Course: ISEB Business Analysis Essentials

This course
• helps Business Analysts understand the development of business strategy and how it impacts the organisation.
• shows Business Analysts how to analyse business areas and identify improvements that meet internal and external needs.
• develops the skills Business Analysts need to work with business and IT. 
• shows Business Analysts how to develop a Business Case.

Objectives
Successful delegates will be able to:
• Describe how a business strategy is developed.
• Use strategic analysis techniques to identify the external and internal influences which impact a business and how they impact it.
• Use techniques to investigate an organisation’s business systems.
• Identify and understand the perspectives of different stakeholders.
• Explain the importance of stakeholder management and use a stakeholder analysis
• technique.
• Analyse and model business systems.
• Identify potential business improvements.
• Create a rigorous business case for the development and implementation of business
improvements.
• Identify costs, benefits, impacts and risks for an option in a business case.
• Derive IT system requirements from the business model.
• Explain the importance of assuring the business case once the changes have been
implemented.

Examination
At the end of the course delegates may sit an open-book examination to attain the ISEB Certificate in Business Analysis Essentials. The exam is one hour preceded by 15 minutes reading time during which you may read the exam paper and your course notes.  This certificate is a core certificate for the ISEB Diploma in Business Analysis.

Class size
The normal class size is 6 to 9 delegates.

Course hours
9.30am to 5.00pm each day.
The exam will be held at 3.30pm on the last day.

Refreshments and lunch
Refreshments and lunch are included in the course fee. 
Tea, coffee, water, fruit and biscuits on arrival and during the day.
Lunch in the hotel restaurant, please advise us of any special dietary needs.

Case study
Delegates work in small teams to practice business analysis skills and techniques learnt on the course.

1. Rationale for business analysis
1.1  A lifecycle for business change.
1.2  The role of the Business Analyst.
1.3  A comparison of the business analyst and systems analyst roles.
1.4  Purpose of analysing and modelling business systems.
1.5 Overview of business analysis approach

2. Strategic analysis in context
2.1 Identifying the business domain.
2.2 Internal environment analysis.
2.3 External environment analysis.
2.4 SWOT analysis.
2.5 Overview of areas of strategy, including IS strategy
2.6 Critical Success Factors and Key Performance Indicators
2.7 The Balanced Business Scorecard

3. Project discipline for business analysis studies 
3.1 Terms of reference/project initiation. 
3.2 Business and project objectives. 
3.3 Deliverables from business analysis studies

4. Understanding the situation/issues
4.1 Stakeholder analysis
4.2 Overview of investigative techniques.
4.3 Representation of the business situation.

5. Business perspectives
5.1 Identifying different perspectives.
5.2 Defining business perspectives.
5.3 Identifying and resolving conflicts.

6. Analysing and modelling business activities
6.1 The conceptual business activity model
6.2 The link between the business activity model and the business perspective
6.3 Identifying activities
6.4 Identifying dependencies
6.5 Building a business activity model
6.6 Business events/activity triggers
6.7 Business rules/constraints

7. Identifying potential solutions
7.1 Gap analysis - comparing the ideal and existing systems.
7.2 Defining a new business model (the processes, people and organisation).
7.3 Identifying IS/IT requirements to support the new business model.

8. Making the business case
8.1 Structure of a business case
8.2 Identifying options for business change
8.3 Identifying costs and benefits
8.4 Identifying impacts
8.5 Identifying risks
8.6 Principles of risk analysis and management
8.7 Presenting a business case

9. Accepting the business case
9.1 Testing the system for user acceptance
9.2 Managing the implementation of change
9.3 Realising the business benefits.