Introduction

A planning horizon represents a view of work within an organization with a level of granularity appropriate to the planning time frame and the nature of the feedback loops. The Agile Extension defines three horizons: Strategy, Initiative, and Delivery. This framework provides a model to describe agile business analysis. Individual practitioners and organizations may employ different terms, levels of granularity, and time frames based on the context of the organization and the work being done.

In constant and rapidly changing environments, organizations are required to be able to sense and respond to local opportunities and problems without the need to involve the whole organization, while also looking forward at emerging threats and opportunities. These planning horizons provide a framework for the shift in focus that occurs when moving between understanding the long-term strategic needs of the organization and the immediate needs of a customer.

Depending on the size of the organization, multiple business analysis practitioners may be independently focusing on individual horizons and continuously communicating with each other, or a single business analysis practitioner may focus on more than one horizon. Constant communication and collaboration across all horizons is essential to allow for rapid feedback and learning which supports effective decision making across the organization.