SELF STUDY DIPLOMA IN BUSINESS ANALYSIS

Transcription

1 What? How? Business Process Education Centre CC PostNet Suite 60, Private Bag X1 Northcliff, 2115, South Africa Tel (011) Fax (011) SELF STUDY DIPLOMA IN BUSINESS ANALYSIS PRESENTED BY WHAT?HOW? BUSINESS PROCESS EDUCATION CENTRE Complete this course and earn 72 CUD s Page 1 of 10 5/27/2010 Copyright 2010 All rights reserved worldwide.

2 Background What?How? is committed to producing business analysts that have the ability to: Question business users to understand their real needs and problems Ensure that each project they are associated with uses Business Process Improvement to achieve one or more of the following objectives: o Increase Customer Service/Satisfaction o Increase Revenue o Decrease Expenditure. Gather information to a level of detail that it can be used to develop the necessary solutions. The ability to ensure that suggested solutions meet customer/business needs Introduction This self study Diploma in Business Analysis has been developed with the objective of providing learners with a formal method to grow and assess their Business Analysis Skills in a progressive manner. The learner studies via work books provided by What?How?, 1 per module and there are six (6) modules. As concepts are presented, practical exercises are performed by the learner and they are expected to communicate their progress via or fax prior to receiving a final correct answer. Once the learner has completed a module, they are to request the assignment for that module, so that they have the opportunity to apply the theoretical concepts to their own working environment, the assignment is to be completed in 2 (two) weeks. Each assignment will be based on the learners working environment, thereby enhancing the skills transfer process. The Diploma in Business Analysis will be presented when a minimum pass mark of 75% is achieved in the final examination and an average pass mark of 60% for assignments. The self study diploma must be completed within 1 (one) year. Costs The costs include: training material and telephonic/ support, marking and feedback of assignments marking of the final examination. R9 999 excludes VAT per person and R100 for Postage and Delivery (within Gauteng) of training material (upfront). R1 750 per module exclusive of Vat (pay as you go) Following the model is a brief description and outcomes for the each module. There will be assessments, practical exercise and an examination. Page 2 of 10 5/27/2010 Copyright All rights reserved worldwide.

3 Prerequisites Matric / NQF 3 with English / Maths / Science Computer literate 6 months of business working experience Page 3 of 10 5/27/2010 Copyright All rights reserved worldwide.

4 FAQ How does the payment for the course work? You can choose to pay as you go, for R1 750 per module excluding VAT. If we post the materials to you, there is an additional cost. We make use of the Postnet distribution network which is an overnight service or you can pay R excluding VAT up front for all six (6) modules. Costs include all training material, learner support via or telephone and marking of assignments and exam. How strict are the time restraints? Once you have asked for an assignment, you must submit your answers within 2 (two) weeks. The due date will be indicated on the assignment. What is the average time for students who finish the course? Most students finish within 6-7 months, so 12 months is more than adequate. We understand that most of our students work and have social life, therefore the study material per module will take approximately 12 hours to complete, there are exercises and self assessment for each module, which you can complete within about 4 hours per module, then there is your assignment for each module which will take between 2-6 hours to complete. Are the examinations? Yes, you need to achieve a 60% average for your assignments, and then you qualify to write the exam. To obtain the Diploma you need to achieve 75% for the final exam. You can re-write if you fail for a cost of R500, to date the failure rate is 15% Are there fixed dates for the exams through the year, or can they be booked on demand? The exam is open book, you can write at our offices or anywhere else you like and it s a 3 hour exam. How does this course fit in/compare with the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA) Body of Knowledge (BABOK) curriculum? It totally supports the following knowledge areas: Requirements Elicitation Requirements Analyst and documentation Requirement Communication BA Fundamentals Page 4 of 10 5/27/2010 Copyright All rights reserved worldwide.

