Foundations of Business Analysis

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Section 1: Introduction to Business Analysis
* What is Business Analysis?
* BABOK framework
* Benefits of Business Analysis
* Project success factors
* Exercise – Brainstorming Challenges
* Challenges of Business Analysis
Section 2: The IIBA and the role of the Business Analyst
* Role and responsibilities of a Business Analyst
* The IIBA mission and history
* CBAP Overview
* BABOK guide and purpose
* Overview of knowledge areas
* Exercise – Ball Toss Challenge
* BA role vs. PM role
* The BA career path
* Underlying competencies of a Business Analyst
* Importance of requirements communication
* Workshop – Introduction to Case Study
Section 3: Supporting the Project Portfolio
* The purpose of Enterprise Analysis
* The “Executive Paradox”
* Defining the business need
* Workshop – Defining the Business Need
* Goals and objectives
* Business requirements
* Workshop – Identifying Business Requirements
* Performing root cause analysis
* Technique: The 5 Whys
* Technique: The Fishbone Diagram
* Workshop – Performing Root Cause Analysis
* The Business Model
* Developing the Business Case
* Workshop – Create a Business Model
Section 4: Stakeholder Analysis
* What is a stakeholder?
* The importance of stakeholder analysis
* Building relationships
* Tips for identifying stakeholders
* Stakeholder identification
* Keeping track of stakeholders
* Template: Stakeholder Map
* Workshop – Identifying Stakeholders
Section 5: Developing the Solution Vision and Scope
* Purpose of defining the vision and scope of a project
* What is brainstorming/brainwriting?
* Conducting brainstorming sessions
* Brainstorming usage considerations
* Finding system boundaries
* The Context Diagram
* Actors and key information
* Workshop – Draw a Context Diagram
* What is a feature?
* Identifying key features
* Workshop – Defining Scope with Features
Section 6: Understanding Requirements and Business Rules
* What is a requirement?
* The four basic requirement types
* Business, Stakeholder, Solution, and Transition requirements
* Defining Assumptions and constraints
* What are Business rules?
* Taxonomy of business rules
* Technique: The Decision Table
* How to write simple calculations
* Workshop – Describe a Business Rule using a Decision Table
* Requirements vs. business rules
* Workshop – Writing Requirements
Section 7: Business Process Modeling
* Why do we model processes?
* What is Business Process Management?
* Basic Process Modeling Notation (UML)
* “As Is” vs. “To Be” modeling
* Developing a business process model
* Using a facilitated session
* Business Process Modeling – A case study
* Developing a Business Process Model
* Workshop – Create a Business Process Model

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Section 8: Preparing for Requirements Elicitation
* What is requirements elicitation?
* Interviewing – what and why?
* Preparing for an effective interview
* Types of questions to ask
* Sequencing of questions
* Active listening techniques
* Workshop – Planning for an Interview
Section 9: Conducting an Elicitation Session
* Best practices when conducting an interview
* Selecting the interviewees
* Active listening techniques
* Feedback techniques
* Workshop – Conducting an Interview
* Other elicitation techniques to consider
* Technique: Requirements Workshop
* The role of the facilitator
* Avoiding group think
* Encourage participation
* Managing conflict
* Technique: Brainstorming
* Utilizing User Stories
* Workshop – Identifying User Stories
Section 10: Confirming Elicitation Results
* Performing requirements analysis
* Prioritizing requirements (MoSCoW, Timeboxing, Voting, etc.)
* Specifying and modeling requirements using UML
* Verifying requirements and acquiring approval
* Communicating Requirements
* Workshop – Obtaining Approval
Section 11: Analyzing Requirements with Use Cases
* What is an Actor?
* Types of Actors
* How to “find” Use Cases?
* Diagramming Use Cases
* Tips on naming Use Cases
* Workshop – Drawing a Use Case Diagram
* What are scenarios?
* Template: Use Case Specification
* Scenario examples
* Workshop – Writing the Main Success Scenario
* Scenarios and flows
* Alternate and exception flows
* Best practices for writing Use Cases
* Exercise – Writing Alternate and Exception Scenarios
Section 12: Documenting Requirements
* How requirements relate to Use Cases
* Writing Non-Functional requirements
* User Interface Requirements
* Storyboarding and Wireframing
* Workshop – Develop a User Interface
* Template: UI data table
* Reporting requirements
* Data requirements
* Data accessibility requirements
* Preparing the requirements package
* Business Analysis deliverables
* Exercise – Analyze and Document Requirements
Section 13: Managing and Communicating Requirements
* Requirements Management and Communication
* General communication
* Technique: Presentations
* Technique: Structured Walkthrough
* The 7 C’s of Communication
* Information Mapping
* Symptoms of information overload
* Conflict and issue management
* Conflict Resolution techniques
Section 14: Assessing Requirements
* Solution Assessment & Validation
* Verifying requirements
* Quality attributes of well-written requirements
* Assessing Organizational Readiness
* Defining Transition Requirements
* Verification vs. Validation
* Workshop – Verifying Requirements
* The requirements traceability matrix (RTM)
* Exercise: Creating an RTM
Section 15: Additional Information
* Useful books and links on Requirements Management