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Course Code

CPBA

Duration

4 months, part-time

Target Audience

The course is primarily aimed at new, junior, or aspiring business analysts. It will also benefit non-business analysts who are interested in acquiring a good knowledge of the fundamental techniques used by professional business analysts to produce business cases, proposals, functional or user requirements specifications.

Comments from Past delegates

“The course is well structured and the content is very current”
T.P.

“Very informative and easy to understand the techniques”
G.R..

“Totally mind-opening experience”
R.M.

 “Perfect for an associate BA”
C.B.

“I really appreciated the extra effort the lecturers put in to assist us with aspects that we were unclear about”
K.S.

“The course was actually brilliant.”
R.M.

“I’ve really enjoyed this course. I looked forward to every class and will definitely recommend it to others”
R.S.

Open the door to a career as a professional Business Analyst. This world class part time program will help you master the tools and techniques of the modern analyst.

Learn to:

• a good understanding of the role of the modern business analyst • • • good requirements modelling skills, including being able to model processes, data, and interfaces

• to gather and document functional, informational and non-functional requirements

• to produce common BA artefacts, including business cases and functional specifications and gain a firm understanding of these

• good requirements modelling skills, including being able to model processes, data, and interfaces

Course Overview

Business Analysts are primarily responsible for identifying the requirements of business stakeholders, and converting these requirements into specifications that will guide the construction of IT-based business solutions. As a liaison between Business and IT, this role can be performed at different levels and with varying degrees of complexity and competence.

This certificate programme is aimed at the entry-level business analyst, who needs to develop a good grounding and competence in the essential skills and techniques of business analysis. Junior, or entry-level business analysts typically write specifications for less complex applications, with fewer stakeholders, and with more limited scope and business impact.

Unlike the more difficult and demanding Diploma in Business Analysis, this programme does not require a delegate to actually be working as a Business Analyst, and there is no requirement for delegates to complete a real working project. As such, it is ideal for recently appointed business analysts, or people who seek to move into, a career in professional business analysis.

Typical delegates would include business analysts, systems analysts, test analysts, process specialists, IT consultants, independent contractors, as well as package implementers, developers, analyst programmers, technical specialists, project managers, project sponsors, systems auditors, managers of IT people.

"The major difference between developing systems 20 years ago and doing it today is that
change is much more pervasive now. Changes to business processes and rules, user personnel,
and technology make application development seem like trying to land a Frisbee on the head
of a wild dog. "
name

Duration

The total contact time in the course is equivalent to about 12 days of full-day training, spread over the duration of the course (usually around 4 months). Added to this is the time spent by the delegate doing homework and assignments.

The programme is made up of modules ranging from 1 to 3 days over a 12 week period with some sessions held during the day and others in the evenings. For in-house courses, various formats are readily available

"Information technology and business are becoming inextricably interwoven.
I don't think anybody can talk meaningfully about one without the talking about the other."
Bill Gates

Course Delivery

The programme comprises instructor-led training seminars, supplemented by readings, exercises and practical group work.

Various formats are available, ranging from public to in-house courses, as well as part-time, full-day or hybrid formats. Schedules for In-house courses are flexible and the certificate can be co-branded.

"71% of projects that fail do so because of ineffective requirements"
2004 CHAOS Report, Standish Group

Course Prerequisites

The entry path to business analysis is varied. While any strongly motivated delegate may be admitted to the programme, we strongly recommend that prospective delegates should not do the course unless they:

• Have at least 2 years working experience, with recent experience in a role that requires communication skills, business knowledge and problem solving skills

• Are computer literate (and are competent in typical office productivity applications like PowerPoint, Word and Excel)

• Have at least a year’s experience working with business applications, not just as users, but in a role where they are problem solvers, super-users, developers or analysts.

• Have completed a course pre-assessment, together with their managers, to make sure that they are in a position to derive value from the programme

"Use cases…cannot portray all the subtleties of how a business is run.
For this, we need business rules"
Kulak & Guiney

Course Assessment

This course has a formal assessment mechanism. To obtain a pass in the Certificate Programme, delegates will need to complete and pass the following assessments:

• Two practical tests

• A final practical examination

• Class Participation

Alternative or additional assessments may apply to in-house courses.

"Do you want it quick, cheap or good? I can give you any two."
Arthur C. Clarke

Upgrading to the Diploma in Business Analysis

To upgrade to a Diploma in Business Analysis delegates are required to complete the following deliverables in order to be admitted to the DipBA FastTrack Programme:

• Submit a work-related Business Case (or equivalent document ) and a work-related Functional Specification of sufficient complexity and standard

• Write and pass an entrance test. Some exemptions may apply at the discretion of FTI

Successful candidates will be admitted to the DipBA FastTrack Programme and will be awarded the Diploma in Business Analysis on successful completion of the following

• Complete the BA Fasttrack short course

• Complete the BA Bootcamp

• Achieve an acceptable mark for participation from the assessors, lecturers and fellow delegates

• Pass the final qualifying practical examination

"A good Business Analyst is someone who can sort through the chaos and ambiguity of
what is told to them by many people and extract a concise description of the business"
Advanced Strategies Inc

Course Accreditation

FTI was the first IIBAź Endorsed Education Provider (EEP) in South Africa, and is the only EEP in SA to hold Charter status. 

Faculty Training Institute was approved as an Approved Education & Training Provider with the ISETT SETA in January 2003. FTI is currently in the process of applying for full accreditation, conditional on the future structure of SAQA and the National Qualifications Framework (NQF). FTI is also actively engaged with various Skills Governing Bodies (SGBs) in ISETT to develop standards and qualifications in various areas.

This course falls into a category loosely defined by SAQA as ‘vocational short courses’, because it requires less than a year’s full-time study and is not intended to lead to a national qualification in terms of the NQF. Like many similar courses, it has therefore not been registered as a formal qualification in SAQA. Nonetheless, this course is widely recognized as a de facto qualification by industry throughout South Africa.

Academically and intellectually, the course assessment is done at senior undergraduate level, which would equate to level 5-6 on the NQF.  

Course Content