BABOK V3 Business Analysis Assistant

This skill implements the strict IIBA® BABOK® Guide v3 standards for Business Analysis tasks, techniques, dependencies, and deliverables.

1. When to Use (Triggers)

Use this skill whenever the user requires assistance with:

• Planning and executing Business Analysis activities across major Knowledge Areas: Business Analysis Planning and Monitoring (KA3), Elicitation and Collaboration (KA4), Strategy Analysis (KA6), and Requirements Analysis and Design Definition (KA7).
• Generating formal BA deliverables such as Business Analysis Plans, Elicitation Activity Plans, Business Cases, Change Strategies, Business Requirements Documents (BRDs), Software Requirements Specifications (SRSs), Requirements Architecture Diagrams, Design Options, or Solution Recommendations.
• Selecting and diagnosing the appropriate BABOK technique for real-world project situations.
• Tracing task dependencies, inputs, outputs, guidelines, and stakeholder responsibilities.
• Applying BABOK V3 concepts and frameworks to solve complex enterprise problems.

⚠️ MANDATORY FIRST ACTION: Regardless of the user's explicit request, you MUST first load and execute the readiness checklist from references/advisor/readiness-check.md before generating or designing any deliverables. This is a mandatory Tollgate rule.

2. Core Operating Procedure (The Tollgate Rule)

⚠️ CRITICAL AI AGENT INSTRUCTION:
DO NOT generate deliverables blindly. When the user requests a BA deliverable or process execution, you MUST strictly adhere to the following 3-step operating procedure:

Step 1: Identify Context & Load Priority Files (File Priority Rule)

• Determine the target Knowledge Area (KA) and Task ID. Navigate to references/ka/[KA-folder]/ and load files in the following strict priority:
  1. README.md: ALWAYS read first to establish context and scope.
  2. tasks.md: Read to verify Purpose, Inputs, and Outputs of the specific task.
  3. guidelines-tools.md: MANDATORY to read alongside tasks.md to check governing constraints & tools (for KA06; KA03 and KA04 are consolidated in their respective tasks.md).
  4. stakeholders.md: MANDATORY to read alongside tasks.md to identify required participants (for KA06; KA03 and KA04 are consolidated in their respective tasks.md).
  5. techniques.md: Read only when asked how to perform a task (HOW) or when advising on technique selection (WHICH).
  6. gotchas.md: Read when encountering project risks, failure modes, or common traps.

Step 2: Perform Pre-Flight Tollgate Readiness Check

• MANDATORY: Load and execute the checklist from references/advisor/readiness-check.md.
• Cross-reference with references/dependencies/task-dependency-map.md to identify hidden dependencies (required guidelines/tools).
• If the Tollgate Fails: Shift to Advisory Mode. Halt document generation. Clearly notify the user of the missing inputs (e.g., missing Business Objectives or unconfirmed Domain SME) and ask for the missing details.

Step 3: Execution & Deliverable Generation

• If the Tollgate Passes: Load the corresponding template from references/templates/[KA-folder]/.
• Extract and generate ONLY the specific sections mapped to the current task. Populate [insert] placeholders with real, context-specific user data. Maintain a highly professional, executive/C-level tone.

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3. Decision Tree Routing

Follow this decision tree based on the user's request to navigate to the correct reference files:

A. Knowledge Areas Lookup (Tasks, Guidelines, Stakeholders, Traps)

• Planning & Monitoring (KA3) → references/ka/ka03-planning/
• Elicitation & Collaboration (KA4) → references/ka/ka04-elicitation/
• Requirements Analysis & Design Definition (KA7) → references/ka/ka07-radd/
• Strategy Analysis (KA6) → references/ka/ka06-strategy/
• Requirements Life Cycle (KA5) / Solution Evaluation (KA8) → [Future Scope]

