Eva Business Learning
Recommended Reading
Here are a number of books in the field of business analysis, and related disciplines, that I recommend any SA and BA to explore and buy. There are many titles published in these fields each year, and it is hard to keep up. The following are ones that I have found useful and well written, and still relevant to the BA’s work.
I hope you find a number of good guides below to help you in the different stages of your work.
Analysis
| Soft Systems Analysis, David Patching, Pub Pitman. |
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| A necessary text for anyone working in the areas of soft systems and perspectives. It converts theory to practice. |
| Management Information Systems, T Lucey, Pub Continuum. |
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| Classic introduction to organisation and management theories, with particular emphasis on information systems |
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Introducing Systems Development, Steve Skidmore and Malcolm Eva, Pub Palgrave |
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| Explores structured and OO approaches, bespoke and package-based solutions |
| Improving Performance, How To Manage The White Space, Geary Rummler and Alan Brache, Pub Jossey Bass.
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| THE introduction to process mapping. |
| Tacit Knowledge in Organizations, Philippe Baumard, Pub Sage.
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| A clear exploration of a subject necessary to BAs, but often overlooked. Well worth reading |
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Systems Analysis and Design, Don Yeates, James Cadle and Tony Wakefield, Pub FT Prentice-Hall
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| An excellent introduction to systems analysis, by three eminent and experienced practitioners. |
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Requirements Analysis, From Business View to Architecture, by David Hay, Pub PH PTR.
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| A comprehensive and broader treatment view than most writers offer, of the scope of the analyst’s task. |
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Performance Drivers, by Nils-Goran Olve, Jan Roy and Magnus Wetter, Pub Wiley.
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| A sound, practical, description of the use of the balanced score card.
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Requirements Engineering
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Writing Better Requirements, by Ian Alexander and Richard Stevens, Pub Addison Wesley
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| A slim book, packed full of good, practical advice and free of theory, a must for the requirements engineer.
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Scenarios, Stories, Use Cases, Ed Ian Alexander and Neil Maiden
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| A collection of papers on the theory and practice of scenario analysis and use cases. Some good practical advice for practitioners, with some theory and underpinning research for those who prefer to understand the provenance and background to the techniques.
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Requirements Engineering, by Ian Sommerville and Pete Sawyer, Pub Wiley
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| A guide to good practice, plainly and clearly written.
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Exploring Requirements, Quality before Design, by Donald Gause and Gerald Weinberg, Pub Dorset House
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| An entertainingly-written book looking at the pitfalls of taken-for-granted requirements, and ambiguous requirements.
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Project Management
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Project Management for Information Systems, by Don Yeates and James Cadle, Pub FT Prentice-Hall
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| Almost the standard text on project management.
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Rapid Development, by Steve McConnell, Pub Microsoft
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| A good and highly readable view of rapid development, from the perspective of project management.
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