Introduction to Business Analysis Course information Duration: 3 days PDUs: 21 Course Fee: £1395 excl. VAT €1995 excl. VAT Related links     Ask a question about this course     Download description Take a Pre- and Post-course assessment   Register for a course 16-18 Apr 08 11-13 Jun 08 6-8 Aug 08 1-3 Oct 08 19-21 Nov 08

Select a Public Classroom Course Aligning Project Management with Organisational Strategy Business Process Analysis, Innovation and Design Coaching and Mentoring for Improved Performance Contract Management Principles and Practices Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Establishing the Project Management Office Financial Management for Project and Contract Managers How to Gather and Document User Requirements Introduction to Business Analysis Introduction to Testing for Business Analysts IT Risk Management Leading Complex Projects Leading Project Managers Logical Data Modelling Managing Global Projects Managing Information Technology Projects Managing Projects Negotiation Skills PMP® Exam Preparation PMP® Power Exam Preparation Process Modelling Management Programme Management Project Leadership, Management and Communications Project Management Applications Quality for Project Managers Rapid Assessment and Recovery of Troubled Projects Requirements Management: A Key to Project Success Risk Management Scheduling and Cost Control Systems Integration Project Management Taking Charge of Organisational Change Unlocking the Power of Earned Value Management Use Case Modelling for Business Analysis Writing Statements of Work: The Heart of Any Contract

Learn how to:

• Define the role of the business analyst throughout the phases of a project
• Explain the range of tasks that a business analyst might perform
• Apply principles of quality assurance and testing
• Explain the importance of requirements definition
• Assess the value of use case analysis and design on your work
• Explain how business process, workflow and data modeling techniques facilitate improved communication

Course Synopsis

The business analyst's role is key to defining the requirements of a project at its earliest stages, as well as to planning, defining and validating project scope. It's important to have an understanding of the breadth of knowledge that a business analyst brings to bear in developing business solutions.

This introductory course is designed to give people new to the business analyst role or those who supervise and/or work with business analysts a basic understanding of the benefits, functions and impact of this critical position.

You'll experience how a business analyst supports the project, from establishing its scope in the analysis phase to ensuring the requirements have been met in the testing phase. The course provides a special focus on the business analysis function as it relates to developing information technology solutions, given that such an understanding is essential for project success.

After completing this course, you'll understand why and when to involve the business analysis function. Plus, you'll have a working vocabulary to enable you to communicate effectively with those who perform that role. If you are new to the role of the business analyst and need to pursue more in-depth skill development, you'll leave this course with the framework necessary to support your future efforts.

Course Topics

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)
      • Workflow modeling
      • Use Case analysis
      • Data modeling
   3. Workflow modeling
   4. Use Case analysis
   5. Data modeling
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. Modeling the Future State
   1. Models and modeling
   2. Relating models to requirements
   3. Modeling the information requirements (data modeling)
   4. Modeling the TO-BE state (process and workflow modeling)
7. Getting Requirements from Models
   1. The value of Use Cases
   2. Use Case analysis
   3. Unified Modeling Language
   4. (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

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