Compuware Research Highlights Growing Importance of Business Analysts in Aligning IT With the Business

Survey Identifies Increasingly Strategic Role of Business Analysts for Collaboration and the Driving of Successful Project Outcomes

ORLANDO--November 8, 2006--Today at Project World and the World Congress for Business Analysts, Compuware Corporation (NASDAQ: CPWR) announced the results of a research survey of business analysts (BAs). The survey revealed new information about the importance BAs play in enabling Information Technology (IT) organizations to better align with the business. The survey, titled The New Business Analyst: A Strategic Role in the Enterprise, was co-sponsored by Compuware Corp. and the Requirements Networking Group (RQNG), and it was conducted by Evans Data Corporation.

"Based on this survey, a clear line in the corporate sand has been drawn as to the importance of the business analyst; the BA plays an increasingly integral and strategic role in organizational success," said John Andrews, President of Evans Data Corp. "The BA is seen as a thought leader that bridges the gap between lines of business and IT and is often a key player brought in early to complete projects that fuel business objectives."

The survey examined the strategic, day-to-day contributions of BAs. It identified BAs as seasoned professionals who juggle multiple tasks and link IT projects to business success. The survey also demonstrated that the BA enjoys substantial job security, which is particularly important during a period of high outsourcing.

"The business analyst position is one of the most in-demand jobs in all of IT," said Paul Melde, Vice President of Technology of Dice. "Companies are beginning to realize that business analysis is an essential internal function of an organization and plays a critical role in achieving business and product development goals."

The Compuware-RQNG survey characterized the BA’s role as increasingly strategic:

More than 75 percent of the time, business analysts are assigned to projects at or before project initiation, signaling that they are key influencers on strategic technology decisions.
Business analysts are experienced, seasoned professionals with a median of seven-plus years in this role, with fully 35 percent having more than 10 years’ experience.
Slightly more than half (50.3 percent) of business analysts earn $75,000 or more.

However, enterprises need to equip their BAs with better training and tools. According to Forrester analyst Carey Schwaber in her September, 2006 report titled The Root of the Problem: Poor Requirements, "The lynchpin of the requirements definition process is the business analyst, a hybrid creature expected to move with ease between the worlds of business and technology. But business analysts all too often fall into the role and aren’t given adequate training to do their job properly."

Underscoring the Forrester research, the Compuware-RQNG survey found that:

A disturbing 68.9 percent of BAs do not see a clear career path for the future.
Most organizations lack a formal training program for business analysts. Almost 60 percent of BAs responded that they learn primarily on the job, from personal development or from their peers.
While BAs must juggle many different tasks--defining business objectives; planning and managing requirements activities and tasks; eliciting, analyzing and managing requirements; and communicating with various stakeholders--only 27.9 percent said their organizations have adopted tools to make them more effective.

"It’s clear that business analysts have an increasingly important role in helping the IT organization bridge the gap between the business and IT," said Mike Burba, Director of Marketing for Application Delivery Management at Compuware. "At Compuware, we are committed to helping BAs capture better requirements and collaborate with their stakeholders more effectively."

Compuware Optimal Trace is Compuware’s solution for business requirements management. It enables business analysts to capture "structured requirements" use cases, which is a unique and easy-to-use approach that enables BAs to capture business requirements from the perspective of the user, complete with visual storyboards and traceable relationships to business needs.

Complete results from the survey The New Business Analyst: A Strategic Role in the Enterprise can be found at http://www.compuware.com/thenewstrategicBA.

Requirements Networking Group

RQNG is a community website specifically devoted to the discipline of "IT requirements management," targeting business analysts, systems analysts, project managers, testers and others with requirements gathering and related disciplines. RQNG focuses on requirements, tools, methodologies and education. For more information, please visit http://www.requirementsnetwork.com.

Compuware Corporation

Compuware Corporation (NASDAQ: CPWR) maximizes the value IT brings to the business by helping CIOs more effectively manage the business of IT. Compuware solutions accelerate the development, improve the quality and enhance the performance of critical business systems while enabling CIOs to align and govern the entire IT portfolio, increasing efficiency, cost control and employee productivity throughout the IT organization. Founded in 1973, Compuware serves the world's leading IT organizations, including more than 90 percent of the Fortune 100 companies. Learn more about Compuware at http://www.compuware.com/.