Course Description
This boot camp-style course will help you to gain the foundational skills to perform the role of a business analyst (BA) in both waterfall and agile environments. You will learn how to plan business analysis activities; as well as the basics of eliciting, analyzing, modeling, and writing requirements. Learn how to verify and validate product requirements, gain approval, and manage the requirements through the life cycle of the project. Understand the BA role in the design, development, and testing phases of a project. Gain new perspectives through hands-on, interactive group activities led by subject matter experts. Enhance your experience through videos, discussions, and reflections. Get tools, templates, and samples to continue your learning and practice after class.
This course is aligned to the requirements management and business analysis principles outlined by the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBAÆ) and Project Management Institute (PMI)Æ.
Students pursuing a university-recognized and/or accredited certificate in Canada or continuing education units in the US must attend at least 90 percent of class time, participate in class exercises and section-knowledge checks, and score at least 70 percent on an end-of-class, multiple-choice assessment.
PMI is a registered mark of the Project Management Institute, Inc.
Course Outline
1. Introduction to Business Analysis
- What Is Business Analysis?
- Role of the Business Analyst
- Core BA Skills
- BA Certifications
2. Project Definition and Planning
- Pre-Project Activities
- Vision and Scope Document
- Stakeholders
- Requirements
- Business Analysis Plan
3. Requirements Elicitation
- What Is Elicitation?
- Elicitation Techniques
- Selecting the Right Elicitation Technique
4. Requirements Analysis
- What Is a Model?
- Types of Models
- Requirements Prioritization
5. Requirements Documentation and Management
- Requirements and Design Documentation
- Requirements Verification
- Requirements Validation
- Obtaining Approval of Requirements
- Change Control
- Reuse of Requirements
- Requirements Communication
6. BA Involvement in Design and Development
- Role of the BA in Design and Development
- Requirements Implementation and Design Assessment
7. BA Involvement in Testing
- Role of the BA in the Testing Phase
- Test Plans
- Test Cases
- Acceptance Criteria in Agile
- Solution Acceptance and Closeout
8. Recap and Self-Assessment
Hands-On Exercises
- Review the Vision and Scope Document
- Identify Stakeholders and Other Sources of Requirements
- Plan Business Analysis Activities
- Conduct an Interview
- Observe a Requirements Workshop
- Choose the Best Elicitation Technique
- Create a Swimlane Diagram
- Create a Use Case Diagram
- Analyze a Location Model
- Identify Missing Stakeholders Using an Organization Model
- Prioritize Requirements
- Critique Requirements
- Determine Impact of a Proposed Change
- Provide Input for Decision between Two Solutions
- Evaluate and Critique a Set of Test Cases
Course Objectives
- Role and importance of the BA
- Vocabulary standards and business analysis practices through the use of the IIBA A Guide to the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK Guide)
- Plan BA requirements activities
- Elicit requirements from stakeholders, with an emphasis on interviews
- Analyze stated requirements, with an overview of modeling techniques
- Document requirements for different types of projects
- Verify and validate requirements
- Elements of requirements management and communication and the BA's role in them
- Elements of solution verification and validation and possible BA roles
- Enterprise analysis: choosing appropriate projects
- Necessary competencies and best practices of BAs
- Waterfall, incremental, and agile lifecycles and how they change BA practices
Hands-On Exercises
- Identify Business Analysis Concepts and Activities in Your Organization
- Review a Vision and Scope Document
- Plan Requirements Activities for a Project
- Conduct an Interview
- Choose Elicitation Techniques
- Analyze a Location Model
- Analyze a Workflow Model
- Analyze a Use Case Model
- Analyze a CRUD Matrix
- Identify Models that Answer Key Questions
- Review a Requirements Document
- Determine the Impact of a Proposed Change to a Requirements Set
- Write a Test Case Using a Use Case
- Walk Through the Steps of Enterprise Analysis for a Project
- Develop a Personal Action Plan to Improve Your BA Skills or Environment
Course Prerequisites
There are no prerequisites for this course.
Course Information
Length: 3 day
Format: Lecture and Lab
Delivery Method: n/a
Max. Capacity: 16
Schedule
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Who Should Attend
- Systems, business, and requirements analysts
- Developers
- Software engineers
- IT project managers
- Project managers who supervise business analysts and are responsible for business analysis activities, project analysts, project leaders, senior project managers, team leaders, program managers, testers, and QA specialists
