Agile Business Analysis

AgileBA combines the discipline of business analysis with the agile mindset. Rather than producing comprehensive upfront requirements specifications, AgileBA practitioners work iteratively with stakeholders to progressively elaborate and prioritise requirements throughout the project.

Key AgileBA techniques include user story writing, facilitated workshops, process modelling, and acceptance criteria definition. The business analyst in an agile team acts as a bridge between stakeholders and the development team, helping to create shared understanding.

Key Points

• AgileBA adapts BA techniques to work within iterative development cycles
• User stories: 'As a [user], I want [capability], so that [benefit]'
• Acceptance criteria define when a user story is done
• 3 Cs of user stories: Card, Conversation, Confirmation
• INVEST criteria for good user stories: Independent, Negotiable, Valuable, Estimable, Small, Testable
• Epics are large user stories that need to be broken down
• Story mapping shows user journey and helps prioritise
• BA facilitates requirements workshops and stakeholder collaboration
• Progressive elaboration — detail emerges over time, just in time

Key Terms & Definitions

User Story

A short, simple description of a feature told from the perspective of the person who desires the new capability, usually a user or customer of the system.

Acceptance Criteria

Conditions that a solution must satisfy to be accepted by a user, customer, or other stakeholder.

Epic

A large user story that cannot be delivered in a single sprint and needs to be broken down into smaller stories.

Story Map

A visual representation of the user journey through a system, used to organise user stories and prioritise the backlog.

Definition of Ready

The agreed criteria that a user story must meet before it can be picked up for development.

INVEST

A mnemonic for good user story characteristics: Independent, Negotiable, Valuable, Estimable, Small, Testable.