Functional Analysis

What is Analysis?

A function is a series of actions performed to meet one or more business purpose or to fulfill one or more business requirements.

Functional analysis corresponds to the various functional relationships among various business functions. It mainly focuses on how the overall functionality is developed and its interaction between entities.

Large or complex business functions are more easily understood when broken down into simpler functions using functional analysis.

Each business function can be assigned to the below categories. In some cases, a function may be assigned in both categories.

• Core Business category

Functions that may be included in this category consist of those activities which are directly involved in production, providing services, generating revenues and profits or management of these areas.

• Administrative category

This category includes those functions which service the firm as a legal entity and encourage its growth. The administrative category basically contains functions such as personnel (employees), buildings and maintenance, administrative executives, etc.  

Applications of Functional Analysis

1. Functional Analysis is mostly used during the project analysis phase as part of the functional requirements document
2. Functional Analysis  is done after meeting with business analysts and subject matter expertise
3. Achieve a detailed understanding of (business) components and their functions
4. Perform an end-to-end study of the business operation and check each function to confirm that it is correct
5. Role of Business Analyst in Functional Analysis
6. Conducting feasibility study
7. Defining new business opportunities
8. Preparing business cases
9. Conducting risk assessment of business functions
10. Documenting and modeling business processes
11. Alignment & automation of different business & IT processes
12. Business Continuity planning and assistance in strategic decisions
13. Assist in User Acceptance Testing sessions

An Overview of steps involved in performing Functional Analysis

Requirements

A collection of elementary/general functions. For instance, the core functions of the business may be product development.

Expected Result

The result of the function analysis is a thorough understanding of the functions and sub functions of the business.

Procedure

1. Describe the main function of the business in the form of a black box. If you are unable to define one main function, go ahead to the next step.

2. Make a list of sub functions of the main function to be performed.

3. For a complex business function, develop a function structure. There are three principles of structuring: put functions in a chronological order, connect inputs and outputs of flows between functions.

• To visualize the chronological order, simply list the functions.
• To visualize the flows, connect boxes by arrows.  
• To visualize hierarchy, draw a tree structure.

4. Elaborate the function structure. Fit in a number of minute details which were left out and find variations of the function structure so as to find the best function structure. One can explore variations in functions by changing the sequence of sub functions and splitting or combining functions. Exploring various possibilities is the essence of function analysis: it allows for an exploration and generation of possible solutions to the functional problem.

Conclusion:

The Functional Analysis is without any doubt one of the most fundamental tool of business analysis as it guarantees a thorough analysis of the requirements, it fosters the search of alternative solutions, thus avoiding or at least limiting the risk of forgetting valuable options. It is therefore of utmost importance for every business analyst to learn how to apply Functional Analysis to explore new concepts and then satisfactorily come out with innovative solutions.

About Author:

Harpreet Kaur Dua is a consultant in Systems Plus Pvt. Ltd. Within Systems Plus, she actively contributes to the areas of Technology and Information Security. She can be contacted at: harpreet.dua@spluspl.com 

Sources: http://www.people-tech.com/services/consulting/business-and-functional-analysis 

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Supply Chain Management

Supply Chain Management (SCM) is a science of managing smooth movement of goods and services. It plays a crucial role in efficient functioning of the organization. Hence, is considered as the backbone of the success of an organization. It is a mandatory part for manufacturing industry as compared to the Service Industry as SCM is much more related to and takes care of Manufacturing and Logistic wings of the organizations.

SCM is divided into five major phases listed below:

1. Design
2. Planning
3. Execution
4. Control
5. Monitoring 

1. Designing: This is the first phase of the SCM. In this phase, based on the type of final product and its various attributes like availability of raw material, shelf value, category (perishable / non perishable), manufacturing process, Location of manufacturing plant, Product value, market etc the whole design is prepared as to which mode of transport and packaging methods to be used for raw materials and finished products, Frequency of the transportation etc. For example: if the raw material is perishable and the factory is located far off then the mode of transport should be well equipped in order to maintain the quality of the raw material. Similarly if the final product is an ice cream then cold storage vehicles should be used for distribution of the final product to the local market. The best route to be followed, minimum expense to be incurred for the transportation is designed accordingly based on the Factory, Market and Raw material location.

2. Planning: In this phase planning is carried out to decide how to implement the design prepared for supply chain, packaging, storage etc of the raw materials and the final product. This phase is also useful to identify minor loopholes in the prepared design. This phase also allots budgets for various activities to be carried out for their implementation. For example: if the profit margin per product is not huge and the shelf life is high then cheap mode of transport and storage places with minimum facilities can be used. However, if the Product is expensive and the profit margin is high then the alteration in the mode of transport and Storage is done accordingly. However, it primarily depends on the nature of the product. For example, milk, fish etc. for which the profit margin is not too high but still you need to use and maintain the best quality of mode of transport and storage.

3. Execution: This is the implementation stage where the plan is put to action. Here the actual search for location for setting up Storage place, the features it should adhere to as per the norms mentioned in the planning phase. Here it is decided to Rent the place or own it based on the Budget allotted and to meet the specific requirements of the Organization and the type and product / raw material. Vendor selection for various activities is done in the phase based on pricing, reliability of the vendor and industry norms. Post which the negotiations are done based on the budget available so that requirements can be satisfied at minimum expenditure without compromising on the quality of service for storage and transport of the goods.

4. Control: This is a very important phase as it makes sure that the executed plan based on design and planning works efficiently without any obstructions, overcoming all known and unknown obstacles. Control phase is where various checks are put at various points in the whole process flow of the product from raw material to finish goods. These checks are basically confirmations and precautions taken to accept that the finished good is made from the best quality raw materials with optimum utilization of resources so that maximum profit can be obtained at the same time best quality product is given to the customer.

5. Monitoring: In order to make sure that the set controls are working as expected and the final product is as expected we need to monitor the set controls that they have been followed correctly. Monitoring helps to check the effectiveness of the established controls. Based on monitoring, various reports can be generated which helps the top management to take important decisions to improve the process further.

Thus, it can be seen that SCM holds great importance in accomplishing overall organizational goals and objectives related to lifecycle of the product (Raw material to finished goods). Hence, it is very important to follow all the above mentioned steps to implement and execute Supply Chain Management (SCM) successful.

About Author:

Amol Bhembre is a consultant in Systems Plus Pvt. Ltd. Within Systems Plus, he actively contributes to the areas of Technology and Information Security. He can be contacted at: amol.b@spluspl.com