Business Analysis Professional Development Program

OVERVIEW

Increasingly more organisations are acknowledging that a skilled Business Analyst plays a critical role in determining the success or failure of a project.  Whilst the Project Manager is responsible for delivering a project on time to budget it is the Business Analyst who must ensure that the right project is delivered by the Project Manager.

Developing and managing requirements through effective business analysis is key to delivering ‘the right project’. High quality requirements underpin a successful solution that meets project objectives, supports business strategies and provides benefits to the organisation.

Business Analysts act as a liaison between a wide range of stakeholders so they can manage requirements and ensure that what is needed by the business is actually delivered by the solution providers.   The Business Analyst provides the link between technical and non-technical stakeholders so they must be proficient across three critical domains:

• General business acumen
• Business Analysis processes, techniques and tools
• Interpersonal and business communications skills

Our Business Analysis Professional Development Program combines both the ‘art’ and ‘science’ of business analysis; from the basic, underlying principles of business analysis, through to their application throughout the analysis phase(s).

Our focus is on equipping participants with the disciplines, tools, templates and communication skills for immediate transfer to their workplace, and to effect immediate and discernible behavioural change in conducting business analysis activities that ensure project initiatives deliver business benefits.

Workshop StructureBack to top

This Program has a 5 day duration and comprises the following modules:

Module 1: Business Analysis Fundamentals (2 days)
(For Business Analysts, Project Managers, and Stakeholders)

This module employs a ‘from the ground up’, end-to-end business analysis approach, introducing the fundamental principles, tools and techniques for analysis from the definition of a problem or opportunity through to requirements sign-off and on-going requirements management.

Participants at this level may be absolute beginners, or individuals with low to moderate experience. This workshop is a ‘hands-on’ and highly practical one which uses a real-life case study, to which the participants will immediately apply their learning. A comprehensive participant handbook is provided.

For a detailed outline of the content and structure of this workshop, please refer to outline TC1183 – Business Analysis Fundamentals.

Module 2: Business Analysis in Practice (3 days)
(Applying Business Analysis Techniques for Effective Requirements)

This module uses the best practice principles of the BABOK® Guide Knowledge Areas as its foundation, to build upon participants’ existing skills and knowledge (gained either through prior Business Analysis Fundamentals training or through their experience working in a business analysis environment). It does this through a series of real-life scenarios, problems and issues faced by Business Analysts.  Participants will be actively engaged in developing the tools and techniques required to deliver high quality requirements that are quantifiable, traceable, validatable and fully aligned with organisational strategy.

Business Analysis in Practice is led by an expert, senior level facilitator possessing a wealth of business analysis knowledge and long-term hands-on experience. A comprehensive participant handbook is provided.

For a detailed outline of the content and structure of this workshop, please refer to outline TC1184 – Business Analysis in Practice.

Training Timetable Back to top

In-house and customised training workshops also available please phone 1300 701 314 for details

or CALL US 1300_ 70_ 13 14

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Industry Certified RecognitionBack to top

35 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT UNITS (PDUS) AWARDED

Participants who have been awarded the Project Management Professional Certification (PMP®) by the Project Management Institute are eligible to earn 35 PDUs for their participation in this workshop.

PM-Partners group is a Global PMI (Project Management Institute) Registered Education Provider.

Outcomes & Certification EligibilityBack to top

PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATION

The IIBA® offers two formal certifications for professional Business Analysts: the Certification of Competency in Business Analysis (CCBA™) and the Certified Business Analysis Practitioner (CBAP®). Both of these certifications require a solid understanding of the information contained in the BABOK® V2.0.  This course is aligned with the BABOK® Knowledge Areas and can assist in preparation for these certifications.

The International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA®) is a non-profit organisation whose vision is to be the leading world-wide professional association that develops and maintains standards for the practice of Business Analysis, and for the certification of practitioners. PM-Partners are an Endorsed Education Provider of the IIBA®, and an international sponsor.

