How Business Analysts should handle senior stakeholders

A simple notation technique can change your impact

Spoiler alert: the following Concept Map shows the essential parts of this article. I promise I will come back to it later.

Senior stakeholders rarely benefit from business analysis. Instead, they come with their pre-defined opinions and seldom gain insight from the work which business analysts (BAs) are conducting.

Much of the initial business analysis done in companies is detailed and takes time to digest. Let’s think, for example, of entity-relationship diagrams (ER diagrams). ER models are a regular outcome of business analysts’ (BAs) work. They are helpful but usually limited to the data that is intended to be captured by information systems at a later stage. Moreover, they focus on a particular subset of information and hence are not relevant for all. Long text descriptions are also not helpful. There is simply not enough time to review all information. On the other hand, presentations are often way too high level to ensure senior stakeholders get all relevant information.

In many cases, senior stakeholders only review change initiatives every few weeks (a timeframe which is one of the root problems for failed change initiatives in many organisations and a thing that Amazon seems to do right with the single-threaded leader concept). This results in repeated discussions on the same topics as insights are lost from memory, and the senior stakeholder returns to previous opinions/perceptions.

This situation results in senior stakeholders with “dangerous” half-knowledge lacking understanding of essential parts of the change initiative. What is needed is a way that captures the attention of everyone and facilitates the discussion on the right level for the stakeholder.

Concept Maps are such a facilitator. As discussed in last week’s newsletter, they are quick to read, and each statement is falsifiable. They can capture complex interrelations and make them accessible. They are perfect for interacting with senior stakeholders. One can easily zoom in on particular parts of a Concept Map and elaborate. The BA can capture critical points from the stakeholder and add them on the fly. And if a conclusion is half-forgotten, then a quick shared review of the Concept Map helps to remind everyone, supported by the simple visuals.

Concept Maps should be delivered regularly by all business analysts (BAs). Include Concept Maps to drive understanding and alignment for all change initiatives to enhance initiative success chances. In the words of my friend Søren Kill-Laursen:

“Concept maps are invaluable for the BA when conducting business interviews with stakeholders/process owners because they ensure uniform vocabulary and terms while diminishing functional- or business-execution misunderstandings or misperceptions. A thoroughly worked concept map should be the starting point of any business project.”

Søren was running a pipeline of change initiatives for legacy systems for years, having 6 BAs working for him just analysing what is requested in each case. Some changes were simple, and a simple Concept Map conveyed all needed to agree and continue to implementation. Some changes were mid-size initiatives that could have been considered self-standing change initiatives. He managed this with Concept Maps and Benefit Breakdown Structures, another notation I will discuss in a later newsletter. He used a similar method to my Align People Method to align all stakeholders.

In short, a simple facilitation technique, the Concept Map, is a great way to get senior stakeholders (and others) aligned on change initiatives. If you are a BA, then produce Concept Maps. And if you work closely with a BA, convince them to use them. Concept mapping is quick to learn and extremely useful. You will see that the BA’s work will be received more positively and will facilitate more discussions. And that is one of the tasks of a business analyst.

Do you remember the Concept Map at the beginning of the article? Please review it. Assuming you would have to explain this article to anyone, would it be helpful to you? How much could you retell just by describing a simple diagram?

At the end: a request. I am working on making more people aware of structured visual thinking notations (like Concept Maps) and methods (like Align People Method). And I need your help. I need people that make others aware of my newsletter. Please be one of them. If the newsletter is helpful, please share it with others. If not, please let me know what needs to be added or done differently. I appreciate all feedback.

Thank you.