Change Resistance
Who's running the show?
What types of external factors should be considered? While the organization could in itself be progressive and open to change, there may be external influences which are less flexible. These can include government regulations, vendor requirements, or even social norms. As a successful analyst it's important to not only recognize these pitfalls, but to understand how operate within them. Identifying external limitations and guidelines requires a different set of tools that analyzing an existing workflow or process. These techniques often require extensive research and discovery outside of the client organization. An analyst should never rely on how the client interprets a external influence, but should instead investigate and analyze the impact themselves. Simply stating what you've been told by a client does not free you of the responsibility of adhering to the regulations and guidelines required to operate within the confines of laws and social norms.
Organizations where external influences have profound effects on the analysis process are often those most regulated. The Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act, otherwise known as HIPAA, is a perfect example of an environment in which an analyst would encounter a strong external forces dictating not only the flow of data, but the methods in which it travels. When working in organizations governed by these types of regulations, it will be common to encounter resistance to change. This resistance to change not only comes from the guidelines and regulations themselves, it can also originate from internal sources. Changing processes and workflows can have wide ranging effects outside the intended impact. Documentation of processes, inspection guidelines, and internal audits will all be necessary in a highly regulated environment. This means more work for the employees responsible for these functions.
