Business Analysis Fundamentals
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- 8.5 hours on-demand video
- 10 articles
- 15 downloadable resources
- Full lifetime access
- Access on mobile and TV
- Certificate of Completion
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Try Udemy for Business- Business Analysis basics – learn what a Business Analyst is, what they do, and how they do it
- A breakdown of six project methodologies including traditional Waterfall and Agile frameworks
- Learn how to properly initiate a project by creating a business case that aligns with the business objectives
- Understand the basics of project requirements and six of the popular techniques used to elicit those details from your stakeholders
- Gain an overview of various modeling diagrams to help you recognize and understand project documentation
- Conduct requirement specification - including categorizing, deriving (breaking apart), prioritizing, and validating
- Have the confidence to successfully facilitate requirements approval meetings
- This course covers all of the fundamentals - no prior knowledge is required
THE ULTIMATE FOUNDATIONAL COURSE – LEARN THE CORE BUSINESS ANALYSIS KNOWLEDGE YOU CAN BUILD UPON AND START YOUR BUSINESS ANALYST CAREER THE RIGHT WAY.
Set yourself up for success and learn the key concepts you’ll need to thrive in your Business Analyst career!
With over 10 years working as, hiring, and managing Business Analysts, I’ve gained a lot of valuable experience and knowledge. And today, I want to share that information with you. I’ll help you take the first step in a long and productive career in business analysis.
In this course, I have condensed everything I’ve learned in all my years working in the industry into a comprehensive guide to the basic elements that make up the most important tool in any Business Analyst’s career – your foundational knowledge.
Building a successful future without a strong foundation is an impossible task…
But when you have one in place, it’ll give your career the strongest possible start, and put you in a position to take the fullest advantage of the opportunities and experiences that come your way and achieve the success you’re dreaming of!
So, whether you’re an aspiring Business Analyst or one that’s new to the role – let this course be the first step of a lucrative and satisfying career.
Course enrollment grants you lifetime access, with no expiration, to all the course lectures, activities, handouts, and quizzes. In addition, you’ll also receive 1-on-1 support for any questions or uncertainties that come up. And this all comes with a money-back guarantee. You have nothing to lose and so much to gain.
Looking to get ECBA certified? - This course qualifies for 9 hours of Professional Development
Just ask the students who’ve already taken this course:
★★★★★ "The pace is perfect for those who are actively engaged, and there is a lot of value in the lectures, activities, and additional resources provided. I wholeheartedly recommend this course." – Kenni
★★★★★ “The course is just awesome! Tbh [to be honest], I did not expect much from the online course and was really surprised when it turned out to be sooo interesting. The information is well-structured and divided into sections which makes it really easy to understand and grasp the important points. I enjoyed the way Jeremy conducts the lectures and truly hope to enroll into some more of his courses in future! Thanks a ton” - Nataliia
★★★★★ “Great quality work. I like how Jeremy breaks everything down, so it's understandable even if you don't have any background in the business analysis. Awesome courses!!!” - Oleg
Why be a Business Analyst in the first place?
1. Potential Earnings – Let’s be honest it’s the main reason we work in the first place. So, you’ll be happy to hear that a typical Business Analyst (BA) earns over $78,000 per year. And that is only the average. Work hard, continue to increase the value you provide, and just imagine how much you could end up making!
2. Market Growth – The Business Analysis job market is expected to grow at a rate of 19% over the next 10 years, so get in now and take advantage of an industry that’s on the rise. In fact, per the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, American employers will need 876,000 business analysis related professionals in 2020. It is a great time to be versed in business analysis!
3. Career Springboard – The skills you learn as a Business Analyst are crucial to a host of many other professions, everything from IT to Business. This career path isn’t just a job, it’s an investment in your future.
4. Use Existing Industry Knowledge – Similarly, the skills you’ve learned outside of the business analysis world are highly valued in the industry – so rather than starting anew, you can be put your experience to good use.
5. It’s Never Boring – With new projects always on the horizon, and different challenges to tackle each day, the role of a Business Analyst never grows stale.
So if you’re looking for a challenging and rewarding career, I highly encourage you to take a serious look into business analysis!
What exactly is included in this course?
