Project Management Software (for Business Analysts)

When you read the title of this blog post you might be tempted to ask the question – Isn’t Project management software for Project Managers? Well, the short answer is yes, but as Business Analysts are a large part of managing the scope of work through the delivery journey (which is primarily focused on delivering requirements) we should have the skills to understand stand up and run the delivery-focused project management software.

Business Analysts may use project management software such as Jira, Trello, Asana, MS Project, and Excel to manage project tasks, track progress, and collaborate with team members. Again, yes this should be owned by the Project Manager or sometimes the Scrum master but in many situations you will find that Business Analyst is creating, updating or managing the content within these tools.

I would like to spend some time talking about 3 of these tools that focus on the Delivery & Requirement Managements sides of things:

• Excel
• Jira
• Azure DevOps

As a Business Analyst, your Requirements Traceability Matrix should be managed within one of these 3 tools (or more than) or something very similar.

Excel

Excel is a great tool for any business professional to learn however as a Business Analyst you should have advanced Excel knowledge.

Creating a Requirement Traceability Matrix in Excel is a simple task however there is no UX or system joins, dependencies or constraints between the Objectives, Epics and User Stories.

1. Define the requirements: Business Analysts can use Excel to capture and organize the requirements in a structured format. This may include columns for the requirement ID, description, priority, status, and any other relevant information. You may also use Excel to create a traceability matrix that maps the requirements to the project objectives.
2. Categorize the requirements: To make it easier to manage and prioritize requirements, BAs may use Excel to categorize them based on their functional or non-functional attributes. This may include creating columns for the requirement type, category, and sub-category.
3. Track changes and updates: Requirements are likely to change throughout the project lifecycle, so BAs can use Excel to track changes and updates to the requirements. This may include creating a separate column for change history, where BAs can document any changes made to the requirements and the reason for the change.
4. Use formulas and filters: Excel allows BAs to use formulas and filters to quickly analyze and manipulate data. For example, BAs can use formulas to calculate the total number of requirements, or use filters to sort requirements by priority, status, or category.
5. Generate reports: Finally, BAs can use Excel to generate reports on the requirements, such as a requirements traceability matrix or a requirements status report. These reports can help keep stakeholders informed of the progress of the project and ensure

Jira

Jira is a popular project management tool that can be used to manage requirements for software development projects

1. Create a project in Jira: The first step is to create a new project in Jira, or use an existing one. Make sure to select the appropriate project type based on your needs.
2. Define requirements: Once the project is created, define the requirements that need to be tracked. You can create a new issue type called “requirement” or use an existing one like “user story” or “feature” to represent the requirements.
3. Create issues: Create an issue for each requirement and enter a summary and description that clearly explains what the requirement is and what it should accomplish. You can also add labels, attachments, and comments to provide additional context.
4. Link requirements: To link related requirements, use the “link” feature in Jira to establish relationships between issues. For example, you can link a “parent” requirement to several “child” requirements that are necessary to fulfill the parent requirement.
5. Prioritise requirements: Use Jira’s priority system to prioritise requirements based on their importance and impact. You can assign a priority level to each requirement, such as “critical”, “high”, “medium”, or “low”.
6. Assign requirements: Assign requirements to team members responsible for implementing them. You can assign issues to specific individuals or to a team, and set due dates to ensure timely completion.
7. Track progress: Use Jira’s reporting features to track progress on requirements. You can generate reports to show the status of individual requirements, the progress of the entire project, and any issues that need attention.

Azure DevOps

Azure DevOps is a cloud-based project management tool that can be used to manage requirements for software development projects.

1. Create a project in Azure DevOps: The first step is to create a new project in Azure DevOps or use an existing one. Make sure to select the appropriate project type based on your needs.
2. Define requirements: Once the project is created, define the requirements that need to be tracked. You can create a new work item type called “requirement” or use an existing one like “user story” or “feature” to represent the requirements.
3. Create work items: Create a work item for each requirement and enter a title and description that clearly explains what the requirement is and what it should accomplish. You can also add labels, attachments, and comments to provide additional context.
4. Link requirements: To link related requirements, use the “link” feature in Azure DevOps to establish relationships between work items. For example, you can link a “parent” requirement to several “child” requirements that are necessary to fulfill the parent requirement.
5. Prioritise requirements: Use Azure DevOps’ priority system to prioritise requirements based on their importance and impact. You can assign a priority level to each requirement, such as “critical”, “high”, “medium”, or “low”.
6. Assign requirements: Assign requirements to team members responsible for implementing them. You can assign work items to specific individuals or to a team, and set due dates to ensure timely completion.
7. Track progress: Use Azure DevOps’ reporting features to track progress on requirements. You can generate reports to show the status of individual requirements, the progress of the entire project, and any issues that need attention.

There a number of specialist requirements management tools, such as IBM Rational DOORS or Jama Connect however in our opinion the above 3 tools are your best option.