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Workshop Content SummaryBack to top

Days 1 and 2: Business Analysis Fundamentals

• Setting the Scene
  • Understand course objectives.
  • Understand the alignment of the course with the IIBA and the BABOK® (BA Body of Knowledge).
  • Understand the pathway to becoming a certified Business Analyst.
• Introduction to Business Analysis
  • Demonstrate the ability to define business analysis, and its value to the performing organisation.
  • Understand the roles of a business analyst throughout the life of a project.
  • Understand key business analysis milestones and where they occur in a project.
• Understanding the Enterprise Environment and Providing Project Justification
  • Understand the concept of enterprise analysis.
  • Understand the link between enterprise strategy, business strategy and projects.
  • Demonstrate the ability to develop project justification including high level project scoping and cost-benefit analysis.
  • Understand the value of a robust Business Case.
• Preparing for Analysis
• Demonstrate the ability to define, plan and schedule tasks required to conduct requirements analysis.
• Demonstrate the ability to identify analysis risks.
• Demonstrate the ability to select tools and methods to elicit and validate requirements.
• Understand the tools available for communicating effectively with stakeholders.
• Demonstrate the ability to identify and conduct initial profiling of key stakeholders
• Understanding Rquirements
  • Understand the key principles of effective requirements.
  • Demonstrate the ability to identify and classify high level requirements.
  • Demonstrate the ability to critically evaluate documented requirements.
  • Understand the role of Business Rules in relation to requirements.
  • Demonstrate the ability to conduct root cause analysis.
• Developing Effective Requirements
  • Understand the role of business models in requirements development.
  • Understand the purpose of various business modelling techniques used to map current (as-is) and desired (to-be) business processes or environments.
  • Demonstrate the ability to create a model using a Context Diagram.
  • Understand the impact of not completing As-Is and To-Be modelling tasks.
  • Demonstrate the ability to organise requirements using a Functional Decomposition Diagram.
  • Understand the techniques available for validating requirements.

Days 3 to 5: Business Analysis in Practice

• Setting the Scene
  • Understand course objectives.
  • Understand the alignment of the course with the IIBA and the BABOK® (BA Body of Knowledge).
  • Review of key business analysis concepts.
  • Understand the need for a Business Analyst framework and how that links to other business processes e.g. Project Management Framework or the Software Development Life Cycle
• Defining the Business Need and Solution Scope
  • Understand the link between enterprise strategy and projects.
  • Demonstrate the ability to identify inefficiencies, pain points and opportunities in an organisation.
  • Demonstrate the ability to use tools and techniques to define solution scope.
  • Understand how to effectively manage scope creep using the change control process.
• Conducting a Cost Benefit Analysis
  • Understand how organisations evaluate and select projects.
  • Understand the financial elements required for a complete cost benefit analysis.
  • Understand the key components of a Business Case
• Planning for Analysis and Change
• Understand steps required to complete a comprehensive analysis plan.
• Understand a change driven (agile) versus plan driven (waterfall) business analysis approach
• Demonstrate the ability to develop a work breakdown structure that supports the analysis plan.
• Understand different techniques available for estimating the cost and time required to complete analysis tasks.
• Demonstrate the ability to identify analysis risks, develop a risk mitigation action plan and manage risks throughout the requirements gathering process.
• Understand the role of the Business Analyst in managing organisational change
• Managing Stakeholders
  • Understand the key stages of stakeholder management.
  • Understand a variety of profiling techniques used to categorise stakeholders for the purpose of effective stakeholder management.
• Developing As-Is Models
  • Understand the importance of As-Is modelling when developing requirements.
  • Demonstrate the ability to use modelling techniques, such as Swim Lane Flowcharts to identify, develop and document requirements.
• Gathering Requirements
• Understand the role of the business analyst in the requirements gathering process. 
• Understand the importance of business rules and their relationship to requirements.
• Demonstrate the ability to conduct a requirements gathering session via stakeholder interviews.
• Understand other methods of gathering requirements such as questionnaires and brainstorming techniques
• Verifying and Managing Requirements
  • Understand the tools available for verifying elicited requirements.
  • Understand the key components of a Business Requirements Document.
  • Demonstrate the ability to evaluate documented requirements.
  • Demonstrate the ability to write comprehensive, quality requirements.
  • Understand techniques available to structure and prioritise requirements.
  • Understand how to manage changing requirements through configuration management.
• Defining and Validating the Solution
  • Demonstrate the ability to trace requirements to original project scope and objectives.
  • Demonstrate the ability to develop a To-Be model based on requirements gathered.
  • Understand tools available that help evaluate alternative solutions and help establish a solution recommendation.
  • Demonstrate the ability to conduct a organisational impact assessment for a proposed solution.
  • Understand techniques available for validating requirements.
  • Demonstrate the ability to conduct a management presentation to present and validate requirements.

or CALL US 1300_ 70_ 13 14

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