Advance Your Career with an IIBA® Business Analysis Certification
Learn Business Analysis Techniques, IIBA™ Certification Requirements, and the BABOK® Guide to Prepare for the Exams
Classroom Live ONSITE – Duration: 5 days (35 PDU/CDU)
Classroom Live ONLINE – Duration: 5 days to 5 weeks (35 PDU/CDU)
Public Schedule
Some of this content is also available in our eCourses, Books, and FREE KnowledgeKnuggets™
Course Overview
Become a Certified Business Analyst
Business analysis defines the future of a project and an organization. This awesome responsibility can be delegated to many different roles and is required to produce a variety of outputs. In many organizations, this critical activity can be and often is performed by “anyone wearing the BA hat™”, including C-level executives, managers, and business experts in any field. As organizations grow, the task increases exponentially in complexity and soon requires the skills of professional Business Analysts. An initial measure of professionalism can only be achieved through certification.
The primary certifying body in the field of business analysis is the International Institute of Business Analysis™ (IIBA®). Its principles and guidelines are published in “A Guide to the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge® (BABOK® Guide)”. Becoming certified as a professional Business Analyst at any level requires a thorough understanding of that publication.
This 5-day, interactive, exercise-rich instructor-led workshop introduces participants to the International Institute of Business Analysis™ (IIBA®) and the “Guide to the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge® (BABOK® Guide)”. It covers the baseline skills, know-how, and techniques required for certification and sets the bar for excellence in the profession.
We Tailor the Content to Fit Your Needs
At no cost to you, we can assemble an optimal set of training topics based on your group’s current and desired business analysis skill levels. We can also use our Business Analysis Skills Evaluation (BASE) tool to establish these levels.
or call 702-625-0146
Program Details
What You Will Learn
The program includes 3 sessions:
- Session 1 — Business Analysis Essentials (2 days) introduces the main business analysis concepts required in the performance of day-to-day business analysis tasks. It further explores principles that are integral to all business analysis work, irrespective of project stage. Its focus is on the business analysis domain, the role of the IIBA® and the BABOK® Guide. This session deals with 2 of the all-encompassing knowledge areas of the BABOK® Guide.
- Session 2 — Advanced Business Analysis (2 days) takes students through an end-to-end business analysis delivery cycle from project inception through to a post-implementation review of project success. The session highlights the role and outcomes of many business analysts and presents the remaining BABOK® Guide knowledge areas by defining key business analysis deliverables and suitable techniques for creating them.
- Session 3 — Business Analysis Certification Prep (1 day) prepares students to take the IIBA® certification exams by walking them through the BABOK® Guide, its structure, content and value. This session provides insights into core business analysis concepts to enable the efficient practice of business analysis. In addition, it creates an awareness of underlying competencies necessary for effective business analysis. The appreciation of current business analysis techniques that students will gain enables them to use the most appropriate practices to deliver high quality, high value outputs.
The sessions cover concepts from the theoretical and the practical perspective by augmenting instructor-led training with challenging group discussions and exercises.
Exercises are performed in multiple ways:
- Whole Group – all students in the class participate as a single group
- Small Groups – small groups of students (3 – 6 students per group)
- Individual – students work individually to carry out exercises
- Instructor Facilitated – instructor leads the discussions
Students receive a Handbook to support slides presented in the classroom. All discussions and exercises are reflected in the Student Handbook.
Student Handbook contents:
- Brief description of class-taught ideas
- Sample templates (where relevant)
- Blank templates for in-class exercise use/ blank pages for notes for in-class discussion use
- ECBA, CCBA and CBAP Codes of Conduct
- Useful references
Copies of the BABOK® Guide will be printed and bound and provided for in-class use ONLY. This will be a reference source for students during all the sessions.
Target Audience
- Product Owners
- Business Analysts
- Requirements Engineers
- Business- and Customer-side Team Members
- Agile Team Members
- Subject Matter Experts (SME)
- Project Leaders and Managers
- Systems Analysts and Designers
- AND “anyone wearing the business analysis hat”, meaning anyone responsible for defining a future IT solution
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of each session, you can:
Session 1 – Business Analysis Essentials
- Define what business analysis is
- Outline the role of the IIBA® in the business analysis profession
- Discuss the relevance of the BABOK® Guide to the business analyst
- Classify requirement types
- Describe the business analysis deliverables
- Apply Requirements Elicitation and Collaboration techniques
- Develop elements of the Requirements Management Life Cycle
Session 2 – Advanced Business Analysis
- Explain the role and relevance of a business case in decision making
- Structure a business case with necessary content that enables decision making
- Describe the importance of requirements management and quality planning
- Plan business analysis work effort including requirements management procedures
- Outline the purpose of the requirements package
- Develop components of the requirements package
- Explain the definition of value
- Outline solution evaluation
Session 3 – Business Analysis Certification Prep
- Describe the IIBA® and its certification levels
- Summarize business analysis as defined by the IIBA
- Outline BABOK® Guide structure and concepts
- Explain the BABOK® Guide Knowledge Areas
- Prepare for the IIBA® Certification requirements
Detailed Course Outline
Session 1 – Business Analysis Essentials (2 days)
Introduction to Business Analysis
- What is business analysis?
- Discussion: Understanding of the business analysis role based on previous and current experiences
- What is the IIBA and its role in the development of the profession?
- Discussion: Establish student’s personal certification goals
- What is the BABOK® Guide and its relevance to business analysts?
- Questionnaire: Explore individual intent to become a professional business analyst
- Definition of a “Requirement”
- Exercise: Classify the provided requirements according to the BABOK® Guide structure
Requirement Elicitation and Management
- Introduction to business analysis deliverables
- Discussion: Typical documents that students have delivered in their workplace
- Requirements Elicitation and Collaboration
- Exercise: Brainstorm possible stakeholders and the best ways to engage them
- Exercise: List 2 pros and 2 cons of assigned elicitation techniques
- Requirements Life Cycle Management
- Exercise: Define a complete set of attributes for a few instances of requirement types
Session 2 – Advanced Business Analysis
Business Analysis Context and Business Analysis Planning
- Context setting
- Understanding the business
- Exercise: Perform a problem analysis to articulate potential problems that must be solved for a business
- Exercise: Set a solution scope (using the Context Diagram technique)
- Exercise: Define requirements for the business (continued)
- Exercise: Outline potential solution to business problems
- Exercise: Perform a feasibility assessment of the proposed solution
- Plan business analysis work effort
- Discussion: Steps that might appear in a business analysis plan
- Exercise: Brainstorm different communications a business analyst might produce
Packaging Requirements and Evaluating Business Solutions
- Review of produced deliverables and their relevance in the creation of a requirements package
- Exercise: Perform requirements analysis
- Exercise: Perform a high to low level process decomposition
- Exercise: Model one low level business process with possible process inputs and outputs
- Exercise: Design a user interface for a business process, define process data
- Discussion: Identify common and perhaps missing process elements
- Exercise: Define non-functional requirements for the proposed solution
- Review: Joining the dots
- Evaluate the solution
- Discussion: Key take-aways from the session adding value to the student’s workplace
Session 3 – Business Analysis Certification Prep
BABOK® Guide
- What is the IIBA?
- What is business analysis?
- What is the BABOK® Guide?
- Business Analysis Core Concept Model (BACCM)
- Underlying Competencies
- Discussion: Are business analysts born or created?
- Perspectives
- Business Analysis Techniques
- Knowledge areas
- Exercise: Storyboard preparation and presentation
- Certification preparation