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What is the most commonly used standard for flowchart notations?

Like many aspects of business analysis, there is no universally accepted standard which all flowcharts "should" adopt. There are many traditional symbols such as:

Symbol	Meaning
	Activities/Tasks.
	Start or End Point of the sequence.
	Decision that takes one path to two mutually exclusive alternative paths.

Although the above symbols are commonly used in many flowcharts, there are a handful of global standards which are gradually bringing some consistency to the way flow charts are drawn and interpreted. The most notable of these is the Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN) standard.

BPMN notations are divided into six elements:

1. Activities.
2. Events.
3. Gateways.
4. Connections.
5. Artifacts.
6. Swimlanes.

A seventh collection of notations is called the "Core Elements" of BPMN.

Further information on BPMN can be found here.

Jim Hughes
Business Analysis Practice Lead

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Where does the role of a BA start and end in a project?

This largely depends on what the BA is there to deliver, and may span across one or all of the phases of the Project Life Cycle: Initiation, Planning, Execution and Closure. For example:

1. If the BA is there to write the Business Case, then their role ends upon project Initiation.
2. If the BA is there to write the requirements then their role could be solely in Initiation, or through to and including Execution.

There are four generally accepted models which display how and when a BA (doing solely BA works, as opposed to also SME or project team member works) may be involved throughout the project life cycle, however space does not permit such a discussion here (it is however addressed in the PMPartners course Business Analysis: Effective Requirements for Successful Projects.

In a nutshell the best way to determine when a BA starts/stops in a project is to phrase your role around deliverables. Try to avoid introducing yourself as "the BA", as some people will have differing interpretations of this. Instead frame your role with sentences like "I'm responsible for the Business Case/Requirements/etc". This helps prevent scope creep, and separates your BA time from any other project activities in which you are involved.

Jim Hughes
Business Analysis Practice Lead

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How do I convince the business that not all requirements can be "top priority"?

The best way to do this is through use of an Expanded Requirements Traceability Matrix (RTM).

1. Traditional RTMs track delivery of the Requirements into the Solution.
2. A reverse RTM tracks every Unit in the Solution back to the Requirements.
3. An expanded RTM traces Requirements back to identified and agreed Business Needs, and is structured:
   Business Needs >>> Requirements >>> Solution.

This helps overcome the traditional response of "everything's top priority" by clearly determining what does and does not meet the Business Needs which your project is there to address.

Jim Hughes
Business Analysis Practice Lead