Finding and Celebrating Project Wins!

Today we have the last of our 8-part series on our?8-Step Business Analysis Process Framework .

(If you'd like to check out the first 7 parts of the series, you can find them on the?Successful Business Analysis newsletter ?- while you are there be sure to hit "subscribe" to get notifications on all my new articles.)

And now onto Step 8 - Assess the Value Created by the Solution

A lot happens throughout the course of a project.

• Business outcomes are discussed.
• Details are worked through.
• Problems, big and small, are solved.
• Relationships are built.
• Change is managed.
• Technology is implemented.
• Business users are trained to change the way they work.

In this flurry of activity and a focus on delivery, it’s easy to lose track of the big picture. Why are we making all these changes and what value do they deliver for the organization?

And, perhaps even more importantly, are we still on track? Meaning, is the solution we’re delivering actually delivering the value we originally anticipated?

Nothing creates more positive momentum within an organization than a track record of successful projects.?But if we don’t stop and assess the value created by the solution, how do we know if we are actually operating from a track record of success?

Your key responsibilities in this step may include:

• Evaluating the actual progress made against the business objectives for the project to show the extent to which the original objectives have been fulfilled. And if you didn't complete step 2 on defining the business objectives (which totally happens), you can still consider what value was created.
• Communicating the results to the project sponsor, and if appropriate, to the project team and all members of the organization. This is a time to acknowledge and celebrate. Don't be shy about sharing positive results!
• Suggesting follow-up projects and initiatives to fully realize the intended business objectives of the project or to solve new problems that are discovered while evaluating the impact of this project. All of those ideas that went on the parking lot or got deferred to "phase 2" could now be ripe for consideration.

This is also a great time to evaluate your business analysis process and consider what YOU did well and could do differently next time. We want to always be learning and improving how we do business analysis.

Over to you - What are your best practices when it comes to wrapping up a project and assessing the value created? Please share in the comments!

And if you want the entire deep dive on the 8-step business analysis process framework, be sure to check out the?BA Essentials Master Class , which goes through each of the 8 steps in more detail, and includes practical guidance on how to handle the most common challenges that pop up on projects.

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