ba-strategy

Follow six activities: analyze the current state across processes, people, technology, and metrics; articulate the business need with quantified impact; define the future state as capabilities; document the gap analysis; assess change risks; and recommend a solution from at least two evaluated options.

A gap analysis documents the measurable difference between the current state and the desired future state. BABOK categorizes gaps as capability, performance, knowledge, or process gaps, and each gap should show quantified current versus target metrics to justify the change.

Use strategy analysis when a business problem or opportunity needs justification before defining requirements, or when stakeholders disagree on what must change. Skip it when the future state is already defined and agreed, and go directly to requirements analysis.

A good business need states the problem factually, quantifies its impact in money, time, or business metrics, identifies affected stakeholders, and cites how the problem is measured today. Describing a technology solution instead of a problem is a common mistake.

Evaluate at least two solution options plus the status quo. Each option needs pros, cons, estimated cost, gap coverage, and an ROI estimate, with the recommendation justified by the gap analysis and risk assessment rather than preference.