Babok 2.0

The Guide to the
Business Analysis
Body of Knowledge™
Version 2.0 Framework

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Introduction
Purpose

Scope
The term “scope” is used to mean a number of different
things, but two definitions predominate:

This document is intended to provide an overview of the
framework developed for version 2.0 of the Business
Analysis Body of Knowledge™ (BABOK™).

• Solutionscope is the set of capabilities a solution must
support to meet the business need.

Key Concepts

When the BABOK refers to “scope”, the solution scope
is meant unless we specifically say otherwise. The
definition and management of the solution scope is central
to business analysis, and differentiates it from project
management (which is concerned with the project scope).

BusinessAnalysis
Business analysis is the set of tasks and techniques
used to work as a liaison among stakeholders in order to
understand the structure, policies, and operations of an
organization, and recommend solutions that enable the
organization to achieve its goals.
The BABOK is intended to describe and define
business analysis as a discipline, rather than define
the responsibilities of a personwith the job title of
business analyst (which may vary significantly between
organizations). Business analysis may be performed by
people with job titles such as systems analyst, process
analyst, project manager, product manager, developer, QA
analyst, business architect, or consultant, among others.

• Project scope is the work necessary to construct and
implement a particular solution.Requirement
A requirement is:
1) A condition or capability needed by a stakeholder to
solve a problem or achieve an objective.
2) A condition or capability that must be met or possessed
by a solution or solution component to satisfy a contract,
standard, specification, or other formally imposed
documents.
3) A documented representation of a condition or capability

Solution
A solutionmeets a business need, by solving problems
or allowing the organization to take advantage of an
opportunity. A solution can be subdivided into components,
including the information systems that support it, the
processes that manage it, and the people who operate
it. Business analysis helps organizations to define the
optimal solution for their needs, given the set of constraints
(includingtime, budget, regulations, and others) under
which that organization operates.



as in (1) or (2).
As implied by this definition, a requirement may be
unstated, implied by other requirements, or directly stated
and managed. The elicitation, analysis, and communication
of requirements, with the objective of ensuring that they are
visible to and understood by all stakeholders, is centralto
the discipline of business analysis.

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Structure of BABOK 2.0

• A task is complete—in principle successor tasks that
make use of outputs should be able to be performed by
a different person

Task
A task is an essential piece of work that must be performed
as part of business analysis. Tasks may be performed
formally or informally. The definition of the taskshould be
universally applicable to business analysis efforts, no matter
what type of initiative it is. It does not mean that it is done
frequently or that most BAs will necessarily perform the
tasks.
A task must have the following characteristics:
• A task accomplishes a result in an output that creates
value—that is, if we perform a task we agree that
something useful has been done

• Atask is a necessary part of the purpose of the KA to
which it belongs.
As can be seen in the chart below, tasks are not necessarily
performed at a particular time in the lifecycle of a project.
Even lifecycles with clearly defined phases will require tasks
from most if not all KAs to be performed in every phase.
Iterative or agile lifecycles may require that tasks in all KAs
be performed as...