IIBA Endorsed Certified Business Analyst

Overview of the role of the business analyst

• The business analyst’s scope of work

• Business analysts as internal consultants

• Active data gathering

• Overview of problem solving approaches

• Generating creative solutions

• Intelligence versus creativity

• Effective decision making

• Choosing between alternatives

Thinking strategically

• An overview of strategic thinking

• The three big strategic questions

• Key elements of a successful strategy

• Strategy and the quest for competitive advantage

• The importance of strategy

• The 5 Cs of strategic analysis

• Porter's 5 forces impact Potential Industry Earnings (PIE)

• Creating and capturing value

• Conducting SWOT analysis

• Fundamentals of PEDESTL framework

Structuring problems

• The importance of structuring problems

• Defining the right issue

• Using the issue statement

• Dividing issues into manageable parts

• The use of logic trees in problem solving

• Prioritizing and planning

• The importance of prioritizing work

• Eliminating non-essential issues

• Using the 80:20 rule

• Prioritization methodologies

• Using the prioritization matrix

• Developing practical project plans

• Building an effective work plan

Conducting analyses

• Getting the right data

• Types of research

• Primary research development

• Secondary research development

• Using pivot tables for analysis

  • Introduction to pivot tables

  • Creating pivot tables

  • Customizing pivot tables

  • Performing calculations within pivot tables

  • Creating calculated fields

  • Creating calculated items

  • Using cell references and name ranges

  • Managing pivot table calculations

Communicating and presenting

• Turning data into findings

• Building effective arguments

• Communicating findings by telling a 'story'

• Story telling elements

• Designing powerful presentations

• Presenting to senior management