did this case by doing this, this and this,” and the vendor will ask for Change Request and two things will be charged (money and time), and due to time the business may suffer.

Consider the other scenario in which the user took his time with the business analyst and identified the maximum possible scenarios including normal/routine business transactions along with any abnormality or exceptional scenarios. And when the system is ready, users test all those scenarios in the system and after successful completion of testing, the system goes LIVE. This will minimize the chances of abnormality or exceptional cases in the LIVE environment.

Conducting UAT is equally important for both Vendor (Software Developer) and the Client (Software User). Thousands of reasons can be written on the importance and impact of not doing UAT; following, are some very important reasons for which UAT should be done in every project.

Reduce chances of error in LIVE Environment: Maximum possible scenarios are identified and tested before software moved to LIVE environment

Increase User Satisfaction: UAT provides full-fledge access of software to user, which gives him a lot of confidence as well as satisfaction to allow him to test the software that soon he will be using in a LIVE environment

Reduce risk of regulatory & other compliance: As in UAT, the system is tested on maximum business scenarios; the risk of regulatory and other compliances that may bring penalties in term of financial impact, opportunity loss or customer dissatisfaction can be minimized.

Reduce Time: In new/automated system, there is a chance that the system has automated some business processes along with some changes in existing processes, which might have increased some process steps found to be unnecessary or wasting time in the LIVE environment, UAT allows users to identify those unnecessary steps before going into the LIVE environment, it allows organizations to save time by reducing process steps that may take time in the LIVE environment and incur extra costs.

Business reputation: If due to software solution, organization is unable to provide the services to its customer or provide the services with delay or somehow impact customer by giving wrong figures or showing wrong transaction in customer’s account, this may blow the business reputation and definitely results in customer dissatisfaction, and with this, the company may lose a good amount of business that was successfully in hand having the legacy system in place.

Role of Business Analyst in UAT

Business Analyst as a neutral, non-technical, business side representative makes a good UAT conductor. Due to his focus of solving business problems, independent from developer and not having a technical mind, he can easily think in the shoes of the customer to identify the normal as well as complex, uncertain and abnormal scenarios along with real like data and help users in testing the same before going into the LIVE environment. And finally, the Business Analyst has a vested interest of high-quality software along with the solution of the business problem with value addition and so is motivated to perform rigorous testing of the system.

Skills Requirement of Business Analyst for UAT

As mentioned earlier, UAT is the last and final stage after which the system will go LIVE, and therefore, the crust of this activity is to make sure that maximum scenarios are tested in the system and if issues are found they are reported accordingly. Due to the criticality and importance of the UAT phase, the role of the UAT conductor requires multi-faceted skills. These qualities allow the person playing that role to perform this important activity; the business analyst must think in the shoes of the user to understand his problem. Absence of these skills may fail the overall UAT phase.

Further, following skills and competencies are required to be possessed by the Business Analyst to conduct effective/successful UAT:

People Handling: Business Analyst that holds good skills of people handling and can develop a good relationship with users in order to explain his point of view, and that skill also helps business analysts to understand the point of view of users. In UAT, users sometimes try to resist change or try to imply his point, but having a good relationship with the business analyst, the issue of ego doesn’t come between and things get concluded in a positive direction.

Domain Knowledge: As quoted in every business analysis-related article, “Domain Knowledge is mandatory for Business Analyst.” Off-course[G1] , if a business analyst lacks the domain knowledge, he will not be able to conduct the successful UAT. Due to his limitation in business knowledge, he will not be able to identify the business scenarios, nor can he help the user in identification of the same, and also will not be able to question the wrong scenarios or wrong practices that the user requires to be added as scenario in the software.

Software Functional Knowledge: You must have heard a business analyst saying, “I need to talk to my technical team to get the idea how this screen will work?” Consider the confidence level of the user on the business analyst and software when a person who is facing him is telling him how to do UAT? Don’t know about his own solution.[G2] Business analysts must understand the inside out of the whole solution; I would say, “He should be the person who has maximum knowledge of software working.” With this skill set, he can conduct efficient UAT, as the issue of stuck due to software functionality.

