MBA226: The FOCCCUS Formula

Mastering Business Analysis

In this episode, we revisit Theory of Constraints, an approach to improving organizational performance by accelerating delivery. Author Clarke Ching shares his FOCCCUS Formula to address the system’s bottleneck.

Show Notes

In every process or value delivery system, there’s one constraint (bottleneck) that limits the flow of value of the entire system. If you want to deliver faster, you must identify and address the bottleneck. To improve the flow of value, we can apply the Theory of Constraints, a process improvement methodology that focuses on addressing the bottleneck.

Eli Goldratt’s famous book, The Goal, introduced readers to the Theory of Constraints and how to apply Goldratt’s Five Focusing Steps to address your constraint. However, many people are unaware of or confused by the Five Focusing Steps.

In you’re confused about how to address the bottleneck in your process, you can use Clarke Ching’s FOCCCUS Formula instead. FOCCCUS is an acronym that stands for the steps you can take to address the constraint and improve the system.

FOCCCUS

The first step in the FOCCCUS Formula is “F” for find the bottleneck. You can’t improve the bottleneck if you don’t know where it is. To find the bottleneck, look for work piling up of long queues in front of a step in the process. Work typically builds up in front of the constraint.

Once you find the bottleneck, the next step is “O” for optimize. You want to optimize the bottleneck so that it can get work done faster. You can do this by making sure the work that goes to the bottleneck resource is ready (has everything they need) and the bottleneck is focused only on value added work.

After you optimize, the next step is collaborate. Collaboration helps the bottleneck deliver faster because non-bottleneck resources may be able to off-load work that the bottleneck is doing.

In addition to collaboration, you can apply the second “C”, which is coordinate. This step involves finding ways to coordinate activities of both bottleneck and non-bottleneck resources to optimize delivery. This can include rearranging process steps or changing the timing of certain pieces of work to smooth the flow.

The third “C” in the FOCCCUS Formula is curate. When you curate, you decide what to put in a limited amount of space. Essentially, you prioritize work to maximize the value that can be delivered.

The “U” in the FOCCCUS Formula stands for upgrade. This can mean buying faster equipment, holding training to improve skills associated with the constrained task, or hiring more people. Upgrading can be expensive and you should only upgrade after completing the other steps.

The final step is “S”, which stands for start again. The FOCCCUS Formula is a continuous process. After you complete each step, you should validate that the bottleneck hasn’t moved. If it has, continuing to the next step with the same bottleneck won’t improve the flow of value through the system.

Check each time to ensure that you know where the bottleneck is and start with the simplest, cheapest intervention.

Listen to the full episode to understand how to use the FOCCCUS Formula to improve your process and accelerate value delivery.

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Clarke Ching

Clarke has been powered by the Theory of Constraints for over 20 years and Agile since 2003. He wrote Rolling Rocks Downhill (the Agile business novel that never mentions Agile) and The Bottleneck Rules (which was featured in The Guardian newspaper, and was briefly the #2 best-selling leadership book on Amazon.com, just behind Steven Covey).