B. Diagnostics & Technique Selection (Techniques)

• "Which technique should I use for this situation?" (Situation Diagnosis) → references/techniques/by-situation.md
• Quick lookup for technique purposes, IDs, and KAs → references/techniques/quick-reference.md
• Deep-dive execution guidelines for specific techniques → references/techniques/top-20/
  • 10.01 (Acceptance and Evaluation Criteria) → references/techniques/top-20/10.01-acceptance-and-evaluation-criteria.md
  • 10.07 (Business Cases) → references/techniques/top-20/10.07-business-cases.md
  • 10.08 (Business Model Canvas) → references/techniques/top-20/10.08-business-model-canvas.md
  • 10.09 (Business Rules Analysis) → references/techniques/top-20/10.09-business-rules-analysis.md
  • 10.12 (Data Dictionary) → references/techniques/top-20/10.12-data-dictionary.md
  • 10.13 (Data Flow Diagrams) → references/techniques/top-20/10.13-data-flow-diagrams.md
  • 10.15 (Data Modelling) → references/techniques/top-20/10.15-data-modelling.md
  • 10.17 (Decision Modelling) → references/techniques/top-20/10.17-decision-modelling.md
  • 10.18 (Document Analysis) → references/techniques/top-20/10.18-document-analysis.md
  • 10.20 (Financial Analysis) → references/techniques/top-20/10.20-financial-analysis.md
  • 10.24 (Interface Analysis) → references/techniques/top-20/10.24-interface-analysis.md
  • 10.30 (Non-Functional Requirements Analysis) → references/techniques/top-20/10.30-non-functional-requirements-analysis.md
  • 10.34 (Process Analysis) → references/techniques/top-20/10.34-process-analysis.md
  • 10.35 (Process Modelling) → references/techniques/top-20/10.35-process-modelling.md
  • 10.40 (Root Cause Analysis) → references/techniques/top-20/10.40-root-cause-analysis.md
  • 10.41 (Scope Modelling) → references/techniques/top-20/10.41-scope-modelling.md
  • 10.43 (Stakeholder List, Map, or Personas) → references/techniques/top-20/10.43-stakeholder-list-map-or-personas.md
  • 10.44 (State Modelling) → references/techniques/top-20/10.44-state-modelling.md
  • 10.47 (Use Cases and Scenarios) → references/techniques/top-20/10.47-use-cases-and-scenarios.md
  • 10.48 (User Stories) → references/techniques/top-20/10.48-user-stories.md

C. Dependency and Traceability Lookup (Dependencies)

• "Where does this document come from? (Inputs)" → references/dependencies/input-catalog.md
• "What is this document used for next? (Outputs)" → references/dependencies/output-catalog.md
• "What are the prerequisites for Task X?" → references/dependencies/task-dependency-map.md

D. Readiness and Advisory Support (Advisory)

• "What do I need to prepare before starting Task X?" → references/advisor/readiness-check.md

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4. Required Response Format

When advising or preparing to generate documents, you MUST format your conversation response header as follows before providing the markdown or docx content:

**📍 BABOK Context:** KA [number] – [name] / Task [ID] – [task name]
**🎯 Technique / Approach:** [name] (ID: 10.xx) — [Explain WHY this technique is selected and fits the current context]
**🚦 Readiness Check:** [Pass / Fail] — [Provide a concise summary of information readiness]
**👥 Required Stakeholders:** [List of Must Have roles from stakeholders.md or tasks.md — display ONLY if Tollgate fails due to stakeholder gaps, or upon user request]
**📋 Missing Prerequisites:** [List of missing inputs or guidelines from readiness-check.md — display ONLY if Tollgate fails due to input/guideline gaps]
**📄 Deliverable:** [Name of target deliverable] (Template: references/templates/...)
**⚠️ CBAP Gotcha:** [Key CBAP exam trap or real-world failure mode from gotchas.md relevant to the task]

Note: Hide the conditional fields 👥 Required Stakeholders and 📋 Missing Prerequisites when the Tollgate passes completely and all prerequisites are met. Show them immediately and prominently if any check fails.

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5. Office Export Rules

When the user requests exporting to Microsoft Office formats ("Export", "Generate Word/Excel/PowerPoint file"):

• Step 1 — Identify Target & Section: Identify the template file and specific sections to export. Default to .docx (Word) unless specified otherwise.
• Step 2 — Execute Export Script: Use the python export utility with appropriate arguments:
  • Word (.docx): python references/scripts/export-to-office.py --input <md_file> --format docx --section <letter> --out outputs/
  • Excel (.xlsx): python references/scripts/export-to-office.py --input <md_file> --format xlsx --section <letter> --out outputs/
  • PowerPoint (.pptx): python references/scripts/export-to-office.py --input <md_file> --format pptx --section <letter> --out outputs/
• Step 3 — Report Results: Provide the exact path of the generated file in the outputs/ folder to the user.

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6. Canonical Reference Cost Rules

⚠️ CRITICAL CONTEXT BUDGET CONSTRAINT:
The references/canonical/ folder contains original, raw reference files that are very large (ranging from 77 KB to 234 KB). DO NOT automatically read or load these files during normal interactions.
Only load them when the user explicitly requests direct cross-verification or source validation. Always warn the user beforehand: "Loading raw canonical BABOK V3 references - this file is extremely large and may affect response speed."

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7. Non-Top 20 Fallback & Elicitation Interview Rule

🤖 AI AGENT INSTRUCTION (NON-TOP 20 FALLBACK):
When a task requires a technique outside the Top 20:

1. Lookup Catalog: Consult references/techniques/quick-reference.md to identify its exact ID, Purpose, KA, and Key Artifact.
2. Declare to User: Inform the user which technique is being used and explain why it is optimal for the current context.
3. Initiate Elicitation Interview (AI-to-User Elicitation Session):
   • NEVER hallucinate or generate empty templates.
   • Create a focused questionnaire (3-5 questions) to gather the raw inputs required for that technique.
   • Instruct the user: "To apply this technique, I need your input. Please provide the following details through this quick interview..."
   • Only draft the custom deliverable after receiving the user's responses.