Executor, Initiator: Business analysts should have the skills of execution; he should have the ability to drive the users according to the UAT Plan and in case of any issues related to user availability, system errors, other resource availability, any other showstoppers or issues of progress, he should escalate it to the right person immediately without wasting time. Business analysts should observe the situation and inform the relevant stakeholder in case he senses some risk or issue that is arising.

Positive Attitude: Business analysts should always maintain a positive attitude and consider the comments of users as areas of improvement and act accordingly rather than start being defensive or sometimes offensive about it. He should understand the user’s point of view and in case the user is of a different mindset, try to convince him positively with rationals[G3] and arguments to support his opinion.

Common UAT Problems Faced by Business Analysts in UAT

1. User Availability: Issue # 1 of any UAT, even if users are marked as fulltime user to the project, still they will not be able to give you required time, due to their involvement in day-to-day operations. As most of the time organizations find it difficult to execute the full-time strategy, because the user assigned to automation project are usually more skillful than others in their department, and assigning them to the project for fulltime impacts the day-to-day operations of the organization, and if the organization is ready to do so, it will require their users’ interactions, which again impacts the user availability for UAT. Therefore, business analysts should maintain the record of user availability and escalate if user is not available as required for UAT.

2. Detail-Oriented Personality: There are some users who have a very detail-oriented personality or, in order words, they are perfectionists. These users are very hard to handle due to their expectations and requirements; they always want everything completed precisely and in detail. And their focus on detail drives them to the complex scenarios that a business has never faced before and might not face in the future as well, but they insist on testing those scenarios or handling of those scenarios in the software. That type of personality eats your UAT time like a grasshopper eats the grass. And as they are perfectionists, it is usually hard to explain your point of view to them and they also sometimes face problems in understanding the point-of-view of others, which moves the UAT phase into a never-ending cycle. But the important point that should be highlighted here is that this type of personality is problematic in UAT but can be good utilized in the requirement phase due to their detailed understanding of the business process.

3. Overlooking Personality: In UAT, you may face a personality that is easygoing and will not put required efforts on details of the system and its testing. This is the personality that will tell business analysts that “Everything is fine, all is good.” That type of personality focuses on getting things done with simplicity; they sometimes do it because they don’t know about the pain they will be facing if UAT is not done effectively. That type of personality is very high risk for UAT as the chances of overlooking functionalities are too high, and Business Analysts should identify that personality and handle it by going into every detail and letting that user think that BAs want him to go in detail along with escalating the issue to the right level if required.

4. Issue Log Management & Prioritization: In UAT, many issues are identified, and if they are not logged and prioritized at right time, the whole UAT exercise will go wasted. While doing UAT sessions, the user identifies many issues related to application, and there could be a lot of issue types, some of which could be “GUI Related, Logical Observation, Application Bug, Business Not Mapped” etc. The bigger software has a greater type of issues along with their number as well. As a BA, you should follow a good mechanism of logging and managing the process of issues. Every issue reported should be logged-in in enough detail to be understandable by the user and technical TEAM both, as those issues will finally be reported to the technical TEAM for resolution. BAs should also consider scoping at this level, because there might be some issues that were not in initial scope due to “requirement not discussed” or some other reason. Those issues should be reported in log but BAs should identify them as “Out of Scope” and set the expectation of the user that this will not be handled in the current release of the software.

5. Understanding of Requirements: It has been observed that Business Analysts who are conducting UAT with user and were part of the initial requirement phase (Software Requirement Specifications Phase) were able to conduct the UAT more effectively than the business analysts who are assigned directly to UAT without their involvement in SRS Phase. This is due to the understanding of requirements, as if the BA is involved in the initial requirement phase he would have better and a detailed idea of what the specific requirement is all about, and if he is not, he might have his own point of view in place for specific requirements that create hassle for the user who is doing the UAT. Therefore, the recommendation is the BA who is doing UAT should be part of the initial requirement phase, and if he was not, he should go through each requirement in enough detail to understand the different aspects of requirement and its implications.

