Biz Analysis Methodology 251109

1.1 Objectives and Timeline

Objective

To conduct a structured discovery, analysis, and high-level design (HLD) process that results in clear, actionable documentation of the client’s business workflows. This enables informed ERP adoption, implementation planning, and alignment with ERPNext’s modular structure.

Timeline Considerations

The timeline for Discovery, Analysis, and HLD depends heavily on two main factors:

Access to Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)
- The availability of SMEs—those who know the day-to-day processes—is the most critical determinant of project pace.
- Delays often occur when SMEs are also operationally loaded and cannot allocate sufficient interview or validation time.
- Early scheduling and clear communication of required SME participation mitigate these delays.
Process Depth and Maturity
- Many organizations, especially non-ISO 9001-certified ones, have undocumented or implicit processes. Tasks and decision paths are often delegated informally and vary between staff members.
- This increases the required number of interviews and validation sessions per department to reconstruct accurate workflows.
- For ISO 9001-compliant organizations, discovery can proceed faster, as written procedures and process manuals exist. However, even in these cases, several factors affect actual speed:
  - Process maturity levels vary: some departments may have up-to-date process maps, while others rely on legacy or outdated versions.
  - Backlog of process updates: procedure documents may not reflect recent system or personnel changes.
  - Backlog of training and definition: staff may be unfamiliar with the formalized version of their process, requiring clarification and confirmation.

Typical Duration (Guideline)

Phase	Description	Duration	Dependencies
1. Discovery	Stakeholder interviews, workflow collection	2–3 weeks	SME access, process documentation maturity
2. Analysis	Validation, bottleneck identification, Lean alignment	1–2 weeks	Availability of validated data
3. High-Level Design (HLD)	ERPNext process mapping, A3 document creation, procedure linking	1 week	Approved workflows from prior phase

Total Duration: Typically 4–6 weeks for a medium-sized enterprise, subject to stakeholder availability and the organization’s documentation maturity.