- Business Analysis basics – learn what a Business Analyst is, what they do, and how they do it
- A breakdown of six project methodologies including traditional Waterfall and Agile frameworks
- Learn how to properly initiate a project by learning how to create a business case that aligns with a business’ objectives
- Understand the basics of project requirements and six of the popular techniques used to elicit those details from your stakeholders
- Gain an overview of various modeling diagrams to help you recognize and understand project documentation
- Conduct requirement specification - including categorizing, deriving (breaking apart), prioritizing, and validating
In addition to all the tools you’ll need to start planning the project, you’ll also get a foot into the field by way of an industry expert…
I’m not just the instructor who wrote this course, I will also act as both a resource and a mentor to guide you to a long and rewarding career in Business Analysis!
This is what my students had to say about the content of this course:
★★★★★ "The course is awesome, didn't see similar before. Like how Jeremy explains, how he highlight key points and how he provide us by different types of a very useful templates, which we can use in our daily job. Really, excellent course, and will wait with a big impatience for another ones. Highly recommended for everybody who wants to become an experienced business analyst. Jeremy and his courses will definitely help you to achieve your goal!" - Aykhan
★★★★★ “If I had to rate this […] I would give 10 out of five!! this is one of the great lectures I have ever had. Extremely satisfied and learnt a lot!! Thanks Jeremy!!” – Swati
★★★★★ “Great inside knowledge from Jeremy, clear and concise. Explains Business Analysis concepts in a way that is easy to understand and gives a solid base of the fundamentals.” - German
Still Unsure?
I understand – you’re a Business Analyst at heart and you like to have all the information at hand before making a decision… so here’s a list of extra bonuses that are included, as part of your enrollment to the course:
- Access to a searchable Business Analyst Glossary – Never again will you feel lost in a sea of complex terms and acronyms. This searchable glossary is an essential tool that makes it easy to recall and understand all the “Business Analysis Speak” you come across (on and off the job!)
- A Business Requirements Document (BRD) Example Template – so you can utilize your newly learned requirement documentation skills. Documenting requirements into a template like a BRD will play an integral part of your day-to-day as a Business Analyst.
- A Business Case Template – Organize your thoughts and sell the value of your project by using our intuitive and easy to follow template
And if you’re still not sure – here’s my promise to you:
This course comes with a money-back guarantee! That means, if you aren’t completely satisfied with your purchase, I’ll give you a refund – no questions asked!
By the end of the course, you’ll have the knowledge and the means to apply that knowledge, to not only become a Business Analyst – but to excel at it.
So, if you have any interest at all in making your career as a Business Analyst a successful one, enroll today, and get started learning the fundamentals of the job today!
- Aspiring Business Analysts - including recent college graduates and those looking to make a career change.
- New Business Analysts wanting to improve their craft
- Other positions that are performing business analysis duties such as administrators, managers, and project leads.
- Those going for their ECBA certification - this course is qualifies for 9 hours of Professional Development
The lecture gives the thousand foot view of the course as a whole. Having a clear understanding of what the course will teach you, allows you to work at your own pace knowing what information is yet to come.
Business Analyst is not a role that often comes up when researching career paths, so in this lecture, we will provide you with seven of the top reasons you should become a Business Analyst.
In this lecture, we provide you a ZIP file that contains all of the downloadable resources for the course. While those downloads are still available on appropriate lectures throughout the course, we're providing this ZIP file for convenience and to avoid some of the nuances and issues with downloading the files individually. It is our recommendation that you download this file now and then pull up the files as they are referenced within the course. Happy learning!
Understanding what Business Analysis is, what a Business Analyst does, and the value they provide to companies is the critical foundation knowledge needed before we go any further.
Terms: Business Analysis, Business Analyst
Now that you have a foundational understanding of business analysis, the next area of importance is understanding the high-level tasks a Business Analyst performs.
Terms: Business Analyst
Some organizations have Business Analysts play a very general role within their organization. The Business Analysts may be involved in all aspects (or tasks) of a project and need to be versed to do so. Other organizations are taking a more streamlined approach and breaking the Business Analyst position into various roles that perform specialized actions. This lecture dives into some of the most common roles a Business Analyst can play and what duties they perform within such roles.
Terms: Business Process Analyst, Requirements Analyst, Systems Analyst, Data Analyst, User Experience Analyst
Every organization has different needs and speeds in which they expect change to happen. Traditional organizations may prefer a more rigid approach to software development that is slower moving but offers them greater control and approvals. Other organizations, who are generally younger or want to by more flexible to their changing landscape, may opt for a different approach to meet their needs. This lecture will frame up the most common Software Development Life Cycles (SDLC).