6. Complex/Demotivating/Offensive Personality: In projects, you face different types of personalities, and all of them impact the project in different ways at different stages. You might have seen some personality in your projects who used to say, “This project is not going to work,” “This project is Pandora’s box,” or my favorite, “We are playing GIGO (Garbage In Garbage Out).” Complex, demotivating or offensive personalities exist in projects and BAs cannot afford to avoid them. Good BAs should understand how to work with those personalities And how to get maximum out of them without going into never-ending arguments. These types of personalities are not very hard to handle and Business Analysts can handle them by maintaining his positive attitude, good relationships with individuals and good arguments to support his decision every time. And if things get uncontrollable, then BAs should know when and to whom the matters should be escalated.

Tasks performed by Business Analysts in UAT Phase

While doing UAT, business analysts perform different tasks based on the type of projects, duration and organization standards. The following tasks are generic to be followed in every UAT:

Solution Validation: Validate that solution meets the Business Requirements
Verify the Organization Readiness: BA should make sure that the end user is ready to use the software, by checking that the required resources along with relevant tools and trainings are delivered
Identification & Validation of Scenarios: BA should identify scenarios that will be tested in UAT Phase and get those scenarios validated from end user
Create Training Plan: BA should publish the training plan to engage the required resources
Create UAT Plan: BA should publish the UAT plan so that required resources can be arranged
Conduct the training of software: BA should allow user to do hands-on UAT by providing training of software, so that user satisfaction can be achieved
Conduct UAT: UAT should be conducted keeping in mind the objective of UAT, which is to “make sure that system fulfills the day-to-day transaction of business along with any other known exceptions”
Record the Results: UAT can only be effective if issues are logged religiously
UAT Feedback: BA should from time to time confirm from user that solution fulfills the business needs as anticipated by user and update the feedback to related stakeholders
Conduct UAT Signoff (Approval to GO LIVE)

Documentation created by Business Analyst in UAT

There could be different sets of documentation a Business Analyst does in UAT. The type and level of documentation is totally based on the methodology of the overall project, type of project and organization standards. E.g., By following the Water Fall, methodology in overall projects the level of formality in BA documentation becomes high and the number of documents increased, whereas in Agile there are low numbers of documents due to the low level of formality.

Following documents has been found to be useful for Business Analysts in the UAT phase; for better understanding, the list of documents is divided into sub-phases of UAT:

UAT Planning

for UAT (Must Have Document) & Business Scenarios Download Template 1 Template 2
Business Process Flows to make sure that user is doing the right things (Must Have Document) Download Template
Application Process Flows to map the business process on application to support user in identifying the relevant screen for each business process step (Must Have Document) Download Template
Deployment Things To do to make sure setup/primary data is ready with user before initiating the UAT along with any other resources (users, trainings, machines, etc.) that are required for UAT Download Template
Deployment Slip on successful deployment of application on client premises Download Template
Training Plan to schedule the resources required to provide software training to users (Must Have Document) Download Template
Training Script: This document is to prepare BA for the training and UAT session, in which BA identifies what screens he will be training and by entering what data and how?
UAT Plan to schedule the resources required to conduct UAT (Must Have Document) Download Template

UAT Execution

Training Signoff: User has accepted that training is done (high formality) Download Template
UAT Issue Log: Should be maintained at any cost and shared with all stakeholders (Must Have Document) Download Template
Daily UAT Summary to inform all stakeholders about the daily progress of UAT (Must Have Document) Download Template

UAT Closure

UAT Signoff is authorization from user to GO LIVE Download Template
Customer Testimonial

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Abubakar Munawar, is a Trainer, Mentor and Consultant for Business Analysis, Process Improvement & Reengineering. He is a Business Graduate with over ten years of experience in Business Analysis, Software Designing, Development, Quality Assurance, Implementation Project and Product Management. He is working in Lucky Cement Limited as a Deputy Manager Information Technology and earlier he was a Project Manager & Lead Business Analyst with Plexus Private Limited for Investments Applications Division. He has conducted many corporate training programs for in-service personnel of large organizations in Pakistan.