It is often usual, and I, too, have seen that in one of my client projects where the same entity and information were called in many names and represented in many systems with different data duplication. This is a common phenomenon in most corporate applications. check out cbap training article here.

Is there a way that we can avoid data duplication?

Yes, of course. Here’s another blog on learning business analysis techniques using an example-oriented approach.

A glossary comprises key terms relevant to a domain. It contains definitions and synonyms. The Glossary needs to be organized and accessible to all stakeholders. One should include terms in Glossary when a term is:

    1. Unique to a domain or has multiple definitions,
    2. Commonly used meaning is different from those which is used within a domain,
    3. Have a chance for misunderstanding.

Business analysts should define glossaries in the early stages of a project to enhance understanding and transfer knowledge. They should identify the person responsible for maintaining the Glossary. It is necessary to Limit glossary editing to specific stakeholders.

A glossary is typically used to define key terms relevant to a business domain. As a result, all stakeholders have a common understanding of the terms used in that particular domain. Glossary provides a single point of reference, and it should be created in the early stages of a project to facilitate better understanding and knowledge sharing. However, care should be taken to ensure that the definitions and acronyms are clearly written and that the stakeholders should be able to access them easily. In addition, the owner of the Glossary should ensure it is up to date.

Strengths

  • Promotes communication and common understanding of a business domain.
  • Encourages consistency as a single reference source for business terms.
  • Simplifies writing and maintenance of business analysis information.

Limitations

  • Requires dedicated persons to maintain.
  • Challenging to get stakeholder agreement on a single definition for a term.

Worked out Example:

Let us learn how business analysts use a glossary by means of an example. The governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) management system is developed for the IT and ITES domain. The primary objective of the GRC management system is to help companies implement Governance, Quality, and Information Security Management Systems in an integrated manner. It has various features, one of which is to plan and track projects and programs using standards such as CMMI, ISO 9001, ISO 27001, etc.

Here is a partial glossary of the Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) management system.

Term Explanation Synonym(s) Homonym(s)
BRD Business Requirements Document  FRD – Functional Requirements Document
NFR Non-functional requirements Quality attributes
SLA Service level agreement
WBS Work breakdown structure
Matrix A table Metrics – Indicates measurements
Defect Error, Bug, Issues

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