Terms: Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)
Agile methodologies have evolved over many years after companies utilized and struggled with more rigid processes, like Waterfall. As of 2016, Agile is extremely popular among larger companies, including Google and Walmart. This two-part lecture explains the concepts of the Scrum methodology, as well as many of the terms, artifacts, and meetings that are used within.
Terms: Scrum, sprint, sprint backlog, product backlog, product owner, scrum master
In order to get a project idea approved and budgeting set aside, many Business Analysts have the responsibility to create a Business Case. This lecture will give you the basics of what a Business Case is and why it is important. (Part 1 of 2)
Terms: Business case, return on investment (ROI)
Part 2 of 2 on Business Cases
In order to get a project idea approved and budgeting set aside, many Business Analysts have the responsibility to create a Business Case. This lecture will give you the basics of what a Business Case is and why it is important.
Terms: Business case, return on investment (ROI), risk, cost-benefit
Identifying stakeholders is important to your project because it is not possible to elicit requirements from stakeholders that you don't know exist. When you miss stakeholders, you miss requirements. And missed requirements means failed projects. In this lecture, we will discuss what stakeholders are and how you can identify them.
Terms: Stakeholder
For most Business Analyst roles, requirements are the key to their success. This lecture provides you an understanding of what requirements are, why they are important, and how they are categorized.
Terms: Functional requirements, non-functional requirements, constraints, assumptions, scope
Brainstorming is a great technique to drive lots of high-level ideas on how you can solve a particular problem. This is crucial when you are hoping to generate ideas on how to proceed with a specific requirement or issue.
Terms: Brainstorm, timekeeper, scribe, facilitator
Requirement Workshops pull together individuals, even those from different departments and units, to define, discuss, and analyze project requirements. By getting everyone together, you are able to get feedback based on everyone's varying perspectives.
Terms: Requirement workshop, end-user, Subject Matter Expert
Interviewing is one of the most common requirement elicitation techniques utilized by Business Analysts. While it can take some time to set up and conduct, the value of getting immediate feedback to your questions and the ability to ask follow up questions often makes it well worth the effort. (Part 1 of 3)
Terms: Interview, job shadow, task analysis
Interviewing is one of the most common requirement elicitation techniques utilized by Business Analysts. While it can take some time to set up and conduct, the value of getting immediate feedback to your questions and the ability to ask follow up questions often makes it well worth the effort. (Part 2 of 3)
Terms: Interview
Interviewing is one of the most common requirement elicitation techniques utilized by Business Analysts. While it can take some time to set up and conduct, the value of getting immediate feedback to your questions and the ability to ask follow up questions often makes it well worth the effort. (Part 3 of 3)
Terms: Interview, open-ended
While not always defining requirements, documentation review is a great first step in requirement elicitation. Reviewing past documents and user guides can help you get your arms around the current landscape of the business and its processes.
Terms: Documentation review, scope
While not a stand-alone elicitation technique, it is important to cover analyzing interfaces because nearly every system has an expectation of information going in and information coming out. Analyzing interfaces ensures we define those needs because missing those requirements can prove to be critical to your project.
Terms: Interface, input, output
One part of the Requirement Specialization step is to categorize requirements. This lecture explains why it is important to categorize requirements, as well as it provides some example categories that could be used.
Terms: Categorize, prioritize, functional, non-functional, constraints
Not all requirements are created equal. Some are significantly more important than others in helping to achieve the goals defined by the project. In this part of Requirement Specialization, we learn about how prioritization can be used to help ensure the most important requirements are completed first.
Terms: Prioritize
Now that you understand how to elicit requirements, it is important to understand where you document them. One common place to document requirements in traditional projects is the Business Requirements Document (BRD). In this lecture, we will break down the BRD, how it is created, and discuss its most common sections.
Terms: BRD
Once you have the requirements detailed and polished, you need to get them approved. This is your opportunity to validate with the business team, technical team, and Project Sponsor that the requirements you defined are accurate and provide a clear picture of the needs of the business and its stakeholders.
Terms: Requirements
And finally, we need to gain the Project Sponsor approval. Since the Project Sponsor is ultimately the one who is providing the budget for the project, it is important they are in agreement with the requirements and the plan for moving forward.
Terms: Project Sponsor, requirement
Once projects are complete, it is important for the team to conduct a project review to elicit feedback from the project team. This feedback can then be used to both celebrate project wins and to highlight changes and enhancements that will positively affect future behaviors and projects.
Terms: Stakeholders, survey