BCS Foundation Certificate in Business Analysis

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

• Describe the business change lifecycle
• List the core principles of business analysis
• Describe the different names and forms of business analyst role
• Explain the concept of T-shaped Professional (horizontal and vertical)
• Identify the three areas of business analysis competency
• Describe business analysis and the strategic context
• Highlight the factors assessed using PESTLE to analyse an external environment
• Identify the elements of the VMOST technique used to analyse an internal environment
• Definer an internal resource audit and its use in assessing the internal environment
• Describe the elements of performance measurement
• Discuss the structure of a SWOT analysis
• Describe the techniques used in strategy execution
• Explain the use of POPIT model
• Discuss the purpose and application of business model canvas
• Identify the following services in the Business Analysis Service Framework (BASF)
  • Situation investigation and problem analysis
  • Feasibility assessment and business case development
  • Business process improvement
  • Requirements definition
  • Business acceptance testing
  • Business change deployment
  • Stakeholder engagement
• Discuss different investigation methods and techniques
• Define interviews and describe their significance in investigation
• Discuss advantages and disadvantages of interviewing
• Define workshops and describe their significance in investigation
• Discuss advantages and disadvantages of workshops
• Define observations and describe their significance in investigation
• Discuss Advantages and disadvantages of observation
• Highlight the differences between formal observation and shadowing
• Define scenarios and describe their significance in investigation
• Discuss advantages and disadvantages of scenarios
• Define prototyping and describe its significance in investigation
• Discuss advantages and disadvantages of prototyping
• Define user role analysis and describe its significance in investigation
• Discuss advantages and disadvantages of user role analysis
• Explain how user profiles and personas are used in product development
• Define quantitative approaches and describe their significance in investigation
  • Surveys or questionnaires
  • Activity sampling
  • Document analysis
• Describe the diagrammatic techniques used to record a business situation
• Explain how rich pictures can be used as an effective diagramming technique
• Explain how mind maps can be used as an effective diagramming technique
• Identify stakeholder categories using the stakeholder wheel
• Describe the techniques to analyse stakeholders
• Discuss the use of Stakeholder Power/Interest grid (PI-grid)
• Describe stakeholder roles and responsibilities using RASCI Matrix
• Explain the business process hierarchy
• List the techniques used to model the enterprise level processes
• Discuss the use of SIPOC for process modelling
• Elaborate on the application of Value chain analysis for process modelling
• Explain the use of Value propositions for process modelling
• Describe the key aspects of the event response level
• Describe how business events can be used to model process
• Explain the approach of creating business process models
• Discuss the methodology of creating UML activity models
• Describe the following aspect of the actor-task level
• Define assessment and creation of ‘as-is’ process model
• Describe how current state analysis helps in Identifying problems
• Identify generic approaches to improving business processes
• Define the purpose of customer journey maps
• Describe the gap analysis process
• Explain the use of POPIT in gap analysis
• Describe the process for developing options
• Elaborate on the purpose of design thinking
• Describe the lifecycle for a business case in business case development
• Highlight the areas of feasibility analysis
• Define the structure and contents of a business case
• Explain costs and benefit assessment, impact and risk analysis
• List the key features relevant to creation of a business case within an Agile context
• Identify the elements of a CARDI Log
• Explain the purpose of investment appraisal techniques
  • Payback
  • Discounted cash flow and next present value
  • Internal rate of return
• Explain the requirements engineering framework
• Identify the types of requirements
• Describe the hierarchy of requirements
• Describe requirements elicitation techniques
• Highlight the key elements of requirements analysis
• Explain how the following helps in conducting analysis:
  • Requirements filters
  • INVEST principle
  • Prioritising requirements using MOSCOW
  • Business rules
• Identify the different requirements documentation styles
• List elements of a requirements catalogue
• Define a user story and explain the format of user stories
• Describe the elements of a UML class model used to model data
• Describe the product backlog in modelling and documentation in agile environment
• Define business requirements document and describe structure of a BRD
• Describe following types of requirements validation
  • Formal requirements validation
  • The activities in the Agile requirements validation process
• Describe key aspects of requirements management i.e., traceability and change control
• Describe the different types of delivery lifecycles
• Define the waterfall lifecycle and explain its advantages and disadvantages
• Define the ‘V’ model and explain its advantages and disadvantages
• Explain the role of the business analyst in the business change lifecycle
• Describe the role of business analyst during the design, development, and test activities
• Describe the key approaches used in the implementation stage
• Explain how SARAH model helps in understanding response to change
• Elaborate on the purpose of business readiness assessment
• Describe how benefits planning is used in the realisation stage
• Explain the elements of the use case diagram used to model functional requirements