PMI-PBA Domain: Planning

This is the second in a series of posts about the creation of our PMI-PBA Exam Prep study guide. In my first post I talked about the Needs Assessment Domain and this post will highlight Business Analysis Planning. The PMI-PBA (Professional in Business Analysis) designation recognizes professionals who have experience and knowledge performing business analysis work.

Business Analysis work is performed by people with many different titles and this is especially true in studying the Planning Domain. Project Managers recognize the critical importance of planning in project success.

PMs have expertise in thinking ahead about how their projects will best be accomplished. They often consult with experts and known project team members to develop their plans and assess risks. This strategy of distributed planning is supported by the PMI-PBA Domain called Planning, and referred to as Business Analysis Planning in PMI’s Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice guide

Studying for the Exam

Ideally, experienced business analysis professionals develop business analysis plans by considering: 1) the characteristics of the business need or proposed solution, and 2) the stakeholders, and 3) the context or environment within which the solution will exist. These three aspects of planning build upon the knowledge gained in the Needs Assessment Domain.

During planning we decide which elicitation techniques, analysis and modeling techniques, requirements management procedures, and validation procedures will be used during the project. Another important component of planning is agreement about the stakeholder’s acceptance criteria. Some of the techniques which you will need to know for questions in this domain include stakeholder analysis, interviewing, document analysis along with the traditional PM planning tools like a work breakdown structure (WBS) and estimating.

PM/BA Collaboration Point

PMs and BAs work closely together while planning to make sure that the business analysis activities will support and enhance the other project work. When a PM does not have a business analysis professional on his or her team, he or she has to develop business analysis plans along with the other project management plans.

Stay Tuned!

Regardless of how you plan for business analysis activities, the PMI-PBA Planning Domain outlines the key considerations necessary to develop a solid plan. People studying for the PMI-PBA exam should pay close attention to the Planning Domain as it sets the stage for the work of the remaining 3 domains. Look for my future posts as I tackle the next domain chapters: Analysis, Trace-ability and Monitoring, and Solution Evaluation.