Business Analysis Essentials

ISEB certificates

The course prepares participants to sit the one-hour, open book, examination leading to the certificate in Business Analysis Essentials offered by the Information Systems Examinations Board (ISEB). This certificate is a core module for the ISEB Business Analysis Diploma and is a specialist module in the ISEB Systems Development Diploma.

Course Content

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
• Building a comprehensive SWOT analysis
• Measuring performance – the Balanced Business Scorecard
• Critical success factors and key performance indicators

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 and mind maps
• Defining the problem
• Review of investigation techniques

Business perspectives

• Analysing stakeholders
• Stakeholder management strategies
• Business perspective - introduction
• Defining the perspective - CATWOE

Analysing and modelling the business activities

• Modelling business activities
• Five types of business activity
• Consolidating perspectives and business activity models

Identifying potential solutions

• End-to-end process models
• Exploring the gap between the current and desired situation
• Areas for business improvement (organisation context, processes, people)
• Holistic approach to business solutions

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

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