Business Analyst Fundamentals Training

I. The Business Analysis Profession
It's only in recent years that business analysis has begun to be recognized as a profession in its own right. While people have been performing the Business Analyst role in organizations for several decades, differing definitions of the role abound. We'll start the workshop by exploring some of those definitions, as well as gaining a clear understanding of where the industry appears to be heading and some emerging common standards for the profession.
A. Understanding the Business Analyst role and function
B. The competencies of the Business Analyst
C. The profession of business analysis

II. Communication in the Business Analysis Context
Many tasks that are integral for successful business analysis involve significant communication. In this section of the workshop, you will hone your ability to connect with project stakeholders at all levels using effective verbal and nonverbal techniques. You'll also identify and practice overcoming sources of misunderstanding, which is vital for requirements validation.
A. The three most important communication skills for business analysis
B. The biggest challenges Business Analysts confront
C. Eliciting information
D. Clarifying information
E. Communication and miscommunication
F. Validating information

III. Analytical Thinking and Problem Solving
Projects often arise to solve specific business problems. Understanding the underlying problem, though sometimes overlooked, is key to being able to develop the correct requirements so that the best solution can be developed. During this section, you will explore and practice problem analysis and its application.
A. Why problem solving is key to business analysis
B. Analyzing symptoms and causes
C. Identifying and defining the problem
D. Developing solutions
E. Understanding the people side of problem solving

IV. Interaction Skills for Business Analysis
It's not uncommon for Business Analysts to wonder why they need interaction skills. After all, most projects have a sponsor, a project manager, and at least one manager from the business. But managing interactions is a key Business Analyst role, one that's central to the effective understanding of business problems. This course module explores the importance of interaction, key interaction skills for Business Analysts, and the situational application of those skills in business analysis functions.
A. Understanding interaction skills and why Business Analysts need them
B. Facilitation and negotiation with stakeholders
C. Leadership and influencing
D. Teamwork

V. Business and IT Knowledge
The role of a Business Analyst has often been compared to that of a bridge providing a connection between two points, in this case the Information Technology organization and the lines of business that comprise the project domain. We'll present a model that shows how the IT and business domains should be focused and leveraged throughout the project lifecycle.
A. The business domain: what it is and what's relevant to business analysis
B. The IT domain: what it is and what's relevant to business analysis
C. The systems development lifecycle and the focus on IT and business domains

VI. Enterprise Analysis
One of the most overlooked functions of a Business Analysts is the enterprise assessment, which can also yield some of the most valuable findings of a project.Enterprise assessments are a key best practice in business analysis, and they can be surprisingly straightforward. During this portion of the workshop, we'll explore some practical techniques that produce keen, relevant, and useful insights for the business organization.
A. Enterprise analysis defined
B. The role of the Business Analyst in enterprise assessment
C. Describing the business environment
D. Describing the requirements scope
E. Assessing feasibility

VII. Project Initiation and Analysis
What most people think of as business analysis is central to project initiation and the analysis phase. Because of the depth of skill these activities require, most Business Analysts demand separate training to develop true mastery. This course module therefore provides an overview and introduction to three crucial business analysis activities by demonstrating common tools for identifying and documenting project scope, for modeling current and desired states, and for eliciting key requirements.
A. Identifying project stakeholders
B. Defining and documenting project scope
C. Decomposing the application domain
D. Analyzing and documenting key processes
E. Eliciting functional requirements
F. Modeling the desired state

VIII. Requirements Analysis
Once functional requirements have been discovered and documented, they have to be analyzed to determine their accuracy and completeness and refined where necessary. We'll examine the inherent analysis challenges and show you effective techniques to analyze and improve your requirements.
A. Requirements analysis defined
B. Structuring the requirements
C. Refining and writing better requirements

IX. Requirements Communication
After the requirements are analyzed and refined, they have to be validated with business customers, users and management. Communicating these requirements involves much more than information exchange; at its best, it's a process of negotiation, validation and consensus building. We'll examine the inherent communication challenges and help you confidently choose the best ways to achieve your communication goals and gain the stakeholder buy-in required for successful requirements management throughout the project lifecycle.
A. Requirements communication defined
B. Determining the appropriate requirements presentation format
C. Creating the requirements package
D. Presenting the requirements
E. Conducting a formal requirements review
F. Obtaining consensus and signoff of requirements

X. Solution Assessment and Validation
The most effective business analysis goes beyond defining project scope and specifying requirements—it includes an assessment of whether the specified solution meets the stakeholders' needs. In this final module of the course, you and your colleagues will have a chance to explore the concept of acceptance criteria and some of the validation activities that BAs can perform on projects. You'll review key task for solution assessment and validation, and you'll have an opportunity to practice some ways to validate solution effectiveness.
A. Solution assessment and validation defined
B. Key tasks of solution assessment
C. Solution assessment and validation practice