Iseb diploma in business analysis

To gain the Diploma in Business Analysis, candidates must pass four one-hour written examinations on a number of business analysis topics, each of which leads to a certificate which has value in its own right. To convert their set of certificates into the Diploma, candidates then attend an interview with two ISEB examiners to confirm their technical, business and interpersonal competencies.

Module Course Duration

• Core Organisational Context 2 days
• Core Business Analysis Essentials 3 days
• Core Requirements Engineering 3 days
• Core Modelling Business Processes 2 days
• Core Systems Development Essentials 3 days
• Core Systems Modelling Techniques 3 days
• Core Benefits Management and Business Acceptance 3 days

Core Modules

There are three core modules in the Diploma, which all candidates must attain. These modules (and, indeed, the optional modules) may be gained in any order.

• The Organisational Context
  This covers the essential knowledge and competencies that underpin the work of a business analyst:
  • Sectors of the economy (public, private, not-for-profit) and types of organisation within each
  • Organisational structures
  • The legal framework to business and, in particular, IT
  • Business finance
• Business Analysis Essentials
  This module provides a set of core techniques for use in business analysis assignments:
  • Strategic analysis tools (for example, PESTLE, MOST, SWOT)
  • Initial analysis of business problems, for instance using ''rich pictures''
  • Stakeholder analysis
  • Business perspectives
  • Business activity modelling
  • Gap analysis
  • Business case development.
• Requirements Engineering
  This addresses how to capture, analyse and document good business and system requirements and includes the following topics:
  • The requirements engineering process
  • Actors in requirements engineering
  • Requirements elicitation techniques
  • Documenting and modelling requirements
  • Characteristics of good requirements
  • Requirements analysis, negotiation and validation
  • Requirements management.

Specialist ModulesCandidates must choose one of the following specialist modules to complete their set of certificates. Which they choose will depend on their own background and preferences (business versus technical, for example), what their organisation requires and the nature of their current roles. The available modules are:

• Modelling Business Processes
  This module provides more detailed coverage of the techniques for business process improvement:
  • Organisational and context diagrams
  • ''As is'' process models
  • ''To be'' process models
  • Human aspects of performance
  • Managing and measuring processes
  • Process improvement and redesign
  • Implementing process change.
• Systems Development Essentials
  This module is suited to business analysts who need a good understanding of the basic tools of systems development:
  • The role of the analyst and system designer
  • Systems architecture
  • Development lifecycles and approaches
  • Methodologies
  • Systems investigation
  • Design, implementation and maintenance
  • Quality assurance
• Systems Modelling Techniques
  This module provides a more detailed knowledge of the techniques used in modelling IT systems:
  • The benefits of standardised approaches
  • Views of an IT system (process, static data, event-driven, user-interface)
  • Construction of models from each viewpoint, using recognised techniques
  • Consistency checking between the views
  • Validation against business objectives
• Benefits Management and Business Acceptance
  This module provides an understanding of how business benefits are managed to facilitate their delivery:
  • The rationale and drivers for business change
  • Benefits management and planning
  • The principles and scope of acceptance testing
  • Test design techniques and the Test Plan
  • Planning the implementation and delivery of business benefits

Oral ExaminationThe oral examination lasts for 45-50 minutes and the candidate is required to demonstrate that they can put the competencies gained in the written examinations into a coherent context. They must also show that they have the interpersonal skills required to function effectively as a business analyst.