Business Analyst

This course is designed to give people new to the business analyst role or those who supervise business analysts a basic understanding of the functions and business impact of this role. The course provides a special focus on business analysis functions as they relate to the development of information technology solutions and the business analysis project life cycle. Course topics include the role of the business analyst, gathering and documenting user requirements, modeling the business, business case analysis, process modeling, quality management and testing.

Planning and managing the requirements elicitation activities within a project is often a project in itself! As such, it makes sense to apply project management practices to this important set of activities. Project management has been proven to be the most effective method of delivering products within cost, schedule, and resource constraints. This course gives you an overview of standard project management processes and standards, and then delves in to the details of how business requirements planning and management fit in to those processes. By the end of the course, you will be able to develop and implement a plan for carrying out all of the business analysis activities on a project. This course will cover identification and engagement of stakeholders, creation of a requirements management plan, identification and management of requirements risks, estimation of work effort and duration for requirements gathering, and measuring and managing change.

This course focuses on the analysis and documentation of requirements and the role of the business analyst. Topics include: capturing requirements in a business requirements document; project vision and scope; identifying users; types of requirements; elicitation techniques (context diagram, concept of operations etc); structuring end user requirements; and documenting user requirements.

Communication skills are essential in all organizational roles. The business analyst role requires additional skills and expertise in communicating technical concepts to others from different professional groups, hierarchical positions, or internal departments. Topics include: advocating ideas upward through more effective issue analysis and argument selection; creating compelling briefings and technical presentations; organizing thoughts and ideas for effecting technical presentations; getting people to feel urgency and make decisions and separating a "real" opportunity from a "resource drain". Course includes role-plays, activities and interactive discussions.

This course focuses on testing and test plans, and on differentiating the roles of verification and validation in achieving quality. Verification and validation are the backbone of test plans. Tasks include: reviews, inspections, testing, defect reporting, and user acceptance testing. Participants develop a test plan and write and review test cases at the business level.

An important goal for most organizations is to automate business processes by implementing IT solutions. One important role of the business analyst is to work with both management and IT staff members in developing these solutions. Consequently, business analysts must have a thorough understanding of what the technology can do and what kinds of problems it can solve. This course provides an overview of various elements of IT technology to the degree needed by business analysts to carry out their jobs. Topics include fundamental computer concepts, networks and communications, operating systems, relational databases, the Internet and World Wide Web, software programming concepts, developing and implementing IT solutions for supply chain management, enterprise resource planning, and customer relationship management, and evaluating commercially available software solutions.

This course provides an overview of systems analysis with an emphasis on the systems approach in developing computer solutions to meet the business needs of an organization. Topics include the design life cycle, performing requirements analyses, integrating separate parts into a system, and understanding how technology solutions support business activities. The course emphasizes examples and case studies focusing on the design, development, and deployment of business solutions employing computer systems.

Learn how to use the Unified Modeling Language (UML), an important aid to software development with an object-oriented programming language. This course, of interest to managers and QA engineers as well as to students and users of object-oriented languages such as C++ and Java, focuses on the use of UML to specify, visualize, construct, and document the artifacts of software systems and business models. The ability to work with UML is especially important for individuals responsible for the analysis and design of object-oriented systems. Students learn the fundamental concepts of UML (based on the work of Booch, Jacobson, and Rumbaugh) and how the UML notation is used to represent business systems. Students also have an opportunity to apply what they learn in a series of exercises using a graphical design tool. Topics in this course include use-case diagrams, sequence diagrams, class diagrams, collaboration diagrams, statechart diagrams, activity diagrams, and implementation diagrams. This course serves as excellent preparation for further study in object-oriented analysis, design, and programming.

This course provides instruction in the theory and practice of professional writing in business and industry. The course provides comprehensive definition of technical writing, and covers the writer's role in corporate and institutional structures, audience analysis, the publication process, document design, and the problems of standards, styles, and format in technical publications, such as manuals, style guidelines, proposals, and reports, presentations and websites.

When implementing an IT solution for a given set of requirements, there are often several ways to achieve the desired objectives. Project leaders are usually interested in the costs of the various options that may be available, and call upon business analysts to provide cost estimates. From these estimates, they can choose the "best" solution. Business analysts need to understand how financial information is used in making these decisions in order to provide better cost estimates. This course covers fundamental financial concepts for evaluating costs and determining benefits associated with the development of an IT solution. Topics include quantifying financial rewards and costs, using standard calculations for evaluating performance (including payback period, net present value, and return on investment), comparing pre- and post-implementation business value, and determining which approach is appropriate for a given situation.

Project leaders must often operate effectively in a high responsibility, but low authority environment. Whether you are leading or will be asked to lead a project team, this course will help you acquire the management and leadership skills necessary to lead successful projects with confidence. Learn how to build high-performance project teams through effective leadership and influence, utilize management skills to encourage productivity and cooperation, apply communication and negotiation strategies to resolve conflicts, and implement creative problem-solving techniques to ensure project success. This class will be very interactive and will require the active involvement of the participants in realistic project related activities.

An elective course in the Certificate Program in Administrative Management. This course provides a conceptual framework for approaching decision-making situations with clarity and confidence. Participants build competence in two specific areas: making effective decisions based on the accurate assessment of the problem and preparing to effectively develop and analyze creative alternatives. In addition, students learn how to work on the right problem, develop and structure objectives, understand the consequences, and make appropriate tradeoffs. Using case studies and on-the-job situations encountered by the class, students explore successful models and proven techniques that are readily transferable to their own situations.

Business Process Improvement (BPI) is the structured methodology that leads to incremental process improvements within the context of Continuous Process Improvement (CPI). BPI can be performed within all levels of the organization and, along with technical skills, will also always be associated with the application of the soft skills necessary to effectively implement and institutionalize change. Through a series of training activities, you will learn how to select, design, sell, implement, and institutionalize the changes necessary for effective Business Process Improvement.