Introduction to Business Analysis:
Defining Successful Projects

What is this course about?

In this course, the role of the "business analyst" is defined as an intermediary managing the interests and needs of both the business/project management and IT communities. You learn a logical framework for conducting key business analysis activities throughout the various phases of the business analysis life cycle. This framework is based on the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge^®. This course provides not only best practices and theory but practical tools and techniques that can be applied immediately within your organization.

What background do I need?

This is an introductory course to business analysis and requires no specific prerequisite technical or business knowledge. However, a familiarity with project management and basic business administration is helpful.

Who will benefit from this course?

This course is valuable for anyone who needs to apply the knowledge and skills of the business analyst role within their organization. New or experienced business analysts, as well as others who regularly team with business analysts including functional managers, project managers, developers and testers, may benefit greatly.

What is business analysis?

By definition, business analysis is a set of tasks, knowledge and techniques required to identify business needs and determine solutions to business problems. In today's organizations, business analysts are often referred to as business analyst, business systems analyst, systems analyst and other titles. No matter the title, the primary role of the business analyst remains the same -- to examine the business needs and recommend an appropriate solution approach to meet those needs.

Although, technically, business analysis is distinct from financial analysis, project management, quality assurance, organizational development, testing, training and documentation development, it is entirely possible that within streamlined organizations the business analyst may perform some of these related functions as well. In any case, the business analyst often works closely with these other functional areas.

What industry standards are used in this course?

The International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA^®) has defined an industry-wide standard of practices – referred to as the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK^®). This course covers the framework outlined in BABOK^® v2.

Does this course cover business case development?

This course provides a broad overview of the tasks and techniques that a business analyst performs when creating a business case.

For exclusive coverage on developing a business case, you may want to consider Course 212, Building an Effective Business Case. Course 212 supplements the knowledge gained in Course 211 and enables you to apply the business analysis skills from Course 211 toward the construction of a business case.

What other templates and practical skills are offered in this course?

This course is designed to offer a broad cross-section of the business analysis discipline. The specific templates, tools and techniques offered in this course are immediately applicable to various aspects of business analysis.

These practical skills and templates include:

• An introduction to the tasks and techniques found in the BABOK^®
• Elicitation techniques including affinity diagraming, a brainstorming activity for gathering and prioritizing business needs, and planning a focus group session including creation of a discussion guide
• Stakeholder identification and analysis
• Workflow diagraming
• Writing "SMART" business objectives
• Understanding of the business analyst competency model

I am interested in learning modeling techniques. Will this course help?

This course presents an introduction to some foundation concepts of static and dynamic business modeling.

How much time is spent on each topic?

What kind of workshops does this course offer?

Approximately 60 percent of this course is spent on interactive workshops designed to reinforce the business analysis concepts taught and provide you with practical experiences that can be applied as soon as you return to work. These workshops include:

• Analyzing and prioritizing competing business needs using brainstorming technique called affinity diagraming
• Planning a focus group session
• Selecting the appropriate elicitation technique based on your stakeholder community
• Stakeholder analysis
• Writing SMART business objectives
• Developing requirements plan components
• Communicating the detailed requirements package to stakeholders

Will I learn to write detailed requirements?

The writing of a detailed requirements package is an in-depth process that this course does not cover in detail. This course focuses primarily on planning the detailed requirements development process, techniques used to gather requirements and understanding the analysis and management of requirements.

Those interested in learning to actually write well-formed user requirements should take Course 315, Developing User Requirements: The Key to Project Success. Those who wish to develop user and system requirements specifically in a software development environment should consider Course 218, User and System Requirements for Successful Software Development.

Is this course endorsed by the IIBA^®?

Yes. Learning Tree is an IIBA^® Endorsed Education Provider (EEP^TM). This course has been approved by the IIBA^® as supporting core concepts and knowledge outlined by the IIBA^®Business Analysis Body of Knowledge^® (BABOK^®).

Completion of this course counts as 17 continuing development units (CDUs) that will assist you in qualifying for or maintaining certification. For more information about CDUs and how to register them with the IIBA^®, please see the Learning Tree IIBA^® EEP^TM Q&A or http://www.theiiba.org.

Is this course applicable toward a Project Management Institute (PMI^®) certification?

Yes. Though this course is not designed as preparation for an exam, it is beneficial to anyone working toward, or maintaining, a PMI certification. Completion of this course provides 17 professional development units (PDUs).

How does this course relate to other Learning Tree courses?

The following courses can help you expand you skills as a business analyst:

• 212, Building an Effective Business Case 
• 447, Introduction to Modeling for Business Analysis 
• 3505, Introduction to Business Process Improvement (BPI) 
• 315, Developing User Requirements: The Key to Project Success 
• 913, Preparing for the IIBA® CBAP® Certification Exam 
• 3503, Preparing for the IIBA® CCBATM Certification Exam