Business Analysis Archives

Best Practices for Business Analysts: Salesforce Integration Requirements

Salesforce integration projects are becoming ever more frequent as APIs are increasingly more accessible to consume from source systems. This is relevant to business teams because it can enhance functionality significantly and improve their business processes. However, integrations between two or more systems are always complex.

The role of Business Analysts in software development projects can contribute significantly to ensuring all stakeholders and teams understand the breadth of the implementation at hand. As a Business Analyst, it is important to know how to capture these requirements meaningfully for the business to be confident going forward and for the development team to design and implement the ask with clear expectations.

How should a Business Analyst start to map requirements when an integration is involved?

If User Stories are the accepted format for requirement delivery, the acceptance criteria should always outline “what” is to be achieved and not the “how.” For example, integrating via MuleSoft to receive and display read-only data in a Custom Object should be handled by identifying the following:

Users that can see the data.
Where the data can be seen.
When the data should be seen.
Any data retrieval failures and what should happen (i.e., show this error message).

The technical team must provide all other requirements with respect to API names, data type conversions within MuleSoft, data loading, and performance. Business Analysts can, however, assist with providing a list of fields the business needs, outlining the expected field name, data type, format, restrictions, or any behavior that can be used in a Data Mapping document.

Always ensure to read through the technical documentation and understand the architecture. This must align with business requirements and serve as a checkpoint if both teams have understood each other.

What else does a Business Analyst need to consider?

Three additional aspects haven’t been mentioned that are needed for the success of an integration project:

A picture is worth a thousand words. UX designs and mockups are sometimes needed if the integration entails a custom flow in Salesforce or if the data received and subsequent behavior are complex. Designs add great value for business and technical teams by making expectations more concrete and less ambiguous.
Request at the earliest opportunity any test data that needs to be created. This can cause delays in project testing plans and releases since integrations involve dependencies on other teams.
Know integration terms like payload, API, synchronous and asynchronous integrations, HTTPs endpoints, REST, etc. This aids in both relaying the business requirements to the technical team and understanding technical requirements that might impact behavior in Salesforce.

Overall, Business Analysts add significant value to integration projects by bringing forth desired business processes and Salesforce knowledge with an understanding of how integrations are architectures, enabling a more comprehensive solution for the teams involved.

It is possible for a Business Analyst to have a “format” on how to tackle an integration project. However, this comes with experience as the nature of integration projects becomes more familiar with time, making it easier to plan and execute documentation for the project needs.

If you’re interested in BA content, check out our blog, Mastering User Acceptance Testing: A Step-by-step Guide for Business Analysts.

Mastering User Acceptance Testing: A Step-by-Step Guide for Business Analysts

If your role is accountable for the correct understanding and implementation of requirements, User Acceptance Testing (UAT) might become one of your best friends once the solution is built. In this post, we are exploring the importance of implementing UAT, as well as how to prepare and run it. Let’s dive in!

Once the development and QA phases are completed, User Acceptance Testing should be included in your process prior to release. This ensures that the end users, or the SMEs on their behalf, validate that the experience meets the expectations outlined in the requirements. It will be the moment to show “how” those needs are going to be addressed.

Usually, a Business Analyst (BA) is accountable for leading this activity, which requires careful preparation. Let’s break down the User Acceptance Testing process:

