BCS Certificate in Business Analysis Practice

This course introduces the delegates to the essential business analysis skills that are required in the job profile. The course comes with practical sessions that make use of real-life case studies to examine the following key areas:

• SWOT analysis (Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Takeovers)
• Stakeholder Management
• Business Activity Modeling
• Investigation of the business situation
• Analysis of key issues and their root causes
• Gap Analysis
• Identification and evaluation of possible solutions

This course equips delegates with real-world business skills that are easily applicable in the workplace. Designed to introduce, develop and deepen the understanding of the delegates in business analysis.

Exams

The duration of the exam is 1 hour. It is an Open Book Exam that requires the delegate to score at least 50% marks in order to qualify for the certification. The exam is based on a Business Scenario.

1. Business analysis rationale

• The scope of business analysis
• Definition of business analysis
• The development of business analysis
• The business change life-cycle
• Roles in business analysis

2. Strategic Analysis In Context

• External analysis –PESTLE, Five Forces Analysis
• Internal analysis –Resource Audit , MOST
• Building a SWOT analysis
• Critical success factors and key performance indicators
• Measuring performance –the Balanced Business Scorecard

3. Business Analysis – A Project Approach

• Starting Up A business analysis study
• Defining terms of reference

4. Understanding business situations

• Review of investigation techniques
• Documenting the business situation:
  • Rich pictures
  • Mind maps
  • Fish-bone diagrams

5. Business perspectives

• Identifying stakeholders
• Analysing stakeholders– Power/Interest Grid, RACI
• Stakeholder management strategies
• Defining business perspectives – CATWOE

6. Analysing and modeling the business activities

• Types of business activity
• Building a conceptual business activity model
• Consolidating perspectives and building consensus

7. Identifying potential solutions

• Business events
• Business rules
• Business process models
• Exploring the gap between the current and desired situation
• Identifying areas for business improvement – POP-IT
• Taking a holistic approach to business improvement

8. Making the business case

• Analysing feasibility
• Contents of a business case
• Options
• Costs and benefits
• Impacts and risks
• Life-cycle for the business case