KNOWLEDGE

SKILL

BEHAVIOUR

______________________________________

Mastering Business Analysis

______________________________________

CATALOGUE

CAT
Developing an Excellent Business Analyst

he emergence of the business analysis profession is one of the best things that has happened to business organisations in this decade! Organisations that have nurtured and developed business analysts (BAs) are experiencing huge paybacks for their investments. People with titles as varied as project manager, quality assurance analyst, and consultant

The more analysis tools a BA masters, the more valuable he will be to the organisation.
possess business analysis skills. Regardless of the title, individuals who truly understand how to turn high-level corporate objectives into detailed business solutions are extremely valuable resources. Excellent BAs are unique individuals who have the ability to work on details while also understanding how small these details can impact the larger corporate picture. An excellent BA looks upon a simple maintenance change to determine if it has a

broader impact to the organisation. BAs bring requirements skills to many different types of projects, such as: selection and implementation of packaged solutions (COTS) new software development business process improvement The excellent BA is aware of his or her organisations strategic plans and understands how to implement them at the individual business unit level. Many corporate executives are uncertain where to find these people and how to develop them. Traditional management training is not appropriate for this role. Specific technology or methodology training isnt the entire solution. And, focusing on a particular technical solution or approach is too narrow to build an effective BA. The skills most highly valued by an organisation are true problem solving skills that are broad enough to allow an individual to see many possible solutions and to think outside or beyond a predetermined solution that may have been presented. An excellent BA looks at each problem as a missing puzzle piece that needs to interlock and work with the other pieces of the organisation. He or she has the ability to examine the problem from multiple perspectives and consider possible solutions with a realistic view of the organisations cost vs. benefit. Ideas are easy to generate but a BA challenges, dissects, evaluates, and truly tests each idea to determine if it fits within the corporate direction while also addressing the specific business problem at hand. Additionally, an excellent BA assesses the impact of a recommended change on the organisation. Is the Excellent BA Born or Developed? Is a BA born or made? We believe both. Individuals selected for this role must have a critical mind and an acute sense of curiosity. They are people who are not satisfied settling for a good solution

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IndigoCube 011 759 5950 www.indigocube.co.za

Business Analysis Skills Communication Skills

but are determined to find an excellent one. They intuitively understand continuous process improvement. Once you find a person like this, he or she is eager to learn techniques that make him more capable and effective. Analysis skills that can be acquired through education and practice include critical thinking skills, root cause analysis, process analysis (breaking large things into manageable pieces), and data analysis (organising, categorising, and utilising large volumes of data in a useful way to assist in decision making). BAs learn to improve their communication skills by widening the breadth of their questioning and by fine tuning their ability to listen for true causes of problems, not just symptoms. IndigoCube focuses on developing individuals to master business analysis. Our courses and products equip BAs with a full range of complex business analysis skills, techniques, and approaches. The more analysis tools a BA masters, the more valuable he will be to the organisation. In many organisations today, projects and problems do not follow a simple 1-2-3 pattern. Most problems are usually more complex than they initially appear, involving a number of interrelated factors. Solutions are not always obvious or easy to build. An excellent BA knows how to get started on a problem/project that may not be clearly defined or understood. An excellent BA is flexible and able to adapt to each unique situation. They possess an inventory of problem solving skills with which they feel comfortable to deploy as needed. They are able to work with many different types of people on many different types of projects. They must be agile. Agility is obtained by having a complete set of skills; and knowing when and how to wield them quickly and efficiently. Regardless of what type of project the BA is working on, having a solid skill set will ensure the BAs critical value to an organisation.

