Understanding business analysis
- Business change lifecycle and the principles of business analysis
- Role variants and purpose of business analysis in change
Core competencies of a business analyst
- The T-shaped professional model
- Key competency areas for business analysts
Strategic context for business analysis
- PESTLE and VMOST for environmental analysis
- Business models, performance metrics, SWOT, and POPITTM
- Using the business model canvas in strategy execution
Business analysis service framework
- Overview of the seven services in the BASF including requirements definition and stakeholder engagement
Investigating the business situation
- Workshop types, observation, interviewing, scenarios, prototyping, and user role analysis
- Quantitative techniques and diagrammatic tools (rich pictures, mind maps)
Stakeholder analysis and management
- Stakeholder categories, Power/Interest grid, RACI responsibilities
Improving business processes and services
- Process hierarchies, SIPOC, value chain, UML activity models
- As-is analysis, task and handoff evaluation, customer journey mapping
Defining potential solutions
- Gap analysis using POPITTM
- Developing solution options and applying design thinking
Building the business case
- Structure and feasibility of business cases
- Categories of cost and benefit, risk and impact assessments
- Investment appraisal methods and CARDI log
Requirements engineering and analysis
- Framework for establishing requirements
- Stakeholder roles, types and hierarchy of requirements
- Elicitation techniques and analysis filters such as MoSCoW and INVEST
Requirements documentation and modelling
- Documentation styles and user stories
- Use cases, class models, product backlogs, and business requirement documents
Validating and managing requirements
- Techniques for formal and Agile validation
- Requirements traceability and change control
Delivery lifecycles
- Comparison of waterfall, V-model, incremental and Agile approaches
- Pros and cons of different lifecycle models
Delivering the business solution
- Business analyst’s role in solution implementation
- SARAH model, business readiness assessment, benefits realisation
Exams and assessments
This course includes a BCS Foundation Certificate in Business Analysis exam voucher. The exam is a one-hour, closed-book, multiple-choice assessment via remote proctor. Learners must schedule the exam to take place after the course. The exam voucher expires 12 months after confirmed attendance of the course.
Hands-on learning
Participants engage with practical examples and a simplified case study to reinforce learning. Instructor-led sessions incorporate workshops and collaborative exercises that simulate real-world business analysis scenarios, enabling learners to apply frameworks and techniques immediately.