Course Overview
The BCS Business Analysis Practice course introduces you to all the essential skills of business analysis. The emphasis throughout is on practical learning, using real-life case studies to introduce key skills including strategic analysis, stakeholder management, business activity modelling, gap analysis, and making a business case.
This 3-day course prepares you for the BCS Business Analysis Practice certificate examination.
During this three-day course you’ll receive all the training you need to prepare for the BCS Business Analysis Practice certificate examination, which is held on the final afternoon of the course. A pass means you’re another step closer to achieving your BCS International Diploma in Business Analysis—the de facto certification for practicing business analysts.
This course is also a specialist option for the BCS International Diploma in Solution Development. One last thing: this course is also approved as consistent with the IIBA BABoK version 3.0 and enables participants to develop SFIA skills BUAN and REQM.
What you’ll learn
This classroom-based course provides a comprehensive set of tools and techniques that can be employed in ‘early engagement’ business analysis. This stage of the business analysis lifecycle considers the business problem or opportunity in a holistic way and produces a business case for addressing these issues.
Target audiences
- The BCS Business Analysis Practice course is designed mainly for practising business analysts but is also suitable for others such as business change practitioners, project managers and enterprise architects who wish to gain an insight into this aspect of the business analysis process.
Curriculum
- 1 Section
- 8 Lessons
- 3 Days
- Topics8
- 1.1Business analysis rationale The scope of business analysis Definition of business analysis The development of business analysis The business change lifecycle Roles in business analysis
- 1.2Strategic analysis in context External analysis – PESTLE, Five Forces Analysis Internal analysis – Resource Audit, MOST Building a SWOT analysis Critical success factors and key performance indicators Measuring performance – the Balanced Business Scorecard
- 1.3A project approach to business analysis Initiating a business analysis study Defining terms of reference
- 1.4Understanding business situations Review of investigation techniques Documenting the business situation: Rich pictures Mind maps Fishbone diagrams
- 1.5Business perspectives Identifying stakeholders Analysing stakeholders – Power/Interest Grid, RACI Stakeholder management strategies efining business perspectives – CATWOE
- 1.6Analysing and modelling the business activities Types of business activity Building a conceptual business activity model Consolidating perspectives and building consensus
- 1.7Identifying potential solutions Business events Business rules Business process models Exploring the gap between the current and desired situation Identifying areas for business improvement – POP-IT Taking a holistic approach to business improvement
- 1.8Making the business case Analysing feasibility Contents of a business case Options Costs and benefits Impacts and risks Lifecycle for the business case