Facilitation Techniques Use Case Analysis Requirements Planning Prototyping Asking the Right Questions Structured Approaches Documentation Standards Workflow Analysis Traceability Requirements Review Requirements Management Note Taking SDLC Knowledge Cost/Benefit Analysis UAT Planning Effective Meetings Presentation Skills Interviewing Techniques Risk Assessment Dataflow Diagramming

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Training Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Curriculum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Certification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 IIBA BABOK Alignment . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Certified Core Courses Essential Skills for Business Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Detailing Business Data Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Detailing Process and Business Rule Requirements . . . . . . . . .12 Advanced and Specialised Courses Developing a Business Analysis Work Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 Facilitating Requirements for Business Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Requirements Validation . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Practitioner Courses Writing Good Use Cases . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 Analysis using UML 2.0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Mastering Requirements Management with Use Cases . . . . . . . . .23
TM TM

Excellent Requirements
Management/Technical Seminars Overview of Business Analysis . . . . . . . 20 Developers Introduction to Business Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Process Modeling Elicitation Techniques Software Design Knowledge Change Control Project Management Data Modeling Active Listening Organisational Skills Usability Principles

BABOK / CBAP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Requirements Template Roadmap . . . . 24 Business Analyst Assessments . . . . . . . 25 List of IndigoCubes Courses . . . . . . . . 26

Business Rule Analysis Gap Analysis

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TRAINING OPTIONS

Onsite Training
All of our courses may be taught onsite at your facilities, where required, provided that there are six or more delegates. Please contact us to discuss your specific course requirements, group size, and available training dates.

Public Training
IndigoCube offers public classes at our offices on the Ground Floor,

Self-study
For experienced business analysts, study guides are available for our three core courses. Additionally, for business analysts who are wishing to sit for the CBAP certification exam, a CBAP Prep Study Guide is available. These study guides are ideal for business analysts who are unable to attend classes but would like to receive either the B2T Training Certification or CBAP certification.

Victoria Gate South, Hyde Lane, Hyde Park, Sandton. Public classes allow students to meet and learn with business analysts from other companies and industries, offering a broader understanding of the business analysis profession.

Customisation
All onsite classes will be tailored to address your unique organisational environment and the experience level and interest of the students. The level of customisation required is dependent upon a review of your needs and the outline of our course curriculum. This review will reveal areas that may need more or less focus during training. We will prepare a customised training programme, if needed, which includes topics from existing material that address specific areas of concern. Customisation requiring additional or new course development will incur a fee.

Course
Essential Skills for Business Analysis Detailing Business Data Requirements

Level
Core Skills Core Skills 07-10 Dec 30 Nov-02 Dec

2009

Course
Essential Skills for Business Analysis

Level
Core Skills 18-21 Jan 12-15 Apr

2010
8-11 Feb 3-6 May 15-17 Feb 8-11 Mar 7-10 June 15-17 Mar

Detailing Business Data Requirements

Core Skills

25-27 Jan 10-12 May

Detailing Process & Business Rule Req. Developing a Business Analysis Work Plan Facilitating Requirements for Business Analysis Requirements Validation Writing Good Use Cases Analysis using UML 2 Mastering Requirements Management with Use Cases Overview of Business Analysis Developer's Introduction to Business Analysis
IndigoCube reserves the right to reschedule courses.

Core Skills Advanced Advanced Advanced Practitioner Practitioner Practitioner Business Management Dev/Tech

12-15 Jan 19-22 Apr

01-04 Feb 21-24 June 03-05 May ON DEMAND ON DEMAND ON DEMAND ON DEMAND ON DEMAND ON DEMAND ON DEMAND

01-04 Mar

For bookings and information: [email protected]

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IndigoCube 011 759 5950 www.indigocube.co.za

TRAINING CURRICULUM

IndigoCubes Curriculum
Our comprehensive business analysis curriculum is developed and delivered by practicing business analysts. Our mature programme has been proven through the success of our customers resulting in improved requirements. The curriculum is supported by full requirements document templates, a reference manual for post-training guidance, coaching, and resources. The skills, techniques, and approaches that we teach are not tied to or limited to any particular methodology.

Three Core Courses

Our three consecutive core courses cover essential business analysis skills within the industry that most business analysts are expected to perform. These courses teach students how to elicit requirements and detail them in a business requirements document including detailed data, process, and business rule requirements. Our certification programme, outlined in the next section, is built upon our three core courses.