Limit the scope: Be aware of the different paths you will be preparing and take into consideration that non-happy paths should be included to ensure different scenarios are being covered.
Create your document: A spreadsheet could be enough, choosing a tool that you are familiar with will be helpful for you and the collaborating users. Construct a template containing some space for the user information, such as Name, Role, and Date. Second, and in order to organize UAT instructions some of the columns that could be used for the headers are: Step #, Step Description, Expected Result, Actual Result (Pass/Fail), and Feedback. Whereas the rows will contain the actual description of each column.
Break it down into the different processes: Separate each process or scenario. Providing a short introduction about what will be covered, will help the users to understand where it begins, ends, and any nuances involved.
Delve into each step. At this point, you are probably eager to write down each step, so make sure that before getting started you grasp the end-to-end process. You should perform a walk through the entire process (and probably you will need to revisit it a couple of times) while describing each step and the expected result. Using the test cases built by the QAs could be tempting, but that is not a good practice. Don’t get me wrong, QA engineers do a terrific job while testing the solution, ensuring the quality of the development. However a UAT is not a copy/paste of the test cases, take into consideration that the perspective must be the user’s one (which mostly is non-technical), thus each step should be clear, concise, and avoid jargon. For instance, if the user should enter their credentials rephrase it to make it easy to understand, something like “Fill in the user name and the password field with the following information….”
Double-check the environment. UAT is an activity performed before a functionality hits production, then an environment such as staging is more appropriate (if you are using Salesforce, a Partial Copy Sandbox is a good choice). At this point, you are making sure that each UAT participant is able to access the environment (for Salesforce double-check that users are created in the sandbox and have the appropriate permissions granted)
Verify data and links. Related to the last point, if the user is expected to interact with several interfaces or fill in some data such as passwords, tokens, IDs, etc.; that information should be explicitly provided in the related step. Moreover, if an input is unique, that should be mentioned upfront, and an example per participant must be provided. It is a good idea to ask the devs or QA for a set of information and let them know it is going to be used in UAT only.
Select the UAT users (including Subject Matter Experts) to join the activity. Be mindful to include people that will be interacting with the solution, where SMEs take an important role too since that can represent final users too. Once you have confirmation, make sure to copy your template accordingly, so that each person has their own.
Set up the meeting and provide support. Explain the dynamic to the participants. Remember you are not the one executing the UAT, of course, to get started with the activity you can share your screen and use a couple of steps to show how each one should be reviewed and the template completed, but it is a hands-on activity for them. Pro tip: ask your participants to record their screen, if any bugs or questions are raised you will know where to refer.
Bug’s prioritization. If any defect is reported, as a BA you should identify and capture it. Heads-up, UAT is not a space for new requirements, thus before reporting the bug to the team review the scope and the priority if, in fact, it is a bug.
Sign off. Once the bugs have been corrected and retested, you are ready for the sign-off with a fully tested solution on both sides (IT team and SMEs)!

Following these 10 steps, User Acceptance Testing may look like a time-consuming activity, but conducting it as part of the development cycle adds value and assures users will have a seamless experience once the new solution hits production.

If you’re interested in BA content, check out our blog The Strategic Role of the Business Analyst in Salesforce Implementation.

The Strategic Role of Business Analysts in Salesforce Implementation

The successful implementation of Salesforce is crucial for many organizations, as this CRM can transform how they manage customer relationships, sales, and overall business operations. However, successful implementation is not just about buying and installing Salesforce; it’s a strategic process that requires careful planning and execution. This is where Business Analysts play a crucial role.

Business Analysts (BAs) are professionals who specialize in understanding the organization’s business needs and objectives. They are the bridge between the business and the Salesforce implementation team.

Here are some ways Business Analysts actively contribute to a streamlined Salesforce implementation.

1. Clear Requirements: BAs work closely with various departments and teams to gather and document specific requirements. They focus on new requirements and features and on helping different stakeholders identify pain points and analyze how they can be improved. As a result, a Business Analyst will help your organization to ensure that Salesforce meets your business needs based on careful discovery.

2. Communication: They are the bridge between the business and the Scrum team. They holistic understand both the technical and business worlds, enabling them to translate business requirements into Salesforce language for the Dev team’s implementation.

3. Project Planning: Business Analysts typically take the lead in defining the project’s goals, milestones, deliverables, and timelines in agreement with other roles or business counterparts. They also play a key role in risk assessment and mitigation, helping the project team identify potential challenges and develop strategies to overcome them.

4. Process Diagramming: Business Analysts love designing workflows and business processes and workflows to make your business more efficient in Salesforce.

