Business Analysis in Practice

Business Analysis in Practice

Overview

Up to 40% of the reasons for project failure can be traced to ineffective Business Analysis (Australian Institute of Business Analysis 2010) which is why Business Analysis is gaining in popularity as a professional discipline. Organisations are beginning to realise that an effective Business Analyst is instrumental in providing a solid foundation for delivery of successful projects, for implementing the most appropriate solution for a business issue or opportunity, and maximising return on investment as a result.

A skilled Business Analyst is able to develop requirements that encompass organisational and environment factors such as business processes, systems capability and organisational culture. They deliver solutions that are aligned with organisational strategy and support requirements. They also provide essential support during the adoption of organisational change.

Aside from possessing the required technical skills, a truly successful Business Analyst will also possess a range of interpersonal skills that allow them to manage difficult stakeholders and situations. Key skills for success include analytical and critical thinking, superior communication, leadership, negotiation, facilitation and conflict management.

This Business Analysis course has been designed with all of the above in mind.  With the best practice principles of the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK®) V2.0 Knowledge Areas and processes as its foundation, this course builds upon participants' existing skills and knowledge by way of a guided tour through a series of rigorous and real-life scenarios, problems and issues faced by Business Analysts across multiple functional domains.

Workshop Objectives

This course provides participants with a standardised and systematic approach for eliciting, analysing and managing business requirements that form the basis for successful solutions delivered to the organisation.  It uses a real life case study approach in order to plan, manage and execute a detailed requirements development process, to successfully manage stakeholders, and to reduce organisational risk by understanding the impact of change across the business.

Successful completion of this course will enable participants to:

• Establish parameters for analysis and solution(s): scope, business drivers, and business needs.
• Build a Business Case that includes a cost benefit analysis.
• Measure and communicate the impact of change on the current environment.
• Model data and business functions using a range of tools such as activity (swimlane) diagrams, use case models, data flow diagrams and entity relationship (E-R) diagrams.
• Gather information using appropriate elicitation techniques.
• Document, validate and present high-quality, complete requirements.
• Communicate effectively with technical and non-technical representatives.
• Gain an overview of the BABOK® knowledge areas required for formal Business Analysis certifications.

Who Should Attend

This workshop is designed for:

• Business Analysts wishing to review or refresh acquired knowledge
• Business Analysists seeking to build upon their existing Business Analysis knowledge and experience (minimum 2 years experience working in a Business Analysis environment required, including conducting end-to-end Business Analysis activities) 

OR

• Practising Business Analysts who have attended the Business Analysis Fundamentals training or equivalent

Course Content

Setting the Scene

• Understand course objectives.
• 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.

Enterprise Analysis

• Demonstrate the ability to link enterprise strategy to projects.
• Demonstrate the ability to identify inefficiencies, pain points and opportunities in an organisation.
• Demonstrate the ability to implement traceability as a quality assurance and risk mitigation technique.

Defining the Project Scope

• Demonstrate the ability to understand key scoping terminology.
• Demonstrate the ability to use tools and techniques to define project boundaries.
• Demonstrate the ability to identify and manage scope creep using the change control process.
• Understand the risks associated with scope creep.

Conducting a Cost Benefit Analysis

• Understand the financial elements required for a complete cost benefit analysis.
• Demonstrate the ability to identify, define and quantify benefits of a change to the organisation.
• Understand the key components of a Business Case
• Demonstrate the ability to conduct an organisational impact assessment for a new initiative

 

Developing an Analysis Plan

• Demonstrate the ability to develop a comprehensive requirements analysis plan.
• Demonstrate the ability to develop a work breakdown structure that supports the analysis plan.
• Demonstrate the ability to conduct comprehensive stakeholder profiling and to select appropriate elicitation tools and techniques based on profiling results.
• Demonstrate the ability to engage and manage stakeholders.
• Demonstrate the ability to identify analysis risks, profile risks, develop a risk mitigation action plan and manage analysis risks throughout the analysis phase(s).

Preparing for Change

• Understand the different types of change that can impact an organisation.
• Understand the role of the Business Analyst in managing organisational change.

As-Is and To-Be Modelling

• Understand the importance of As-Is and To-Be modelling prior to eliciting requirements.
• Demonstrate the ability to select and use appropriate modelling techniques which will guide the requirements elicitation activities

Gathering Business Requirements

• Understand the role of the business analyst in the requirements gathering process. 
• Demonstrate the ability to develop tools for gathering requirements such as questionnaires, interviews and storyboards.
• Demonstrate the ability to develop a complete set of business requirements.
• Understand business rules and their relation to requirements.
• Understand the appropriateness of a Requirements Traceability Matrix.
• Demonstrate the ability to develop a Requirements Traceability Matrix.
• Demonstrate the ability to determine whether the actual business problem or opportunity (as opposed to a symptom) has been identified.
• Demonstrate the ability to use appropriate tools to conduct a detailed root cause analysis.
• Demonstrate the ability to facilitate an effective workshop with a focus on communication styles, communication methods, conflict management and consensus building.
• Understand how to effectively lead an analysis team.

Documenting and Validating Business Requirements

• Understand the key components of a Business Requirements Document.
• Demonstrate the ability to use effective communication skills to elicit, document and validate requirements.
• Demonstrate the ability to select the appropriate validatation techniques.
• Understand how to recognise conflict and determine appropriate conflict resolution techniques to gain agreement of requirements.
• Demonstrate the ability to conduct a structured business walkthrough to present and validate requirements.

Beyond Analysis

• Understand the role a business analyst plays in a project once requirements are signed off.

Course Closure

• Understand the next steps required to become a certified Business Analyst.