Advanced and Specialised Courses

In addition to the three core courses, IndigoCube offers courses that cover more advanced and specialised business analysis topics. These courses are designed for experienced business analysts or to be taken after completing the three core courses.

Advanced and Specialised Courses: Developing a Business Analysis Work Plan - 3 days Facilitating Requirements for Business Analysis - 3 days Requirements Validation - 2 days Seminars and Practitioner Courses
We also offer management and technical seminars designed to help those who work with business analysts gain a better understanding of the business analysis role.

Management and Technical Seminars: Overview of Business Analysis -1/2 day Developers Introduction to Business Analysis - 1 day
In addition, we offer practitioner courses designed to assist business analysts who have an understanding of business analysis and project management practices in the software development environment.

Three Core Courses: Essential Skills for Business Analysis - 4 days Detailing Business Data Requirements - 3 days Detailing Process and Business Rule Requirements - 4 days

Practitioner Courses: Writing Good Use Cases - 1 day Analysis using UML 2.0 - 3 days Mastering Requirements Management with Use Cases - 3 days

IndigoCube 011 759 5950 www.indigocube.co.za

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CERTIFICATION

Certification
IndigoCube believes that a certified business analyst should exhibit real-world knowledge and experience. Our certification programme tests a business analysts ability to apply knowledge and skills in real-world circumstances and offers two levels of recognition. Our business analyst certification programme recognises individuals who have proven skills, knowledge, and experience in eliciting, organising, analysing, documenting, communicating, and verifying requirements to facilitate the development or purchase of software applications and/or business process improvement efforts. Our certification programme is based on the essential business analysis skills covered in our three core courses.

BA Associate

TM

The BA Associate is a certificate that recognises business analysts who possess foundational knowledge of business analysis topics and skills taught in our three core courses. It is designed for new and experienced business analysts. Obtaining the BA Associate certificate requires candidates to pass all three online proficiency area exams of our three core courses. The cost of each exam is R900 excluding VAT. Candidates wishing to test-out the three core courses may purchase study guides for each of these courses to help prepare for passing the proficiency exams.
TM

BA Certified

Exam*

After obtaining the BA Associate certificate, candidates are qualified to work toward BA Certified. BA Certified is an elite certification that recognises individuals who possess proven skills, knowledge, and experience in eliciting, organising, analysing, documenting, communicating, and verifying requirements. Becoming BA Certified consists of: earning the BA Associate certificate possessing two years of business analysis experience providing two professional references passing a final exam

The case-study-based final exam consists of developing sections of a requirements package and answering questions about the requirements. Cost of this exam is available on request. BA Certified business analysts are able to confidently provide their employers or perspective employers with evidence that they possess not only business analysis knowledge, but the ability to apply that knowledge in day-to-day real-world business analysis environments.

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BABOK ALIGNMENT

IIBA Business Analysis Body of Knowledge and IndigoCube Courses

IndigoCubes programme is a comprehensive programme that aligns with all areas of the BABOK. The BABOK is a collection of business analysis tasks categorised into like groupings called knowledge areas. The BABOK is not a methodology and does not infer any particular order of performing the activities. IndigoCubes programme is taught in a series of courses that reflect the order of work and iterative nature of business analysis. This chart illustrates the alignment between the current version of the BABOK and IndigoCube training courses. BABOK Version 2 .0 Framework Tasks
BA Planning and Monitoring Plan business analysis approach Conduct stakeholder analysis Plan business analysis activities Plan business analysis communications Plan requirements management process Manage business analysis performance Elicitation Prepare for elicitation Conduct elicitation activity Document elicitation results Confirm elicitation results Requirements Management & Communication Manage solution and requirements scope Manage requirements traceability Manage requirements for re-use Manage requirements package Communicate requirements Enterprise Analysis Define business need Assess capability gaps Determine solution approach Define solution scope Develop the business case Requirements Analysis Prioritise requirements Organise requirements Specify and model requirements Determine assumptions and constraints Verify requirements Validate requirements Solution Assessment and Validation Assess proposed solution Allocate requirements Assess organisational readiness Define transition requirements Validate solution Evaluate solution performance Underlying Competencies Analytical thinking and problem solving Behavioural characteristics Business knowledge Communication skills Interaction skills Software applications

