Introduction to Business Analysis
Businesses today are faced with more internal and external pressure to perform effectively than ever before. Crucial to an organization’s success is the capability of its people to solve problems and seize opportunities that contribute to the organization goals. Given finite and often limited resources, management must decide correctly how to expend those resources wisely. The Business Analyst is critical to this endeavor.
As such, the BA is the primary liaison between the operating units of an organization and those who supply services (such as information technology, training, or organizational development).
Over time many have recognized the need for an objective party to help management identify problems and opportunities, decide which ones are really important and execute projects and other initiatives to reach their goals. This is the job of the Business Analyst. They must be able to act as an intermediary between the business and solution providers in order to achieve results that meet organizational expectations.
The BA plays four distinct roles:
- Assist management to identify problems and opportunities critical to the organization’s success. (Problem Analysis)
- Assist management to decide how resources should be expended. (Business Case)
- Participate in the definition of the solution. (Project Scope, Requirements Development)
- Support Downstream Development (Quality Assurance, or Verification and Validation)
The successful business analyst needs to understand the tasks, knowledge, and skills required to assist in developing business solutions.
In this three-day workshop, participants will learn those practical skills and gain the confidence to carry out these roles successfully.
Learning Objectives:
Upon completion of the workshop, participants will be able to:
- Describe the responsibilities of the business analyst and the major deliverables for each major step in the business solutions life cycle
- Distinguish between the role of the business analyst and the project manager
- Distinguish between the role of the business analyst and the systems analyst
- List the critical skills needed to be a successful BA.
- Define measurable project objectives
- Define business problems and find their true cause
- Develop tactics for diffusing resistance to change
- Prepare a stakeholder analysis to identify and classify those who will influence and be affected by the solution
- Create and execute a Requirements Development plan
- Use modeling tools and techniques to elicit, document and validate a project’s scope and requirements
- Assist decision-makers in analyzing and prioritizing business needs
- Create a business case
- Communicate the results of a business case to stakeholders
- Help management with role definition
Audience: Those performing the BA role, those who supervise Business Analysts, or those who work with them to define solutions to business problems.
Duration: 3 Days, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Tuition: $1,495
Location: UMBC Training Centers, South Campus, 1442 S. Rolling Road, Baltimore, MD 21227
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