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  MBA112: User Centered Design
  Caleb Carroll helps us deliver better business value through a User Centered Design approach.
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  MBA111: Design Thinking IS Good Business Analysis
  Explore the tools of Design Thinking and find out how it helps ensure you build valuable solutions.
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  MBA110: Managing Ambiguous Requirements
  Scott Stribrny shares four techniques to identify and address ambiguous requirements.
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  MBA109: Foundations in Business Analysis
  Get back to basics and establish a strong foundation for your business analysis skills and techniques.
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  MBA108: Prioritizing with the MVP
  Learn how to find the minimum viable product and use it to identify work that you should deliver first.
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  MBA107: Backlog Refinement – From Misunderstanding to Collaborative Discovery
  Richard Dolman helps us take backlog refinement from an underutilized meeting that doesn’t get the respect it deserves to a powerful forum for collaborative discovery.
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  MBA106: Rapid Requirements Gathering
  Scott Killen shares an approach for quickly eliciting a majority of project requirements with very little prep work.
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  MBA105: The Best Advice I Ever Received
  Thought leaders in Business Analysis share the best advice they ever received.
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  MBA104: Predictions for 2017
  What does the future hold for Business Analysis? Here are my predictions for 2017.
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  MBA103: How Mr. Finch Stole the Project
  Hear the holiday tale of Mr. Finch as he tries to sabotage the project, read in the style of the popular children’s author, Dr. Seuss.
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  MBA102: Product Management – Build the Right Thing
  Rich Mironov helps us to better understand the Product Manager role and what we can do to make sure we build a solution that drives success for our organization.
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  MBA101: Split Your Stories!
  Chris Sims shares four techniques to split your user stories to make them smaller, more manageable, and to help draw out details.
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  MBA100: My Biggest Mistake
  Eight business analysis leaders share personal stories of their biggest mistakes and what they learned along the way so you don’t make the same mistakes.
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  MBA099: Assumptions Mapping
  David Bland shares an exercise from LeanUX for gaining clarity in times of uncertainty and developing a deep understanding of customer needs.
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  MBA098: The Art and Science of Influence
  David Mantica talks to us about influence and how to successfully navigate any organization to move projects to execution. He also shares several approaches and techniques to improve your ability to influence.
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  MBA097: Partnership Between the PM and BA
  Author and consultant Cheryl Lee helps us to improve the collaboration and partnership between Business Analysts and Project Managers.
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  MBA096: The Standard for Business Analysis
  David Bieg, Business Analysis & Requirements Program Manager for the PMI, tells us about PMI’s development of a foundational standard in Business Analysis.
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  MBA095: Lean Change Management
  Author and international speaker Jason Little helps us to understand how to use Lean Change Management to create change that sticks.
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  MBA094: Perspectives in Business Analysis
  Peter Leftrov helps us to understand how the BA Perspectives can help you choose which techniques and tasks are applicable to your specific project.
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  MBA093: Beyond Project Risk
  Look beyond typical in-project risks and adopt a systems thinking approach by identifying organizational risks that may come up as a result of your project.
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  MBA092: Reducing the Risk of Missing Non-Functional Requirements
  Roxanne Miller shares six ways to help reduce the risk of missing non-functional requirements (NFRs).
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  MBA091: Going from Order Taker to Trusted Advisor
  Elizabeth Larson helps us along the path going from order taker to trusted advisor and helps us to avoid some of the common pitfalls.
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  MBA090: BABOK 3.0 with Richard Larson
  Richard Larson helps us to understand what’s changed in version 3 of the BABOK Guide and how it can help you and your career.
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  MBA089: Agile Manifesto – What it Means to Business Analysts
  What do the principles behind the Agile Manifesto mean in the context of Business Analysis? Same skills as traditional approaches, but applied differently.
• 
  MBA088: Effective Requirements Workshops
  Lora McCoy shares her five step process for running effective and engaging requirements workshops and discovering requirements quickly.
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  MBA087: Replaced by a Robot – Interview with Kupe Kupersmith
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  MBA086: DocOps – Keep Your Documentation Agile
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  MBA085: From Models to Stories
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  MBA084: Agile Modeling with Scott Ambler
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  MBA083: The BA Core Concept Model
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  MBA082: Addressing Bottlenecks with Theory of Constraints
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  MBA081: User Story Mapping with David Hussman
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  MBA080: Think Like a Freak
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  MBA079: Effective Collaboration
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  MBA078: Design Sprints
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  MBA077: Preparing for the Future of Business Analysis
