Foundations of Business Analysis

(formerly Introduction to Business Analysis)

Understand the vital role of the business analyst throughout all the phases of a project.

Public Classroom

Course Overview

The business analyst’s role is pivotal in defining the requirements of a project at its earliest stages, as well as during the stages of planning, defining and scope validation. Perfect for those who work with business analysts, who are new to the role or have no formal training – this course provides an understanding of the ways in which a business analyst drives the knowledge of developing business situations and supports the project; from establishing scope in the analysis phase to ensuring the requirements have been met in the testing phase. You will come away from this course with the knowledge of why and when to involve the business analyst, and a working vocabulary that will enable you to communicate effectively.

Course Topics

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1. What is Business Analysis?
   1. IT business analysis
   2. Business process improvement
   3. Challenges of gathering and analysing requirements
   4. History and current trends in business analysis
   5. Role of the business analyst through the project life cycle
2. Defining the Business Problem
   1. Techniques to determine the underlying business problems
   2. Understanding the business environment at a high-level
   3. Relating business problems and processes
3. Root Causes of Problems
   1. Business problems and root causes
   2. Applying modeling to understand root causes (the AS-IS state)
4. Solution Vision and Scope
   1. Vision and envisioning
   2. The key players in setting the vision
   3. How to determine the product scope
   4. Quantifying process improvement goals
5. Making the Business Case
   1. How the business analyst adds insight to business cases
   2. Estimating the benefits associated with the product
6. Modelling the Future State
   1. Models and modelling
   2. Relating models to requirements
   3. Modelling the information requirements (data modelling)
   4. Modelling the TO-BE state (process and workflow modelling)
7. Getting Requirements from Models
   1. The value of Use Cases
   2. Use Case analysis
   3. Unified Modelling Language (UML) and object-oriented analysis
8. Requirements Definition and Documentation
   1. SMART requirements
   2. Identifying the boundary between requirements and specifications
   3. Managing changes to the requirements
9. Quality Assurance and Testing
   1. The business analyst's role in testing
   2. Quality assurance activities: checking and testing
   3. Introduction to test strategies and plans