The lifeblood of any successful project that requires Current State Analysis are Subject Matter Experts. These are the folks that "work in the weeds" everyday. They are the ones who perform the processes and use the systems that you will need to analyze to come up with a complete and accurate picture of the Current State. They are also the folks who will be able to provide you with input for changes to the Current State processes and systems from a task specific perspective, for your Future State requirements.
In my opinion, the main job of the BA / BSA is to be able to get into the head of the SME and coax out all of the details you will require in order to create a complete and accurate picture of the Current State. However, there is no one specific cookie cutter template that you can use in order to get the information you need and if anyone tells you there is, they are either lying or don't know what they are talking about; sometimes a bit of both.
In order to help you break down how to work with different SMEs, I have come up with a list of the types of SME Personalities that I have met over the years. Looking at an individual, they usually find themselves somewhere between all of these personality types, but lean heavily toward one or the other. Let's meet them, shall we?
"Subject Matter Enthusiast"
This is everyone's favourite SME...for soooo many reasons! The Subject Matter Enthusiast is very keen on speaking with a project BA to discuss Current State processes / system usage and ideas for how to bring improvements in Future State. I have met Enthusiasts of all ages and at all stages of their career. Some are some traits and key phrases that you'll hear from the Enthusiast :
- Eager: Wants to dig into the Current State with you and provides prompt answers to your queries and is also willing to do offline research.
- Truthful: They don't sugarcoat any details and they don't hide anything (at least on purpose).
- "I'll get back to you": Uses this phrase when they don't know an answer and doesn't start to pontificate or just plain make information up.
- Proactive: They provide you with information without you needing to prod too heavily or at all.
- "Gets It": They understand what the job of the BA is and are not threatened by your prescience, questions, documentation, or the project.
- Change Agent: They are not afraid of change and look forward to it. One of the key roadblocks that we will review when working with SMEs is the fact that they may not be willing to be a part of a change, hence reducing their value to you as an SME and to the project as a whole.
No, this is not one of the missing characters from "I Heart Huckabees". This is the SME that likes to ramble on and on and on (if you let them). The Existentialist is always ready and waiting to take you down the "garden path" to territories, systems, and processes that have nothing to do with the project at hand (this is a double edge sword; not necessarily a good or bad thing). Some traits of the "Existentialist" include:
- Chatty: You could speak to this SME for hours...but it may not necessarily be on the topics you need information on :) This may not be such a bad thing. One tip that I try to use anytime I speak to any SME is to ask them "what haven't we talked about that you think we should, even if it's not remotely connected". You'd be surprised at home many connections you may make to your project, without having thought about that topic / focus area previously. You won't need to do too much coaxing to get into details with this personality...just beware that they are the correct details!
- Open to Conversation: The difference between "open to conversation" and "chatty", is that this person is "open for business" to talk to you right off the bat. You won't need to convince this person that you are "worthy" of speaking to.
- Dreamer: The Existentialist, as they do have the tendency to travel down "the garden path", has also been known to dream up scenarios that happen once in a blue moon, when the Sun is aligned with Jupiter, and it's a leap year. Essentially, they may talk about very rare cases. I'm not saying not to listen and document these...but be aware of possible red herrings!
This is the SME that can't be held down to signing off on one way of a process, as they have many different ways of completing a task. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as knowing all of the different possible points of entry, failure, and exit within a process are essential. However, from a perspective of creating one standard process for Future State, you may have some "fun" with this SME in order to convince them that there really is only one way to create an order a hamburger, with options for condiments vs. a different process for each combination of burger and condiments. Two main traits of the Experimentalist are:
- Documentation Schmocumentation: The Experimentalist plays it by ear and fly's by the seat of their pants. Their processes are loosely documented in their heads, with their mood dictating how to complete a task. Who needs documentation when you can just "figure it out as you go along".
- Sign Off, Schmign Off: The Experimentalist will be a chore, but not impossible to get a sign off on Current State. Typically this is because they do not like to be held to only one way of doing things. But if you document their many ways to skin a cat correctly, you should be able to "get them to Yes" and sign off.
The Subject Matter Egoist is the SME that expects everyone to be at their level of understanding. They will use acronyms and terminology at lightning speed, with the expectation that you understand these. They will refer to low level processes with only a few words, expecting you to inherently know every last detailed step. This SME definitely knows and understands the Current State, but let's just say they don't have either the energy, time, or patience to explain it to you. A few items to note about the Egoist:
- ABC: Uses acronyms like nobodies business. "Sheesh...Always Be Closing."
- Implicit: As the Egoist expects you to know the details, they will leave out many steps that they see as being implicit and should already be known by "everyone".
- Documentation Schmocumentation: Unlike the Experimentalist, the Egoist doesn't have a lot of documentation due to the fact that they enjoy a bit of job security. If documentation does exist, it will be very high level, with a lot of steps being implicitly documented; ie. information is missing.
“Subject Matter Extortionist / Espionagist”
The Subject Matter Extortionist / Espionagist is one of the most interesting beasts that you will meet...I know "Espionagist" is not a word - but it sure sounds cool! This is the resource who is totally paranoid about letting too much of their knowledge leaking outside of their private little world due to: job security, political motivations, disdain for the project or their employer, or just because...This is the most negative SME you will have to deal with. Period. Here are some of the key traits and phrases used by the Exto-pionagist:
- Excuses, Excuses: Are you in the Twilight Zone? Did he really say that he can't give you any information because "that's the way it is." Yes, the Extortionist will come up with some of the most complex or lame excuses ever.
- Meeting Avoidance: They will forget, cancel, bolt early, come late, whatever it takes not to meet with you formally.
- Lack of Eye Contact: You may try to look the Extortionist in the eye, but don't ever expect to make real eye contact. They don't want to get to know you and they certainly don't want to make any type of meaningful connection with you...eye contact being one of the most crucial.
- Sign Off, Schmign Off: Do you really think the Extortionist is going to sign off anything without the President and CEO commanding them to? Getting the Extortionist to sign off on anything or put anything in writing is definitely a chore.
"We put the ME in SME!"
Make every interaction you have with your SMEs worthwhile to them. Make your SMEs realize documenting the Current State is in their best interests as it will:
- Provide documentation of their processes, which can help them prove:
- They are overworked.
- They are under / over staffed.
- They need new hardware / software / processes / training.
- There are gaps between functional areas in the organization and the items they are usually "blamed" for are actually owned by another group
- Provide documentation that can enhance their day to day work by providing training documentation for backfill when they are sick, on vacation, or move on to a new role.
Some of these reasons may be seen as non-starters, as we are talking about documenting Current State in order to do analysis for project that requires a differing Future State...but there's always the interim period until the Future State is implemented in which they can benefit from these items! And if the project is going to take anywhere from months to years to implement, the benefits can be enormous!
; another book that I highly recommend (I actually took the 
