From the course: Agile Requirements Foundations

Analyzing the backlog

From the course: Agile Requirements Foundations

Analyzing the backlog

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- In order to refine the backlog, you may need to do a lot of analysis to find the gaps and slice the items into smaller pieces. Agile BAs use their deep analysis skills to analyze the context, data, processes, user experience, and various user roles impacted to determine if there are missing items on the backlog, and to decompose the items for further work. This work is so critical to the agile team. Without this analysis work, teams experience stories that carry over into many iterations and lengthy extensions to deadlines. This is due to the team finding gaps that should have been previously analyzed. This critical work is where our tried and true business analysis models come in. Agile BAs commonly use story maps for context and then traditional models to analyze the solution and backlog. Traditional models can include things like: process models, data flow diagrams. State diagrams, context models, user journey maps, business rules analysis, SIPOC analysis, and decision tables. These models help teams find critical missing pieces and identify unknown impacts. Many teams neglect these models and struggle to deliver high quality products. Agile still means analysis needs to happen. On agile teams, the analysis is more of a lightweight process where context and big picture meet the details of the current iteration. Analysis and visual models that BAs use help teams talk through the details of all the stories and lead the team to better designs. And this results in a better customer experience. That's right, agile BAs use more than just a backlog and user stories to do great analysis. Agile teams get better outcomes when BAs bring great analysis techniques to the team. Agile BAs may also bring to the team their analysis and it's not necessarily a solo activity. Agile BAs bring key team members and stakeholders together into highly collaborative meetings to do lightweight modeling of these analysis tools. They huddle and find gaps in impacts together, as visual models and connections are discussed and analyzed. This process is so powerful and teams are lucky to have great BAs that can facilitate backlog analysis at this level.

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