5. Testing and Validation: Business Analysts play a dynamic role during the testing and validation phase. They typically collaborate with the QA Engineering team and Developer team to ensure everything works as expected. Moreover, a BA is responsible for User Acceptance Testing (UAT), an activity where users test and provide feedback about the developed solution; thus, a rigorous examination is carried out before sign-off.

In summary, Business Analysts play a critical role in Salesforce implementation by ensuring the platform aligns with business goals and user needs. They are involved throughout the entire implementation lifecycle, from discovery to launch and maintenance, and their ability to translate business requirements into solutions is essential for a successful Salesforce implementation.

Communication Compliance: The Benefits of Salesforce Chatter

Even though the concept of compliance was born in the financial field, it is now a consideration across numerous industries and has impacted many aspects of our lives. Communication is, of course, a common need across the board. The way we communicate in our companies impacts our ability to meet compliance standards. We apply this mindset when working with all of our customers, like this spirits distributor that needed to create a platform to break barriers and enable their 18,000 employees to collaborate more effectively.

Managing conversations properly (and the data those conversations produce), is as important as the compliance standards involved in those processes. If you are a Salesforce partner or use Salesforce in your company, you are one step ahead. With a secure platform, you can enhance your internal and external communication strategy and then, meet your compliance standards. Marc Benioff, CEO, and Chairman of Salesforce says:

“Customers trust us to make them successful, deliver unwavering security, reliability, performance and compliance.”

Compliance and trust through messaging

Notice that Marc Benioff includes Compliance in his perspective on how to conduct business and approach customers. Trust is Salesforce’s number one value. This vision ensures two crucial benefits for any business. First, every product designed by Salesforce is intended to create reliable relations with customers. It’s not only about sales, it’s about relationships. And second, all of your data is stored and archived safely, so you can access it any time for compliance purposes.

Chatter, the Salesforce messaging platform for business, also follows compliance regulations to ensure your data and activity are safe. According to Bloomberg Vault, Chatter is also a social media platform, so “it is subject to the same set of regulatory requirements as any other form of social media”. We have helped many customers enhance their communication platforms; these experiences have taught us many good practices to communicate and comply efficiently.

1. Keep all your data archived in Salesforce

First, what is the golden rule we need to take into consideration? Archive everything! Make sure you archive all your conversations or posts in your org. It is recommended you preserve this data for e-discovery purposes for a period of time defined by various retention requirements. Some day, you may be required to hand over this information for corporate internal audits or even legal or governmental requests. For more information about this, you may want to go over our other article as a starting point: Financial Compliance: Which Agencies?.

2. Make Chatter part of everything

Also remember, as you are using Chatter, you are creating or linking many items related to confidential information such as records, accounts, cases, and more. This information already lives in your Salesforce org, so you’re not moving data to external systems. With everything connected, Chatter and Salesforce remain the center of your workflow, helping you manage compliance more consistently.

3. Involve every employee

Compliance in communication involves employees. Why? Hackers are targeting them. Make sure you train your employees to move all important conversations to Chatter. Email opens the possibility that an employee may respond to a phishing attack, exposing protected data. If you maintain all-important internal conversations in Chatter, you are better able to ensure their safety. You can see in this article why you should be interested in maintaining your employees as security allies.

So, let trust lead the path to better compliance practices and communication management across your company. Remember, the online world brings many resources to make businesses go faster. However, it has also become a common target for cyber attacks. Take the time to set a strong compliance strategy and keep updated on the regulations that impact your business.

Financial Compliance: Which regulations must be considered?

Why is compliance so important? It minimizes risks and creates trust among industries, governments, and people. This sounds like a no brainer, but the challenge is figuring out which compliance standards fit your business. One mistake could cause huge debts and lawsuits. This issue is particularly serious for the financial sector, which has legal and operational standards that are the bedrock of compliance management. Since banking is a pioneer in compliance management, we are going to take a deeper look at the regulations they must follow.

