Home References NTGI in the News Business Analyst Curriculum Business Analyst Courses Project Management Curriculum Project Management Courses

Business Analyst Curriculum Business Case for Action The ability to deliver software that meets the client's needs, at the time of installation.... The ability to develop software that reflects the changing needs of the business environment.... The ability to deliver software that is reliable, usable, cost-effective and timely.... These are the issues that face software development in the 21st century. In the past, the quality of software was defined by "designing and coding" to a frozen specification - a specification often created by the IT department and "signed off" by the client area. The delay between the "sign off" and the installation of the software was very often a calendar year or longer. In the environment that corporations face today, we cannot be delivering software that met the business need a year ago. We need an infrastructure in place that responds to the changing needs of the client community. The role of business analyst was created to address many of these issues: To facilitate communication between the client and the IT department To suggest areas where automation could improve the client's work or work environment To provide expertise in analysis modeling techniques such as process and data modeling To conduct data gathering interviews To create questionnaires for data gathering To organize Joint Application Development sessions and possibly act as facilitator To liaise with technical designers during the Implementation Model creation To assist the client and project manager to resolve change management issues The skill sets that the business analyst must possess include: Excellent communication skills Excellent problem solving skills Conflict resolution Organizational skills Research skills Excellent powers of observation Ability to adapt to changing requirements Ability to learn quickly Ability to mentor Intimate knowledge of the project life cycle The good news is that the skills, tools and techniques required by a business analyst are based on a set of very learnable skills. The Business Analyst curriculum offers hands-on, instructor-led training in the areas of skills development, tools and techniques, and methodology. The Business Analyst Curriculum The Business Analyst Curriculum is designed to enrich the practical skill set of the business analyst, and to dramatically increase their capabilities, confidence, and rate of success. Students come away from each module with practical, immediately usable skills, reusable resources, and new ways of tackling and overcoming old problems. The business analyst must work together with the client community and the IT community, to deliver quality, efficient and cost-effective software that meets the needs of the corporation, at the time of implementation. We approach the business analyst challenge as a three-tiered approach. Skills are built on a firm conceptual foundation, with practical exercises, extensive case studies, reusable templates, and reference materials. The courses provide a low-risk environment for students to practice and adopt new skills. All learning exercises are geared toward immediately and substantially increased the business analyst's on-the-job effectiveness.