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  MBA076: Product Strategy
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  MBA075: Slices of Big Truths
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  MBA074: Lean Business Analysis
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  MBA073: Agile Requirements – What’s Different
  What’s different about requirements in an agile environment vs. requirements in waterfall? Success with agile requirements requires a shift in mindset from big design upfront to continuous small, valuable pieces as well as an understanding of when to dive into the details and when to keep the information at a high level.
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  MBA072: Improve Your Facilitation
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  MBA071: The Essence of Business Analysis
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  MBA070: Better BA and PM Collaboration
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  MBA069: Business Rules – What You Need to Know
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  MBA068: Realities of Being a Product Owner
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  MBA067: All About the PMI-PBA Certification
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  MBA066: Starting a BA Community of Practice
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  MBA065: The Value of Business Analysis
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  MBA064: Transitioning to a Product Owner Role
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  MBA063: Starting a Career in Business Analysis
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  MBA062: Peer Reviews for Better Requirements
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  MBA061: Overcoming Roadblocks to Success on Complex Projects
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  MBA060: Business Architecture and Business Analysis
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  MBA059: Problem Solving for Business Analysts
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  MBA058: Reusable Discovery Testing
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  MBA057: The 6 Stakeholders You’ll Meet in Project Hell
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  MBA056: Design Thinking for Better Business Analysis
• 
  MBA055: The Agile BA – Interview with Ryland Leyton
  Ryland Leyton, author of The Agile Business Analyst: Moving from Waterfall to Agile, joins us to talk about what it means to be an agile business analyst and how to be successful in an agile environment.
• 
  MBA054: Strategy and its Role in Business Analysis
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  MBA053: Use Cases and Beyond – with Ivar Jacobson
  The father of Use Cases, Dr. Ivar Jacobson, joins us to discuss how he came up with the idea for Use Cases, how to use them in an agile environment, and what lies beyond Use Cases.
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  MBA052: Portfolio Management & The Agile Extension
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  MBA051: A Visit From the Business Analyst
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  MBA050: The T-Shaped Business Analyst
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  MBA049: The First Line of Defense Against a Security Breach
  Hans Eckman helps us to understand how the Business Analyst is perfectly suited to be the first line of defense in preventing security breaches. Hans also shares some approaches and advice for handling security related requirements.
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  MBA048: Finding the Minimum Viable Product
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  MBA047: The DNA of a Great Agile Business Analyst
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  MBA046: The Product Owner / Business Analyst Relationship
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  MBA045: The Agile BA – Myths and Misconceptions
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  MBA044: Business Process Automation
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  MBA043: Abuser Stories – Think Like a Bad Guy
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  MBA042: Stop Using User Stories – Interview with Jim Benson
• 
  MBA041: What’s the Second Best User Story?
  James Robertson helps us decompose user stories into smaller, more manageable pieces and look critically at stories so that they don’t specify a solution.
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  MBA040: User Stories – Are You Ready?
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  MBA039: The Big Deal with Big Data
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  MBA038: Use Cases, CX, and UX: Putting it all together
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  MBA037: The Key to Better Collaboration
  Jim Tamm shares some essential skills for effective collaboration and practical tools designed to help you manage your own defensiveness, build trust, reduce conflict and create a more collaborative working environment.
• 
  MBA036: Psychology of Leadership – Interview with Cillín Hearns
  Leadership and performance coach Cillín Hearns helps us explore what it means to be a leader and will show you how to advance your leadership skills regardless of your current role or level.
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  MBA035: Active Listening – The Most Important Skill
  What is the single most important skill needed by every business analyst, product owner, and project manager? It’s a skill that allows you to build trust and ensure an accurate, shared understanding. That skill is active listening.
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  MBA034: Use Case 2.0 – Interview with Ian Spence
  In this episode, author Ian Spence introduces us to a different way to utilize Use Cases in agile environments – Use Cases 2.0. After listening to this episode, you will understand: The advantages of using use cases How to use cases can be used in an agile environment Why and how to create thin slices of use cases Show Notes […]
• 
  MBA033: Landing and Succeeding in Your First BA Role – Interview with Alex Papworth
  In this episode, consultant and blogger Alex Papworth shares his advice for starting a career as a Business Analyst – how to get and succeed in your first role as a BA. After listening to this episode, you will know: How to find opportunities to advance your BA skills and experience How to target your job search […]
• 
  MBA032: Systems Thinking – Interview with Paula Bell
