Small, narrowly focused projects may not necessarily be concerned with strategy (for example producing a new report for the accounts department), but more significant projects, for example developing a new web site, a business process improvement project, or introducing a new CRM (Customer Relationship Management system), will be driven by strategic imperatives. For example, cost reduction, extending market reach, or increasing customer satisfaction.

Therefore, it is important to understand how the strategic context informs the business analysis project, how it may provide opportunities or impose constraints for a particular project. How strategy is developed and how success is measured are two of the key issues discussed.