5 Prerequisites Matric / NQF 3 with English / Maths / Science Computer literate 6 months of business working experience INTBA - Introduction to Business Analysis INTBA Description: To effectively analyse any area of the business, the analyst needs to understand the difference between what is required - analysis and how it will be implemented - design. With a plethora of modelling techniques available in the market, it is vitally important that the business analyst can apply the most appropriate modelling technique in order to define accurate, complete, concise and complete business requirements that are to be used as a basis for developing business solutions. It is a documented statistic that 1 omission and/or error made in the requirements definition can lead to 6000 defects at the implementation stage. Therefore the analyst must understand how much information to gather. INTBA Learner Outcomes Understand the concepts of a Systems Development Life Cycle Understand the phases and deliverables within the SDLC Understand the difference between the Business Requirement, Functional Specification and Technical Specification Understand various modelling techniques and know where best to apply them including UML, DFD, ERD, Flow Charting and many other. Identify end-to-end processes from stimulus to response (Organisational Events) Separate design issues from business issues Understand what a repository is and why it is important. Ability to model the 'as is' design. Understand what analysis paralysis is and how to ensure it doesn't set in. Understand the concepts of Business Process Analysis Requirements Analysis and Documentation Task: Structure Requirements Packages Task: Document Requirements Task: Create Business Domain Model Technique: Process/Flow Models Underlying Fundamentals Page 5 of 10 5/27/2010 Copyright All rights reserved worldwide.

6 FCS - Facilitation Skills FCS Description: Teams and Groups are much more effective when they are led by a skilled facilitator who encourages participation whilst maintaining the focus and staying within time constraints. A competent facilitator can make review sessions, meetings and workshops more productive. A facilitator understands how to plan and prepare for group session and how to exercise the interpersonal skills that achieve best results. This interactive workshop describes these skills and offers the student an opportunity to apply and refine them through extended role-playing activities. FCS Learner Outcomes Plan and prepare for various types of facilitated sessions Understand the benefits of facilitated sessions Apply facilitation techniques o Listening Skills o Questioning Skills o Dealing with interruptions o Dealing with negativity o Dealing with shyness Understand how to apply the above techniques to one-on-one interviews. Define and understand the roles of those involved in the facilitation process Use various problem solving techniques including: o SWOT o Fishbone o Cause & Effect o Drill Down o Appreciation Enterprise Analysis Conducting the Initial Risk Assessment Requirements Planning and Management Understand Team Roles for the Project Define Requirements Risk Approach Requirements Elicitation Task: Elicit Requirements Technique: Focus Group Technique: Interview Technique: Observation Technique: Requirements Workshop Technique: Reverse Engineering Requirements Communication Conduct a requirements presentation Conduct a formal requirements review Task: Obtain requirements signoff Solution Assessment and Validation Facilitate the selection of a solution Underlying Fundamentals Advanced Skills Page 6 of 10 5/27/2010 Copyright All rights reserved worldwide.

7 ADVBPA - Advanced Business Process Analysis ADVBPA Description: The emphasis of this two-day module is to understand what Business Process analysis is and using the modelling techniques introduced in the Introduction to Business Analysis module. This module contains lots of practical work, so that the learner has the opportunity to apply the techniques with a skilled facilitator to assist when issues arise. The focus in this module is on the 'as is' analysis. ADVBPA Learner Outcomes Start analysing in a structured top down approach using engineering disciplines Know what deliverables are required Apply modelling techniques to document the end-to-end processes Document the end-to-end process in context level Document the end-to-end process at detail level Document the detailed Data Requirement via the Data Dictionary. Document an implementation independent view of the business processes Apply Quality Assurance to each deliverable Differentiate between a repository and a modelling tool Develop a Business Requirements document that can be used as input to design (Functional Specification) o Process Model o Process Specification (Business Rules) o Data Dictionary o Requirements Analysis And Documentation Task: Analyze User Requirements Task: Verify Requirements Technique: Process/Flow Models Requirements Elicitation Technique: Document Analysis Technique: Interface Analysis Underlying Fundamentals Page 7 of 10 5/27/2010 Copyright All rights reserved worldwide.

