To download a hi-res PDF of this quote, click on: Business Analysis Wisdom - Thomas Pyzdek's wisdom
Thomas Pyzdek’s wisdom
The first piece of Business Analysis wisdom in my new book comes from Thomas Pyzdek.
Thomas is the author of “The Six Sigma Handbook” (amongst others).
“Value is what customers want or need, and are willing and able to pay for.“
In a recent conversation with Mr Pyzdek, Thomas told me that his inspiration for this piece of wisdom came from John Maynard Keynes’s definition of “effective demand.”
John Maynard Keynes was an economist whose ideas changed the understanding of macroeconomics.
However … I won’t delve into macroeconomics in this post.
Why is this wisdom relevant to Business Analysts.
Thomas Pyzdek’s phrase encompasses exactly what is important.
When you are working on a project, it’s important to identify and define, what the customer perceives as being “value”.
Whether it is a “want”, or a “need”, it’s important that it ties into some higher “want”, or “need”. This might be a business requirement or objective.
But while alignment is important, it’s also important that the customer, or client, is willing to pay for it. If this isn’t the case – is what the client wants, or needs, really that important?
If this isn’t the case – is what the client wants, or needs, really that important?
That is, partly, what a Business Analyst does. We ask the (sometimes) “hard questions”. Our role is to guide the customer, to help them discover what really is of value, and how important it is.
But it doesn’t just end there. The BA then works with the customer (or stake holders) to help devise a way to achieve, or realise, that need or want.
Do you agree? Do you have examples where you have helped clients, customers, or stakeholder, with determining whether their want or need, really was of value? Let me know in the comments below.