BCS Business Analysis Practice

This BCS Business Analysis Practice course will teach delegates how to develop a business strategy and how to apply techniques to explore business issues. 

After completing this course, learners will be able to:

• Develop a business strategy
• Identify key performance indicators
• Understand stakeholder perspectives
• Model business activities
• Perform gap analysis
• Identify business improvements
• Manage project stakeholders
• Propose useful change projects
• Identify costs and benefits for change projects

Outline:

• Business Analysis Practice
• Business analysis rationale
• What is a business system.
• The place of business analysis.
• Business analysis versus systems analysis.
• Approaches to business analysis.
• Strategic analysis in context
• Understanding the organisation’s strengths and weaknesses.
• External analysis – PESTLE.
• Internal analysis – Resource Audit.
• A project approach to business analysis
• Business analysis studies as projects.
• Terms of reference and project initiation.
• Assuring business benefit.
• Understanding the situation/issues
• Types of business ‘problem’.
• Rich pictures.
• Defining the problem.
• Review of investigation techniques.
• Business perspectives
• Business perspective – introduction.
• Defining the perspective – CATWOE.
• Analysing and modelling the business activities
• Modelling business activities.
• Five types of business activity.
• Modelling multiple perspectives.
• Decomposing activities.
• Validating the business activity model.
• End-to-end process maps.
• Creative problem solving
• Barriers to creativity.
• Brainstorming.
• Stimulating creative thinking.
• Identifying potential solutions
• Exploring the gap between the current and desired situation.
• Areas for business improvement (structure, processes, people)
• Holistic approach to business solutions.
• Discussion of business change programmes.
• Making the business case
• Contents of a business case.
• Options.
• Costs and benefits.
• Impacts and risks.
• Payback and discounted cash flow.
• Presenting the business case.
• Course summary and review
• Review of concepts and approaches covered.