Business Analysis Essentials

Course Description

NOTE: THIS COURSE IS OWNED AND DELIVERED BY AN IBM EDUCATION PARTNER. IT IS AVAILABLE ONLY IN THE US.

In this introductory course, you'll delve into the role and responsibilities of the business analyst-the communication link between all business areas and a critical player in project success. Learn techniques for ensuring project success every step of the way-from identifying and analyzing potential projects to making sure that the final project product meets the requirements you identified. Through hands-on exercises, you'll learn to define the scope of work and master requirements-gathering techniques that will work for a variety of projects and audiences. You'll consider the unique needs of customers, stakeholders, and the IT department as you work toward building, documenting, communicating, and managing requirements.

Skills Gained

Overview of Business Analysis

The solutions lifecycle

What is business analysis?

Business analysis terminology

International Institute of Business Analysis

CBAP certification

Enterprise Analysis

Introduction

Definitions

The business architecture

Feasibility studies

Project scope

Business case

Risk assessment

Decision package

Selecting and prioritizing projects

Requirements Planning and Management

Introduction

Definitions

Team roles for the project

Work division strategy

Requirements risk approach

Planning considerations

Requirements activities

• Selection
• Estimation

Requirements scope

Requirements activity

• Measurement
• Reporting

Requirements change management

Requirements Elicitation

Introduction

Definitions

Elicit requirements

Techniques

• Brainstorming
• Document analysis
• Focus groups
• Interface analysis
• Interviews
• Observation
• Prototyping
• Workshop
• Reverse engineering
• Survey/questionnaire

Requirements Analysis and Documentation

Introduction

Definitions

Requirements package

Business domain model

Analyze user requirements

Analyze functional requirements

Analyze quality of service requirements

Assumptions and constraints

Requirements

• Attributes
• Document
• Validate
• Verify

Modeling techniques

• Data and behavior models
• Process/flow models
• Usage models

Requirements Communication

Introduction

Definitions

Communication plan

Manage conflicts

Determine format

Requirements package

Requirements presentation

Requirements review

Requirements sign-off

Solution Assessment and Validation

Introduction

Definitions

Solution alternatives

Technology options

Solution selection

Solution usability

Quality assurance

Solution implementation

Solution impacts

Post implementation review

BA Fundamentals

Communication skills

Leadership skills

Problem-solving skills

Business knowledge

IT knowledge

Who Can Benefit

This basic course is designed for systems analysts, business analysts, requirements analysts, developers, software engineers, IT project managers, project managers, project analysts, project leaders, senior project managers, team leaders, program managers, testers, and QA specialists.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for this course.