Understanding the Real Business Problem

OR

“Think Different”

David BeckhamSenior BA Aviva Life

"Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"The important thing is not to stop questioning." - Albert Einstein

"Knowing a great deal is not the same as being smart; intelligence is not information alone but also judgment, the manner in which information is collected and used." - Carl Sagan

“It doesn’t matter what method you are using…. If you address the wrong problem you’ll still build the wrong solution” - Me

A traditional beginning……

Understanding the Business Problem

Session purpose• To demonstrate that thinking about the problem is a fundamental aspect of

change management• To emphasise the importance of thinking for yourself

Brian: No, no. Please, please please listen. I've got one or two things to say. The Crowd: Tell us! Tell us both of them! Brian: Look, you've got it all wrong. You don't need to follow me. You don't need to follow anybody! You've got to think for yourselves! You're all individuals! The Crowd: Yes! We're all individuals! Brian: You're all different! The Crowd: Yes! We're all different!

Man in crowd: I'm not...

What has understanding the business problem ever done for us?

If you don’t understand the business problem you probably won’t…

Deliver what is really neededRealise the full benefit of the proposal Deliver on time as you will inevitably encounter change requestsDeliver to quality as change requests squeeze time & budgets

DISCUSS

The business problem is understood - the cone of success

5 minute question

asked

Del

ive

red

to t

ime

Time

Money

The business problem is clearly identified at the right time and the project avoids late or complex change being introduced

The business problem is not understood - the cone of disaster

5 minute question

not asked

25 d

ays

re-w

ork

Time

Money

The business problem is not clearly understood and the project encounters complex change being introduced at a later stage, thus incurring expense

Understanding the Problem – Listening vs Questioning

Which comes first, the question or the answer?

Or to put it another way, in attempting to gain understanding, should you question first or listen?

A tidal wave of questions will swamp the listener; they will be too busy bailing to give thought to an answer

A gradual drip of questions interspersed with longer periods of listening will probably gain more in terms of data and rapport

So before you can question you need to be able to listen

Effective listeners display:GenuinenessShowing the customer you are genuinely committed to building the relationship by both verbally and non-verbally encouraging the client to talkRespectShowing the customer they are a person of value, able to act constructively and capable of good self expression. In essence the customer has the right to make their own decisions and mistakesAttentiveness Showing the customer you are listening both to the content of what is being said and more significantly the feelings shown through the words and body languageConcretenessAiding the customer to become more specific and to give examples of feelings about what happenedEmpathyDemonstrating to the customer that you have understood both what the customer has said – you have listened – and how the client feels

Listening – some guidelines

“What did he say?”“I think it was “Blessed are the cheesemakers.” ”“Aha, what’s so special about the cheesemakers?” “Well, obviously it’s not meant to be taken literally; it refers to any manufacturers of dairy products”.

Questioning – some guidelines

Hints & Tips• Always take emotion out of a question• Use open questions to get more detail• Use closed questions to close down debate• Always put the emphasis on yourself when things are not clear i.e. “just for my benefit

could you explain that again?”• Use the right level of rigour

Question typesOpen - “What do you think of that?”

Closed - “Is that correct?”

Clarifying - “What makes you say/think/feel that?”

Gaining understanding - “It sounds to me as if….?”

Brian: Can I join your group…?Reg: Nah, to be in OUR group you’ve got to really hate the RomansBrian: I doReg: How much?Brian: A lotReg: ……OK You’re in

Understanding the problem

There are numerous questions you can ask in order to fully understand the business problem:

Can you give me some examples?

• But beware of going over the line….

• YOUTH: Excuse me. • MANDY: Yes? • YOUTH: Are you a virgin? • MANDY: I beg your pardon! • YOUTH: Well, if it's not a personal question, are you a virgin? • MANDY: 'If it's not a personal question'? How much more personal can you get? Now, p*ss off!