  In this episode, consultant and author Paula Bell shares her approach to Systems Thinking – a holistic analysis approach to understanding how the parts of an organizational system interrelate. After listening to this episode, you will understand: What Systems Think is and why it’s important How to begin How you can better understand your customers and build […]
• 
  MBA031: UX – Are you Experienced? Interview with Neil Turner
  In this episode, User Experience designer and researcher Neil Turner will share his thoughts on how and when to interact with UX professionals in your company as well as give you some practical tips and tools you can use to create a better experience for your customers. After listening to this episode, you will understand: What […]
• 
  MBA030: Myths and Patterns of Organizational Change – Interview with Linda Rising
  In this episode, author, speaker, and consultant Linda Rising helps us to better understand resistance to change and some of the myths and patterns associated with leading organizational change. After listening to this episode, you will understand: The myths of organizational change that lead us down the wrong path Why simply stating facts doesn’t persuade people How […]
• 
  MBA029: Business Process Improvement – Keep it Simple – Interview with Brian Hunt
  In this episode, Business Process Consultant Brian Hunt shares with us his approach to starting a business process improvement initiative and some simple tools you can use to get started. After listening to this episode, you will understand: How to start a business improvement initiative The right people to talk to to discover improvement opportunities Simple […]
• 
  MBA028: Talking Techie and Presenting Complex Ideas with Melissa Marshall
  In this episode, Melissa Marshall will help us to understand how to bridge the gap between technical terms and business terms and present information in a meaningful way. After listening to this episode, you will understand: Why it’s critical to be able to communicate complex information to a general audience How to use an audience […]
• 
  MBA027: Elicit User Requirements with Legos – Interview with Ellen Grove
  In this episode, Ellen Grove speaks with us about how to use Legos (the building blocks for kids) to elicit user requirements. This requirements elicitation technique quickly surfaces areas where there is not a shared understanding and identifies gaps missed by other approaches.
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  MBA026: Guarding Against Scope Creep
  Scope creep isn’t just the nickname of that weird guy with chronic bad breath down the hall. It also refers to uncontrolled changes or the continuous growth in a project’s scope. Often, this addition to scope comes without corresponding changes to the budget, resources, and schedule. Scope creep is also known as requirements creep and can occur when the project scope is poorly defined and as a result, requirements are added that do not align with the objective of the project.
• 
  MBA025: Don’t Just Make Software, Make an Impact – Interview with Gojko Adzic
  In this episode, Gojko Adzic speaks with us about how to deliver solutions that the business truly needs to achieve their goals and avoid creating shelfware. He’ll also introduce us to a tool that he uses called Impact Mapping. After listening to this episode, you will understand: How to focus on creating an impact for your […]
• 
  MBA024: Lead with the Power of a Jedi – Interview with Heather Mylan-Mains
  In this episode, we’re joined by Heather Mylan-Mains. Heather is going to share with us how to motivate and inspire as a leader based on her presentation entitled “BA Jedi Master Leadership Academy – Learn How to Lead with the BA Force”. After listening to this episode, you will understand: How Business Analysts can lead […]
• 
  MBA023: Using Behavior Driven Development for Better User Stories – Interview with Jeffrey Davidson
  In this episode, we’re joined by Jeffrey Davidson. Jeffrey will help us to better understand how to get better at user stories and how behavior driven development (BDD) helps create a shared understanding. We also discuss how to create the nirvana state of living requirements. Jeffrey Davidson is the past president of the IIBA Dallas […]
• 
  MBA022: How to Know Where to Focus Your Efforts – Interview with Chris Matts
  In this episode, we’re joined by Chris Matts. Chris will introduce us to the Cynefin framework and how he uses it to understand where to focus business analysis activities and where the focus should be more product management driven. Chris also discusses Real Options, which is a decision-making process for managing uncertainty and risk that he developed. […]
• 
  MBA021: Is the Business Analyst Role Just Overhead? Interview with John Sextro
  “Let’s get rid of Business Analysts and ScrumMasters.” In this episode, we’re joined by John Sextro. John recently gave a provocative lightening talk at a conference about removing Business Analysts and ScrumMasters from agile teams. We’ll discuss what this would mean for the BA role. John Sextro has been in the software industry for 21 years and […]
• 
  MBA020: The Value of Certifications – Interview with David Mantica
  In this episode, David Mantica, President of ASPE-SDLC, shares his views on the value of professional certifications – both to the individual and to the organization. David Mantica is president of the American Society of Professional Education Inc. (ASPE-SDLC) and has two decades of experience as a business leader in the training industry. David has participated […]
• 
  MBA019: Why Start with Why? Interview with Stephen Shedletzky
  In this episode, leadership speaker and Start With Why facilitator Stephen Shedletzky helps us understand how to apply the Start With Why concept to our role to help our organizations work on the right things and deliver value to customers. He’ll also share his thoughts on how to inspire others to take action. After listening […]
• 
  MBA018: Step Up to Leadership with the Five-Rule Framework – Interview with Scott Stribrny
  What makes a great leader? In this episode, Scott Stribrny begins to answer this question by presenting a business analyst relevant five-rule framework to apply in real life. Scott will discuss principles that guide effective leaders and will explore the short-term orientation of leadership with examples for day-to-day action as well as the long-term orientation […]
• 
  MBA017: Does Your Communications Engine Need a Tune-Up? Interview with David Barrett
  In this episode, David Barrett speaks with us about what I feel is the most important skill for a Business analyst . . . communication. David is the National Program Director for the Centers of Excellence in Project Management and Business Analysis at the Schulich School of Business and is one of the founders of […]
