1. Purpose

The purpose of Plan Business Analysis Governance is to define how decisions are made about requirements and designs, including reviews, change control, approvals, and prioritization.

2. Description

Business analysts ensure that a governance process is in place and clarify any ambiguities within it. A governance process identifies the decision makers, process, and information required for decisions to be made. It describes how approvals and prioritization decisions are made for requirements and designs.

When planning the governance approach, business analysts identify:

• How business analysis work will be approached and prioritized.
• The process for proposing a change to business analysis information.
• The authority and responsibility for proposing changes and the key stakeholders involved in change discussions.
• The responsibility for analyzing change requests.
• The authority to approve changes.
• How changes will be documented and communicated.

3. Elements

1. Decision Making

Decisions are made throughout the initiative. A stakeholder may serve in various roles in the decision-making process such as:

• participant in decision-making discussions,

• subject matter expert (SME) lending experience and knowledge to the decision-making process,

• reviewer of information, and

• approver of decisions.

  The decision-making process defines what happens when teams cannot reach consensus, by identifying escalation paths and key stakeholders who hold final decision-making authority.

2. Change Control Process

When business analysts develop a change control process, they: