1 BAL2-1 Professional Skills for the Business Analyst OVERVIEW This course trains participants to help business clients articulate their needs and wants, and to document them clearly, concisely, and completely. By grasping this core Business Analyst (BA) skill, BAs can contribute significantly to successful projects and the products they create. Through a realistic case study and interviews, participants discover and then practice writing good. The course also explores and lets attendees practice a simple process for validating and verifying to ensure they are well documented. Also, attendees learn the importance of traceability and how to construct a traceability matrix. The course concludes with considerations and techniques for creating a package for maximum communication value, reviewing and managing. Plus, attendees also learn a repeatable process for verifying that are included in the final solution. DURATION Course Duration: 2 days (14 hours) AUDIENCE People that have project experience working with a variety of roles (BA, QA, PM, sponsors) but have not had formal BA training. New business analysts (transferred from the business, or from a different IT job) and have had some formal BA training will also benefit. Experienced BAs and project managers who want a more formal and industry-standard business analysis approach will gain new skills and methods from this course. COURSE CONTENT Module 1: Requirements Foundations Business Analysis Overview ü Business Analysis defined ü BA competencies ü Exercise: Key activities and artifacts of a BA ü BA Body of Knowledge model ü Simplified process model ü Exercise: Art versus science 1 Northeast Training Group - Egypt
2 Requirements Defined ü Requirements defined ü Requirements classifications Ø Business Ø Stakeholder Ø Functional Ø Non-Functional Ø Transition Ø Analysis vs. design Ø Exercise: Practice distinguishing different types of Business Rules ü Business rule defined ü Business rule checklist ü Business rule categories ü Requirement vs. business rule ü Exercise: Identify business rules in your organization ü COTS Considerations ü Requirements approaches ü Waterfall (plan-driven) ü Agile (change-driven) Module 2:Define the Business Need Understanding the business need Defining business ü Business ü Business goals vs. objectives ü Writing good business goals ü Writing SMARTER business objectives ü Identify problem or opportunity ü Example business problem & opportunity statement ü Business questions ü Case Study Workshop: Elicit and identify business Module 3:Plan for Requirements BA planning activities Understanding project context ü Context for ü Important of understanding project context 2 Northeast Training Group - Egypt
3 ü Understand project background ü Questions to ask ü Where to start ü Anatomy of project objectives, actions and deliverables ü Case Study Workshop: Identify and understand project context Define solution scope ü Defining solution scope ü Process scope diagram ü Context diagram ü Use case diagram ü Case Study Workshop: Create a scope diagram for the solution Identifying stakeholders ü Roles and responsibilities ü Stakeholder onion ü Techniques to identify stakeholders ü Selecting stakeholder representatives Case Study Workshop: Identify key stakeholders Communicating with Stakeholders ü Communication considerations ü What to communicate ü Communication tips ü Exercise: Insights color energy communication Module 4:Eliciting Elicitation defined Common elicitation challenges Prepare for elicitation ü Elicitation prep checklist ü Elicitation techniques ü Exercise: When to use or not use each technique ü Prepare questions ü Case Study Workshop: Prepare for eliciting and business rules Conduct elicitation and document results ü Conduct ü Document results ü Confirm elicitation results 3 Northeast Training Group - Egypt
4 ü Case Study Workshop: Conduct interviews and document results Module 5:Document and Analyze Requirements Requirements analysis tasks Documenting ü Quality characteristics of good ü Exercise: Analyzing ü Requirement formats (templates for writing each category of requirement): ü Stakeholder ü Functional ü Non-functional ü Business rules ü Writing guidelines ü Case Study Workshop: Writing good & business rules Define assumptions & constraints ü Case Study Workshop: Identify assumptions & constraints Organize & trace ü Traceability ü Benefits ü Traceability alignment ü Organization components ü Types of relationships ü Traceability / organization matrix ü Case Study Workshop: Create traceability matrix Prioritizing ü Benefits of prioritization ü Prioritization challenges ü Basis for prioritization & techniques ü Case Study Workshop: Prioritize Validate & verify ü Validation vs. verification ü Validation checklist ü Verification checklist ü Tools ü Case Study Workshop: Validate and verify 4 Northeast Training Group - Egypt
5 Module 6: Model Requirements What is a model? Benefits of modeling Modeling guidelines Current solution modeling ü Business Process Models ü Data Models ü Use Case Models ü Interface Models/Prototypes Module 7: Manage & Communicate Requirements Requirements management & communication tasks Creating a package ü Package process ü Considerations for packaging ü Communication channels ü Common package components ü Case Study Workshop: Requirements Package outline Requirements reviews ü Why conduct reviews ü Effective review planning ü Requirements reviews ü Review approaches ü Effective requirement review tips ü Case Study Workshop: Conduct a review session Managing ü Manage documentation and approvals ü Maintain for reuse 5 Northeast Training Group - Egypt