Financial Compliance and law framework

Over the years, the world has become more connected and tons of data is processed, shared, and stored through the digital ecosystem. The internet has become a necessary resource, but a good threat opportunity for theft and hackers. In an attempt to minimize risk, public and private institutions have created norms and regulations to ensure data safety. So, which are the main compliance regulations that businesses located in the financial field must consider? We have highlighted the most important laws that impact the financial market.

The Dodd-Frank Act [2]: Was passed by the US Congress and signed into law by President Obama in 2010. It aims to enhance the way the financial market is deploying accountability, transparency, and consumer protection procedures. This act enforces the need of storing records for every transaction. The thing organizations sometimes miss is that any activity related to trade must be stored as well. This includes electronic communication such as emails, chats, voice messages, and so on.

Bank Secrecy Act (BSA AML) [2]: Also known as the Anti-Money Laundering Act, this act was created in 1970 and requires every company to cooperate with the US government in the aim of detecting money laundering. Thanks to the BSA-AML act, we all need to provide data under request. Since this regulation has been in the market for more than 50 years, you might be familiar with it. If not, you should know it emphasizes the importance of keeping your data storage. What else do you need to do? This act requires companies to delegate compliance responsibilities to an individual and also create a training program for appropriate personnel regarding compliance standards.

Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Signed into law in 2002 to strengthen financial regulations. In the beginning, businesses didn’t take it well, but eventually, it contributed to counteract the effect of the economic crisis in 2008. This act raised the standards given for audit reports, but this is something we all can expect with a new act. What is new? SOX also gave legal protection to whistleblowers to testify in court about any illegal practices they are aware of without any retaliation. Be sure to train your employees to identify any practice that infringes on compliance in your business. You have a good opportunity to make them allies.

Consumers in the centre of compliance

As consumers are becoming more important, they are also protected by compliance regulations that companies need to follow. Data privacy and accessibility are just one of the areas you need to nurture.

Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA): Requires financial institutions to explain to customers their information-sharing practices and to safeguard consumer information. To ensure the correct execution of this, companies must establish a security program that protects consumers’ nonpublic personal information (NPI). NPI includes name, address, income, Social Security number, account numbers, payment history, loan or deposit balances, credit or debit card purchases, court records, and consumer reports.

Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act: FACTA, signed into law in 2003, enforces consumer power by enhancing procedures to ensure the accuracy of their credit records. With FACTA, consumers have the right to ask for a credit report each year. This act also provides resources to prevent crimes such as identity theft.

Data is important for compliance purposes. As we recommended to one of our financial customers: If you are using Salesforce, integrate your system and take advantage of all the resources you have (Salesforce Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Analytics, Einstein AI, and more). You will build close relationships with your customers while meeting your compliance standards. Also, don’t forget your employees.

Don’t let possible solutions force you to solve the wrong problem

If you’re like many organizations, you’re so focused on finding or building the right “solution” that you probably aren’t solving the right problem. You may be thinking, “but you specialize in building custom solutions for the Salesforce Platform, why would you say something like that?” The truth is, we prefer partnering with companies to solve the right problems. Partnering with an organization to build a solution, without having determined what needs and problems must be addressed, guarantees that no matter how amazing the product we deliver is, it won’t be successful because it doesn’t make our partners successful. Our business analysts spend significant time helping our clients, but if a client comes to us already too far down the path of trying to “find the right solution,” the last thing they want to hear is “you’re chasing the wrong problem.”

Understand the Need

You can avoid solving the wrong problem by making sure you know the underlying needs. Understanding customer needs can be challenging, we get it. If it was easy, many more companies would be on the list of “innovators” that are changing markets around the world. Even Strategyn, a company that focuses on innovation strategy, says that 95% of companies can’t agree on what a customer ‘need’ is. Strategyn has found that almost all companies don’t have an agreement on what a “need” is. It’s not that these companies disagree on what the customer needs are, they don’t agree on what a customer need is. Whether your customers are internal (you’re building apps for your fellow employees) or external (you’re going to revolutionize the world with your new app), start by ensuring you have an agreement within your organization on how you’re going to define customer needs.