Examples

What evidence do we have that the need for a project exists?Have we identified the true problem or just a symptom?Can we describe the characteristics of the products impacted?Can we describe the areas impacted by the change?Can we describe what would need to change?Can we describe what it means for our customers? (TCF)Can we describe the purpose of the project?Who are the customers?Why do they need it? Why does we need it? What is the stakeholder’s business perspective? What are the proposition’s strengths & weaknesses?Are we repeating, layering, creating or being herded? What is the business case for this proposal?How much business are we guaranteed to get as a result of investing?What is the fundamental basis of the proposition?If we could only deliver one thing for this proposition, what would it be?How do you want the solution to perform? Who in the business is going to administer this proposition once it goes into production?Is there anything the solution should not do? What would happen if we did nothing

The questioning cycle

Initial Premise

Gain understanding Enhance understanding Closing

Tell me more about..?

Revised Premise

What is the evidence

for…?

Have you considered project xxx, which was similar to yours?

What have you done about xxx,

which tends to be an issue in these

situations ?

What are you doing..?

Why are you doing it..?

When are you doing

it..?Where are you doing

it..?

How do you want the

customer to feel..?

Are we agreed on

this position..?

Is there anything else..?

Will your proposition impact on other areas of the business?

Are we ok to proceed..?

Understanding the Customer’s world view

Understanding the Customer’s world view

In order to fully understand the problem from your customer’s perspective you will have to do a few things in preparation

Make sure you are talking to the right person

Make sure you are talking to the right group of people

I’m Brian and so is my wife!

Are you the Judean People’s

Front?

Why the customer’s world view is important

• We all have a way in which we view the world that is personal to us and which flavours our view of anything we deal with

• Someone’s world view can be influenced by moral, philosophical, political, religious and inherited beliefs

• The world view can quite often be a hidden aspect of someone’s persona and can be difficult to discern.

• Remember that the stakeholder’s world view may be hidden from you by the problem itself

World view

Problem/ proposition

BA Stakeholder

A simple method for understanding the customer’s world view

One of the common techniques used to understand a customer’s business perspective is CATWOE, a mnemonic that stands for:

Customer – the beneficiary (or victim) of the business system

Actors – the people who undertake the transformation

Transformation – the main business activities that transform inputs into outputs

Weltanschauung – the ‘world view’ of the stakeholder

Owner – the person who can make fundamental decisions about the organisation’s direction Environment – the ‘givens’ against which the business system operates & which it cannot really change

An example….

Reg: Why do you keep going on about women Stan?

Stan: Because I want to be one

Reg: You wanna be a woman?

Stan: I want to be a woman and I want to have babies

Reg: You wanna have babies?!?

Stan: It’s every man’s right to have babies if he wants them…..

An open question

Reveals the customer’s previously un-suspected

world-view!

Understanding your own thinking

Common pitfalls with thinking patterns

Things we lean onBeware of things that you allow yourself to lean on such as favourite methods, processes, people’s opinions etc. Avoid dogma!

Must add valueA question must add some value otherwise don’t ask it!

Fooling yourselfDon’t let yourself fall into old habit patterns; be aware of how you are approaching the situation and never expect people to react the way you think they will!

And so… as a

BLASPHEMER…..

Are there any women

here today..…..?

Right… no-one is to throw any more stones until I blow this whistle. Not even… and I

want to make this perfectly clear… if they do say Jehovah

Understanding the problem – stages of development

Time

Un

de

rsta

nd

ing

BA Customer

Initial engagement Matching understanding Enhancing understanding

BA’s understanding is less than the Customer’s level of knowledge.

BA’s understanding is brought to the level of the Customer through enquiry. BA ‘earns the right’ to question.

BA enhances the Customer’s understanding through using their own experience.

So to summarise…..

In order to fully understand the right business problem you must

Listen

Question

Talk to the right

people

Think for yourself

Understand your own thinking

Use the right level of rigour

Open up the premise

Close down the debate

Understand your

stakeholder

Enhance your stakeholder’s understanding

It’s a doddle really!

Remember, no matter how complex the situation appears….

Always look on the bright side of life!