8 ADVBIA - Advanced Business Information Analysis ADVBIA Description: The emphasis of this two-day module is to understand what Business Information analysis is and using the modelling techniques introduced in Introduction to Business Analysis. This module contains lots of practical work, so that the learner has the opportunity to apply the techniques with a skilled facilitator to assist when issues arise. The focus is on the 'as is' analysis. ADVBIA Learner Outcomes Start analysing in a structured approach and know what deliverables are required. Understand which type of models to use i.e. Relational, hierarchical etc. Identify essential business data from designer data Understand dead data, redundant data, transient data, unsynchronised data Apply Quality Assurance to each deliverable Use a systematic top down approach to extract information needs Normalise data to 3rd normal form Develop a logical Entity Relationship Diagram with supporting documentation: o Entity Specifications o Relationship specifications o Data Element Specifications Understand cardinality, referential integrity and data integrity Requirements Analysis And Documentation Task: Analyze User Requirements Task: Verify Requirements Technique: Data and Behavior Models Underlying Fundamentals Page 8 of 10 5/27/2010 Copyright All rights reserved worldwide.

9 ADVBA - Advanced Business Analysis ADVBA Description: The emphasis of this two-day module is to understand the integration between Business Process and Information Analysis. The Learner will have the opportunity to identify the business process improvement opportunities available when the end-to-end process is integrated without the complexities of existing functional silo s (departments) and their associated solutions (IT systems). This implementation independent view provides the basis on which to design a solution on. Project management concepts are also introduced including the development of a Business Case, Risk Analysis and project scoping. This module contains a large amount of practical work including the sample copy of the documentation required for the entire Business Requirements Specification. ADVBA Learner Outcomes Integrate business process and information modelling Develop CRUD (Create, Retrieve, Update, Delete) matrices for data elements and entities Understand Business Engineering in it's entirety, including the difference between engineering and Business Process Improvement. Apply various strategies to analysing / designing / implementing engineered processes. Develop a Project Charter including: o Project Scope o Project Plan o Identification and documentation of Business, Project and Systems Objectives o Project Risk Analysis. Design proposed solutions based on the Analysis Apply design techniques for data and processing Enterprise Analysis Determining Project Scope Preparing the Business Case Conducting the Initial Risk Assessment Requirements Planning and Management Define Requirements Risk Approach Determining Planning Considerations Select Requirements Activities Requirements Communication Task: Create a requirements package Requirements Analysis and Documentation Task: Document Requirements Underlying Fundamentals Page 9 of 10 5/27/2010 Copyright All rights reserved worldwide.

10 INTFS User Centered Design INTFS Description: The emphasis of this two-day module is to understand the limitations presented during design. During this module the Learner will understand that the Business Requirement is the bed rock of Design and the importance of building a blue print for the automated system prior to actually building the system itself. The learner will understand that we need to apply engineering disciples into the design, so that we can create a design that will actually meet business requirements. The concepts of User Centered Design are introduced and explored. INTFS Learner Outcomes Understand the difference between Business Analysis and Systems Analysis Understand the various strategies that can be used in design Realise the impact that mistakes and omissions have on the design of an automated system Understand the influencing factors in designing an automated system Create a Functional Specification. o Screen Design (prototyping) o Workflow (swim lanes) o Screen Flow (Storyboarding / Navigation) o Report Design Factors influencing screen and report layouts o Colour o The human information process Understand meaningful error messages. Test the emerging design via test cases and heuristics evaluation Understand the difference between testing and evaluation Understand the impact of various input and output devices on the business. Requirements Elicitation Technique: Prototyping Requirements Analysis and Documentation Task: Analyze Functional Requirements Task: Analyze Quality of Service Requirements Task: Determine Assumptions and Constraints Technique: Process/Flow Models Technique: Usage Models Solution Assessment and Validation Develop Alternate Solutions Ensure the usability of the solution Underlying Fundamentals Page 10 of 10 5/27/2010 Copyright All rights reserved worldwide.