• 
  MBA016: User Story Mapping with Jeff Patton
  In this episode consultant, author, and agile thought leader Jeff Patton shows us how to use Story Maps to create a shared understanding of a feature and create thin slices that relate to the minimum viable product and additional releases. Jeff also shares his thoughts on the proper way to use User Stories and how to avoid […]
• 
  MBA015: Promise Theory for Team Cooperation – Interview with Mark Burgess
  In this episode, Dr. Mark Burgess, creator of CFEngine, explains how he uses concepts from physics to explain how complex systems work. He uses his Promise Theory to not only develop better computer systems, but also to give us a better framework for individual and team interactions. After listening to this episode, you will understand: How we can use […]
• 
  MBA014: The Future of Business Analysis – Interview with David Mantica
  In this episode, David Mantica, President of ASPE, shares his views on the future of the business analyst role and how we can open up new opportunities for career growth and drive valuable change in our organizations. After listening to this episode, you will understand: How different organizations are structured to manage business analysis activities The […]
• 
  MBA013: Trust is the New Workplace Currency – Interview with Nan Russell
  In this episode, Nan Russell shares with us how to build trust and the effect increased trust (or the lack of trust) can have on your team and the organization. She’ll also help us to understand how the little things we do can hurt the bigger things we want to do and how to use […]
• 
  MBA012: Beyond Requirements – Interview with Kent McDonald
  In this episode, Kent McDonald shares his thoughts on requirements analysis in an agile environment and will give you tips on how to make your agile projects more successful. After listening to this episode, you will understand: The role of the agile analyst and how it differs from analysis on traditional projects The mindset and underlying […]
• 
  MBA011: Make Your Waterfall Projects More Agile
  In this episode, we discuss practices from agile that you can implement in your traditional (waterfall) projects that will allow you to reduce risk, adapt to change, and accelerate project delivery. In this episode, you will understand: How to use some of the values, principles, and practices of agile to adapt to change and speed up […]
• 
  MBA010: Make Virtual Meetings More Effective – Interview with Angela Wick
  In this episode, we’re joined by Angela Wick of BA-Squared. Angela shares her tips and techniques for making virtual meetings more effective. You’ll learn the signs that people are multitasking and understand how to use virtual collaboration tools to keep people engaged and run a successful virtual meeting. In this episode, Angela shares with us: The […]
• 
  MBA009: Exploring the 7 Product Dimensions for Better Requirements Discovery – Interview with Mary Gorman
  In this episode, we’re joined by Mary Gorman, co-author of Discover to Deliver. Mary will take us on a deep dive into a holistic framework to discover product requirements, the 7 Product Dimensions. She will also share with us models to use as you move through the 7 Product Dimensions that will allow you to […]
• 
  MBA008: How to Discover Product Requirements – Interview with Ellen Gottesdiener
  In this episode, Ellen Gottesdiener shares an effective approach to discovering product requirements. You will understand how to break out of being an order taker and become a product co-creator. Ellen’s holistic approach to requirements discovery includes a mindset shift that needs to take place to recast stakeholders as product partners, how to get everyone […]
• 
  MBA007: How to be a Badass Business Analyst – Interview with Bob Prentiss
  Want to be the go-to person on projects, in high demand and highly regarded? In this episode, you’ll discover how to do exactly that. Bob Prentiss is the Founder and Principal Consultant at Bob the BA, Inc. He’s a trainer, mentor, consultant, major nerd, and all around badass Business Analyst. Become a badass BA and […]
• 
  MBA006: The Business Analyst Career Path – Interview with David DeWitt
  Where do I go from here and what are the career opportunities for a Business Analyst? David DeWitt, President of the Chicagoland chapter of the IIBA and IT Leadership Practice Director at NueVista Group, discusses the Business Analyst career path. In this episode, David shares with us: Career opportunities for a new Business […]
• 
  MBA005: Interview with Len Lagestee – How can a BA deliver value to an Agile Team?
  Today, author and agile coach Len Lagestee helps us to discover how a Business Analyst can bring value to an agile team. Len also discusses where a BA fits on an agile team and how to become a catalyst for positive change. In this episode, Len shares with us: What a Business Analyst can […]
• 
  MBA004: Defeat the Meeting Super Villians
  In this episode, you’ll discover the super villains that destroy meeting efficiency and learn how to defeat them. We’ll share with you the tools you can use to hold effective meetings and deliver project results. Check the bottom of this post to get your free guide to master your meetings. During this episode, you will find […]
• 
  MBA003: How can introverts work well on agile teams – Interview with Ken Howard
  In this episode, consultant and author Ken Howard shares with us how to discover the right method to work with and communicate requirements to project team members. He also dispels some myths about introverts and helps us to understand how introverts can benefit agile teams. In this episode, Ken shares with us: A method for […]
• 
  MBA002: How to Elicit Non-Functional Requirements – Interview with Roxanne Miller
  Today’s episode is an interview with Roxanne Miller, consultant, speaker, and author. Roxanne shares with us a framework for holding effective stakeholder elicitation meetings and everything you ever wanted to know about non-functional requirements. In this episode, you’ll find out: How to hold effective stakeholder meetings How non-functional requirements differ from functional requirements The impact […]
• 
  MBA001: Introduction to the Mastering Business Analysis Podcast
  Today’s episode is a quick introduction to the podcast. I will share with you what this podcast is all about and why I created it. Have a question about Business Analysis or a suggestion for an upcoming episode? Leave me a voice mail using the widget at the side of the screen or send […]

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