Audience
This qualification has been designed to provide valuable learning for those in roles such as business analyst, business architect, business systems analyst, data analyst, enterprise analyst, management consultant, process analyst, product manager, product owner, project manager, and systems analyst.
Prerequisites
There are no pre-requisites for this course.
Duration
3 days. Hands on.
Course Objectives
Upon completion, learners should be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
- The strategic context for business analysis
- How and when to select and apply a range of techniques and tools to analyse the current state of a business
- How to establish the target state of a business
- The value of ongoing stakeholder engagement and analysis
- The purpose and content of the business case
Course Content
Rationale for Business Analysis
Explain the role of the business analyst throughout the stages of the business change lifecycle;
Understand the scope of the business analyst role within the range of analysis activities, including:
Strategic analysis and definition;
Business analysis;
IT systems analysis.
Identify the three areas of competency for a business analyst:
Personal qualities;
Business knowledge; and
Professional techniques.
Strategic Context for Business Analysis
Explain the purpose of an organisation’s vision:
Define target state;
Purpose and direction.
Apply a suitable technique to analyse the internal environment of an organisation:
VMOST;
Resource Audit.
Apply a suitable technique to analyse the external environment of an organisation:
Porter’s 5 forces;
PESTLE.
Analyse a given scenario and apply SWOT analysis:
Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats;
Internal and external.
Define and explain the relationship between a:
Balanced scorecard (BSC);
Critical success factor (CSF);
Key performance indicator (KPI); and
Targets.
Project Discipline for Business Analysts
Describe the elements of a project initiation document;
Explain how soft systems methodology is used to solve problems;
Understand the stages of the business analysis process model.
Analysing the Current State
Analyse a given scenario and identify suitable methods to research the business situation;
Analyse a given scenario and identify a suitable quantitative or qualitative investigation technique:
Interviews; workshops; observation; document analysis; scenario analysis; surveys or questionnaires;
Data analysis.
Identify advantages and disadvantages of the different investigation techniques:
Environment;
Project.
Apply tools to represent the current business situation:
Customer journey maps;
Rich pictures;
Empathy maps; and
Mind maps.
Analysing and Managing Stakeholders
Explain the activities required to engage stakeholders:
Identify stakeholders;
Challenge and inform stakeholders;
Negotiate stakeholder conflicts;
Engage with stakeholders;
Written and verbal communication;
Support stakeholders and facilitate meetings and record outputs.
Analyse a given scenario and identify stakeholder categories using the stakeholder wheel:
Partners, suppliers, regulators, employees, managers, owners, competitors, customers.
Apply CATWOE to analyse stakeholder perspectives and identify similarities and differences:
Customers, actors, transformation, world view, owner, environment.
Analyse a given scenario and map stakeholders using the:
Power/interest grid;
Analyse a given scenario and apply appropriate stakeholder management strategies;
Watch, keep satisfied, constant active management, keep onside, keep informed, ignore;
RACI.
Establishing the Target State
Analyse a given scenario and identify aspects of a business activity model (BAM):
How to construct;
What, not how.
Identify the five activities included in a business activity model:
Planning, enabling, doing, monitoring, controlling.
Explain the need for a consensus business activity model:
Stakeholder buy-in;
Agreed perspective.
Explain the three types of business events:
External;
Internal;
Time based.
Explain the use of a target operating model:
POPIT;
Gap analysis.
Designing and Defining the Solution
Analyse a given scenario and identify the stages of Design Thinking:
Empathise, define, ideate, prototype, evaluate, create.
Describe the use of convergent and divergent thinking:
Double Diamond model.
Explain the process of gap analysis:
Comparing the current and target state;
Developing options and process.
Analyse a given scenario and identify the different areas of feasibility:
Business, technical and financial.
Developing a Business Case
Explain the rationale for the development of a business case
Purpose and use
Identify the contents of a business case:
Introduction; Management summary; Description of current state; Options considered:
Analysis of costs and benefits
Impact assessment
Risk assessment
Recommendation.
Identify tangible and intangible costs and benefits:
Cost benefit analysis
Identify risks and their potential impact:
Types of risk; Risk analysis; Risk impact
Explain the rationale for the financial case and the appraisal techniques:
Payback; Discounted cash flow and net present value
Relate the business case to the business change lifecycle:
The business change lifecycle.