What You Need to Know About the Business Analysis Core Concept Model (BACCM™)

Purpose & Positioning

BACCM™ (Business Analysis Core Concept Model) is presented as the foundational conceptual framework for business analysis—similar to the foundation in construction, where errors at this level compound downstream (“compounding defect”).

Key positioning points:

• The model is constant across industries, organization levels, and delivery approaches.
• What changes is the way you apply it (e.g., agile vs. waterfall), not the core concepts.

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BACCM™ Core Concepts (6)

The webinar emphasizes that the six concepts should be understood as an interconnected system, not memorized in isolation for exam purposes.

1) Stakeholders

Who they are

• People or groups with relationships to the work who may be:
  • Interested in
  • Impacted by
  • Influence outcomes

Example stakeholder set (sales & marketing process improvement)

• Sales & marketing team: influence + impacted
• Operations team: impacted; may have lower influence
• Finance team: may influence budgets
• “Sales to dollar and cents” indicates commercial accountability involvement

Discovery techniques

• Review prior project documentation
• Use org charts
• Process modeling to identify roles and impacted parties

What to capture

• Influence level
• Impact level
• Stakeholder concerns about the change

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2) Needs

What “needs” includes

• Problems, opportunities, or constraints

Examples

• Problem: inefficient sales process, high customer complaints, high churn / low retention
• Opportunity: implement new tech tools; design new products to capitalize on market situations
• Constraint: regulatory requirements (e.g., central bank changes affecting regulated banking systems)

Key elicitation questions

• What problems are we solving?
• What opportunities are we taking advantage of?
• Are there conflicting needs, and how should priorities be determined with stakeholders?

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3) Change

Definition

• Deliberate and controlled transformation in response to a need (not random change)

Types of change

• Process improvement initiatives (e.g., fixing a customer-complaint process)
• New software implementation
• Training/upskilling employees
• New/enhanced products

Guiding questions

• What changes are being made?
• What must be improved to raise performance?
• What change strategies maximize value in the given context?

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4) Solution

Definition

• A means to satisfy a need by creating value aligned to stakeholder needs within context

Solution characteristics

• There may be multiple options for one need
• Different stakeholders may prefer different solutions for the same need

Effectiveness criterion

• Solutions must fulfill stakeholder needs—otherwise they may not “stick” as outcomes evolve into operations, potentially generating new needs/changes.

Selection criteria to balance

• Cost/benefit
• Risks
• Stakeholder preferences

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5) Context

Definition

• The set of circumstances/environment where change and solutions occur

Why it matters

• Context influences both relevance and feasibility

Examples of context elements

• Attitudes, behaviors, beliefs, languages
• Infrastructure, government, seasons/weather
• Technology

Guiding questions

• What contexts are stakeholders operating in?
• What limitations might prevent solutions from working?

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6) Value

Definition

• “Worth or significance” of solutions to stakeholders

Value can be

• Positive returns/improvements
• Negative losses/costs

Value types

• Tangible: measurable savings, profits
• Intangible: security/tech advances, policy updates, morale programs, reputation

Important nuance

• Value is subjective across stakeholders (e.g., the same solution may benefit sales differently than marketing).

Practical requirement

• Value prioritization and measurement require:
  • time
  • stakeholder alignment

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Framework Tooling: BACCM Canvas (1-page guide)

The webinar introduces a Business Analysis Core Concept Model Canvas, a one-page artifact that documents:

• the six concepts
• their relationships for a project

Intended uses:

• Individual documentation guide
• Collaborative “swarm” tool (implied wall-sized version)
• Stakeholder communication and onboarding
• Elicitation planning as needs/value become clearer
• Organizational change planning guardrails and traceability for solution satisfaction

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Key Frameworks / Playbooks Explicitly Recommended

Human-centered starting point

• Start the canvas journey at Stakeholders, emphasizing delivering products/services for people.

Iterative living-document approach

• Continuously monitor and update the canvas as:
  • stakeholder composition changes
  • circumstances evolve

Stakeholder-first elicitation workflow (practical sequence)

• Start with Stakeholders → Needs → Context
• Fill the remaining concepts as learning progresses

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Poll-Derived Audience Insights (Process Signal)

• Audience familiarity initially was ~50/50
• For “what are the six core concepts,” ~84% selected the correct option
• For “is one core concept dependent/understandable in relation to the other five,” ~86% selected “all of the above”
• After the deeper dive, the audience reported increased comfort with BACCM (exact percentage not provided)

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Actionable Guidance: Steps to Design Your Own BACCM Canvas

1. Identify your stakeholders
   • Start with key stakeholders, then expand as findings emerge.
2. Plan & prepare for elicitation (“visitation”)
   • For each of the six components, plan how you’ll educate/learn what matters for your project.
3. Conduct elicitation / education
   • Methods: workshops, focus groups, meetings, 1:1s, surveys, document analysis.
4. Analyze, summarize, and validate findings
   • Validate to ensure information remains correct before proceeding.
5. Update and populate the canvas
   • Update when stakeholders propose changes or new information appears.
6. Socialize and operationalize
   • Use the canvas for:
     • stakeholder onboarding
     • starter report meetings
     • internal alignment and communication
   • Maintain it as continuous monitoring work—not “design once and done.”

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Q&A Examples Relevant to Business Execution

Are core concepts different in agile vs. waterfall?

• Core concepts are constant; the methodology/approach changes.
• Caveat: in waterfall, long timelines can lead to stakeholder churn—so the canvas must be updated when stakeholder composition changes.

Can the canvas be populated in any order?

• It can be done in multiple orders, but a common recommended start is:
  • Stakeholders → Needs → Context
• Rationale: full information on change/solution may not be available early.

Handling unreachable stakeholders

• Workaround: if direct access is impossible (e.g., surgeons), use permitted observation/shadowing or find communication channels to understand context and needs.

Template availability

• Audience was told the canvas template can be downloaded via a link (requires providing an email).

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Concrete Recommendations (What to Do Next)

Build a one-page stakeholder-centered canvas that documents:

• Stakeholders (who’s affected/influences outcomes)
• Needs (problems/opportunities/constraints)
• Change (planned transformations)
• Solution (candidate approaches)
• Context (environmental constraints/conditions)
• Value (measurable + non-measurable benefits)

Use it to:

• plan elicitation
• justify recommendations to executives
• manage stakeholder involvement and context differences
• trace solution options back to needs and expected value

Treat it as an iterative management artifact, updated as stakeholders, assumptions, and environments evolve.

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Presenters / Sources

• Tiffany Acquilino — Host; Marketing team, IIBA (Independent, not-for-profit professional association)
• OGE — Co-presenter; Director of Professional Development, IIBA Halifax Chapter; owns Pollard Consults; IIBA endorsed education provider
• Stuart (Stuart Stewart) — Co-presenter; Lead Solution Architect, Thrivent Financial