# Introduction > [!important] Doing business is no longer a local but a global activity. Companies have traded with other companies across the world for some time, but the scale and extent of this has increased substantially over the last decades. Supply chains now span continents, but customer chains have also become global. Because business is so interconnected, companies must be more and more thinking-intensive, responding to and reshaping themselves rapidly to market changes. At a very high level, we define business analysis as well as business design as making sense of business—or organization more generally. Business analysis is making sense of the current organization, while business design is making sense of future organization. But to make sense we need concepts. For effective business analysis and design, we need three interrelated concepts which underpin our design theory: signs, patterns, and systems. These concepts are used to build models of some domain of organization—as it currently is, as we would like it to be, or as we plan it to be. > [!attention] > But how do we make sense of the complex entanglement of order that constitutes an organization? Answer: we build models. Business analysis encompasses the value-oriented approaches, practices, disciplines, and mindsets that ==guide the identification of organizational needs; recommendation of potential solutions, elicitation, and communication==; facilitation of successful solution implementation; and evaluation of the solution. Tactically, business analysis is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to: - Determine problems and opportunities - Identify business needs and recommend viable solutions to meet those needs and support strategic decision-making - Define benefits and approaches for measuring and realizing value and analyzing the results once solutions are implemented Fundamentally, Business Analysis is about: - Understand the Situation - Find the Gaps - Define the Solution to Fill the Gaps The essential frame of mind that enables anyone doing business analysis work to be effective is characterized by the following: - Thinking systemically: Business analysis is just that—analysis, which means getting a 360-degree view of a need and solution within organizational, business, market, economic, or other contexts. The business analysis mindset seeks to identify the interdependencies of processes, systems, and functions and the perspectives of those who utilize and own them. The ability to think systemically and see the “big picture” is a key enabler of analytical thinking that helps business analysis practitioners identify interconnectedness within the organization and facilitate analysis from all angles of problems, opportunities, and solutions. - Sticking to the need before "solutioning": Effective business analysis requires achieving consensus about the need before considering solutions. This can present challenges when the stakeholders already have solutions in mind before the business analysis practitioner becomes involved. It is a business analysis mindset that inspires the business analysis practitioner to keep asking “why” and to inspire curiosity among stakeholders to obtain buy-in to dig deeper. Courage and tenacity enable the business analysis practitioner to keep stakeholders focused on the need before rushing to solutions. - Being an organizational "detective": In the haste to get things done, it is tempting to accept the first answer to questions asked. Information from a single source may be biased and provide an incomplete understanding of a need or solution. Elicited information may also be obtained from people who are unsure about what they know or don’t know, but are happy to provide answers to questions anyway. It is incumbent upon business analysis practitioners to ensure that the needs and solutions are aligned, correct, complete, and valuable by confirming business analysis information with multiple sources. A healthy skepticism enables an effective business analysis practitioner to confidently pursue the confirmation of information. - Tailoring stakeholder communication: Good business analysis drives stakeholder understanding through tailored communication that appeals to different stakeholder styles. The business analysis practitioner communicates visually using models, in formal or informal discussions with collaborative exercises to achieve shared understanding and move the initiative forward. Empathy and listening skills enable business analysis practitioners to develop effective partnerships with all types of stakeholders by communicating in ways that resonate with them - Exploring our inner business analyst: Business analysis is everywhere and performed by nearly everyone. Some practitioners are professionals with experience and highly developed skills. Others are just discovering their business analysis skills. One must be intentional and confident in practicing business analysis. Effective business analysis is both art and science, so we must try different tools and techniques. A successful strategy in one business unit or organization will not necessarily yield success in a different business unit or organization. There is more than one way to be “right”. Creativity and courage enable effective business analysis practitioners to explore different approaches to business analysis in their environment and lead others to try new ways of understanding and meeting business needs. > [!important] > The business analysis practitioner’s attention is focused on understanding the organization’s current capabilities and the expectations for the future state by continuously processing information, observing the landscape at its broadest level, and asking probing questions. The practitioner’s curiosity ensures that the full context of the challenge is observed and understood.