The process you use to get to the heart of those needs can vary. Some organizations, like Salesforce, use an established approach to innovation that they share publicly (see Innovate the Salesforce Way.) You could take “jobs to be done” perspective or use traditional approaches like market research, gap analysis, SWOT analysis, etc. Also, you could review existing information available to you, like feedback from customers or employees, financial trends, emerging themes, etc. You could even start by looking at your high-level business objectives and asking yourself a few key questions:

What is the potential threat or opportunity?
Which stakeholders within the organization should be consulted?
What’s the desired outcome?
Who benefits?

The key here is to ensure you uncover the challenge or opportunity, that way you avoid solving the wrong problem. You’re still too early in the process to start thinking about solutions. If you’ve already started, stop yourself. Coming up with ideas might be fun, but applying solutions now only limits you.

Identify the Problem

If your organization is like many we’ve seen, the business needs you’ve identified could lead to a large number of potential projects. At this point you need to identify which problem you’re going to address. Get more than one perspective on it and dig deep. You don’t want to limit your view based on your own biases and you want to be sure you’re addressing the root cause of the problem. Putting considerable time and energy into your work to address only a symptom of the larger problem doesn’t give you the relief you need, and likely won’t help your career.

Ask yourself a few questions about the problem you’ve identified:

What makes this problem significant?
Who is impacted?
Have others tried to solve this problem before?

Make sure you understand your customer (or those impacted by the problem). This will better position you to solve it and avoid the wrong problem. There are many approaches to gathering customer requirements. Salesforce calls their process Innovation Customer Discovery. It includes embodying, shadowing, and interviewing to create customer archetypes. Then they create a futurecast to create a compelling argument or case for change. You could also take a more traditional approach like this advice from the Project Management Institute blog, with facilitated sessions or one-on-one discussions with stakeholders. If your organization is more agile, you could focus on capturing user stories. Take the approach most appropriate for your organization, but be sure you dig as deeply as possible.

“Get in the customer mindset and ‘wear their shoes’ to fully understand their needs. Take the time to familiarize yourself with processes and once you accomplish that, then start focusing on the solution.”

Analia G., Business Analyst

It’s in your best interest to spend more time on this part of the process than you probably expect. Clearly defining the problem you want to tackle saves time and energy further along in your work. But again, don’t think about the problem in terms of potential solutions yet.

Scope The Challenge

Every project comes with some level of uncertainty and ambiguity, which has the potential to derail your project. It’s time to take all the work you’ve done so far to understand the needs, the problem, and the customer, and to create more structure to ensure your project’s success.

Write everything down: Make sure you’ve written down the need, problem, and customer requirements, and what success looks like. Keep track of any assumptions you’ve made in this process.
Define success: Determine what success looks like. The more clearly you can quantify success, the better. It helps you establish how any potential solutions will be measured
Identify your stakeholders: Now that you have a better understanding of what you need to solve, pull together your dream team. Bring in people with different backgrounds and experiences, it will help you find new and creative ways to solve the problem.
Know your limits: Think about the solution from an internal and an external perspective. What do you have control over? For example, if your challenge is with how customers engage with your sales team. You have far more control over your sales team and their tools and processes than you ever will with the behavior of any specific customer. Focus on the things you can control and keep track of any assumptions you make.

Now that you have a better foundation to work from, it’s time to focus on brainstorming possible ways to solve the problem. Maybe you’ll find you can get the most out of a process change. Like buying new software, or custom developing your own app. Use the materials you’ve created to give yourself a benchmark for measuring all possible solutions. You’ll always have to balance time, money, and scope. At least now you have the right tools to make good choices. Let us know what you decide.

Our team has worked with different organizations and their projects. We are Salesforce platform experts and offer custom development to help you build your platform and solve the right problems. If you want to know more about our work, go check out our latest success stories.

Category Archives: Business Analysis