Mastering the Business Analysis Process over the System Development Life Cycle

4 days

This course may be taken alone as a standalone course, where trainees have acquired some prior experience as BAs. The program is delivered over 4 days, when trainees have some prior background and over 5 days if they are new to the role. (Trainees taking this course in the context of the complete program are advised to take it at the end, as a capstone course that ties together all of the techniques learned throughout the program.)

• CDUs: 28
• BABOK Compliance: BABOK Release 2

The IIBA®-endorsed course enables the trainee to perform the activities that an advanced BA is responsible for over the systems development life cycle (SDLC) and to be conversant with all of the methodologies, concepts and terminology expected of the BA, as described in the BABOK 2. The course provides an in-depth coverage of all of the BABOK 2 Knowledge Areas and provides extensive preparation for the CBAP® exam, including practice exams to test trainees’ knowledge level both before and after the training. Unlike other CBAP® preparation courses, however, the objective of this course is not merely to pass the CBAP® exam – but to improve the trainees’ performance in the BA role. It is a practical guide for the BA that puts the BABOK 2 into action, clarifying precisely when and how in the project lifecycle to apply each of the six BABOK 2 knowledge areas, as well as BABOK 2 tools and techniques.

This course incorporates current best practices in IT Service Management and software development, such as agile, iterative development, ITIL, Six Sigma, and RUP and provides the salient characteristics of these approaches and their relationship to BA practice.

Why Attend this Course?
The BABOK contains a list of suggested best practices, guidelines and tools but does not explain how these are to be used together over the course of project. This course fills that gap by providing practical guidance and handson experience applying BABOK 2 techniques over the System Development Life Cycle. This course is particularly appropriate for BAs who must be conversant with a variety of approaches and standards.

Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

Be conversant with the methodologies, concepts and terminology expected of an advanced BA

Be able to plan and perform the activities a BA is responsible for over the system development life cycle (SDLC)

Understand the Knowledge Areas (KAs) defined in BABOK 2 and how to apply them within an advanced BA role

Understand the salient characteristics of current practices in IT Service Management and software development and their relationship to BA practice

Know what questions to ask when over the course of a project

Be able to document requirements for an IT system, using current standards and approaches as specified in BABOK 2, including Use-Cases, BPMN, UML and Structured Analysis

Use state-of-the-art techniques to create requirements documentation that is complete, unambiguous, consistent, testable and easy to revise when business needs change

Be able to document business façades

Be able to model business processes (workflow)

Be able to document user requirements

Be able to design, review and document test cases

Know when and how to apply best practice tools and techniques towards the practice of business analysis

Perform structural and behavioral analysis on a business system

Map the behavioral model to the structural model

Understand what the developers do with the BA’s documentation

BAs at any level who satisfy the prerequisites

Senior BAs and their managers

Trainees work in teams, developing a case study over the course of a project. The instructor introduces each step by reviewing Knowledge Areas and techniques required at the time. Working individually and in groups (as appropriate for the step), trainees perform BA activities and create deliverables, with the instructor acting as mentor. After each step is completed, the instructor takes up common issues that arose during the workshop. In addition to theoretical testing, the option is also provided for practical testing of trainees’ ability to apply the knowledge they have gained, through the development of a case study to be completed after the course. (A comprehensive case study and sample solution are available for this purpose.)