Current State | AS IS

Current State #Analysis is "to understand the reasons why an enterprise needs to change some aspect of how it operates and what would be directly or indirectly affected by the change." The BABOK?.

But what does that mean?

You can not plan where you go next without knowing where you are now. This is the basic understanding of gap analysis, which is the difference between your current and future state. This can be applied to anything: business, career, and personal. When it comes to business, we tend to analyze the following:

• Structure of the team/business: What is the structure of the Human Resources (team)? What is the reporting structure? What are the key roles and responsibilities?
• Culture of the team or the institution: What are the values and beliefs of the team? How do they feel about the current state? Do they think that change is required?
• The capabilities of the business: what can the company do well?
• The business processes: What are the company's key processes?
• Technology: what kind of systems do they use, or are they capable of using?
• Infrastructure: What kind of infrastructure is already in place?
• Policy and SOPs: What kind of policy do they have? How are decisions made in this business?
• Internal assets: What kind of assets does the business already have?
• External influencers: What kind of external influencers are there? What is the influence of the customer, comparator, supplier, etc.?
• Most importantly, the Business Beeds: Based on all the above aspects, the challenge is strategically defining the business needs.

OUTPUT:

The output of this analysis is the Description of the Current State and the Business Requirements. Those outputs are helpful for the following:

• Conducting the gap analysis - current and future state.
• Define a baseline to measure progress toward the future state.
• Help in defining the business objectives and the potential value of change.
• To build common ground and agreement among stakeholders.

Example:

Let's assume you are the new head of the sales department; you have been hired to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the department. Analyzing the current state would be highly recommended. So, you begin with understanding the department's structure and knowing more about the people on your team and how they think or believe. Knowing more about what they can or can not do (capabilities). To learn more about the processes within this department, such as how they hire salespersons, schedule site visits to potential clients, sell online, etc. Learning about the available or commonly used software and apps for communication, sales, documentation...etc. Then, learn more about the infrastructure, such as available rooms, storage areas, cars...etc. It is essential to determine how decisions are made within the department and the company, whether there are clear policies or procedures, whether they have regular meetings or reporting, etc. Then, the external influencers are external to the department, such as the marketing department, the owners, and the financial department, and external to the business, such as competitors and customers.

Collecting such information and insights requires talking to people inside and outside the department. Such engagement and collaboration will ensure that you come closer to identifying and turning the business needs into business requirements.

If you are interested in such topics, you might be interested in #Business_Analysis. "Business analysis is the practice of enabling change in an enterprise by defining needs and recommending solutions that deliver value to stakeholders." The BABOK?.

At Business by Design, we aim to raise awareness about this field of work and its value to business development in Iraq. You are welcome to participate in supporting this mission and follow for more.