CORE COURSES
Essential Skills Data Process Work Plan

ADVANCED COURSES
Requirements Validation Facilitating

Mentoring and Coaching

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CERTIFIED CORE COURSE 4 DAYS

UPDATED

Intended Audience
This course is designed for business analysts, project managers, business systems analysts, system architects or any other project team member involved with analysis. New practitioners will learn the tasks they are expected to perform and why each task is important. Experienced practitioners will learn new techniques and more structured approaches to improve their requirements activities. This course may also be appropriate for individuals who manage analysis activities and business stakeholders who need a more in-depth understanding of the requirements process and deliverables.

Essential Skills for Business Analysis

Overview
To identify the best solutions for real business needs, this course provides an extensive inventory of tools and techniques for use in business analysis work. The business analysis skill set includes critical thinking skills, elicitation techniques and requirements analysis and management. Equally important are communication and relationship building skills, whether they be in person or virtual environments. Expertise with analysis tools and techniques becomes even more necessary in todays fast-paced environment. It is further complicated by the use of dispersed or outsourced teams, complex business processes, time-driven business initiatives, new agile software development approaches, and poorly integrated legacy applications. Regardless of the persons title, the need for strong business analysis skills is necessary for companies to remain competitive in any economy. Through education and practice business or technical professionals will develop and enhance their analytical skills and provide significant value to projects and the business enterprise. This course teaches business analysis essentials to both new and experienced practitioners. It supports and expands on the standards outlined in the IIBA BABOK Guide v2.0. Mentor-led workshops allow students to practice the techniques as they learn them. Depending on the participants skill level, the workshop cases and discussions inspire learning insights for every level of experience. Students are encouraged to bring their own projects to class. Using new techniques on a current project often highlights missing requirements and gives the student specific next steps to follow after class. In this course students will learn to: Analyse and scope the area of analysis, working with project managers and business sponsors to clarify the level and complexity of the business analysis effort needed for the project. Select the appropriate elicitation technique to efficiently identify critical requirements. Analyse and refine business and functional requirements. Ask the right questions through the use of interviewing templates developed specifically for business analysis elicitation. Identify the five core components necessary to analyse a business area. Plan an approach for analysing, categorising, and managing requirements. Determine the level of formality required and consider options for documenting and packaging requirements based on project type, priorities, and risks. Identify techniques and documentation options appropriate for various software development approaches and project types (COTS, maintenance, business process improvement, new development, etc). Define testing objectives and verify requirements are testable. Conduct effective requirements reviews to improve the quality of requirements deliverables. Build strong relationships with project stakeholders. Apply new communication strategies for eliciting and interacting with virtual teams. Anticipate issues, think proactively, and use critical thinking skills to plan stakeholder elicitation sessions.

Prerequisites
None Earn 28 IIBA CDUs

Pricing R9,650 excluding VAT per Student Proficiency Exam: R900 excluding VAT per Student The following discounts apply to the above pricing: 6-10 candidates per scheduled course: 7% discount on total course booking 11+ candidates per scheduled course: 14% discount on total course booking
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Course Outline
Introduction 1 hr.

What is the role of a business analyst? Review the major tasks performed by the business analyst Define the essential skills needed to perform their tasks
Project Participants and Their Roles 1 hr.

Identify project participants and their roles Discuss how the business analyst interacts with these participants
Elicitation Techniques 2.5 hrs.

understand the business problem before deciding on a solution? Learn the 5 core requirement components, what they describe, and why they are important: Entity Attribute Process (use case) External Agent (actor) Business Rule
Requirements Analysis Techniques 5 hrs.

Analysis Communication Skills 2 hrs.

Learn to use and determine the appropriate elicitation technique: One-on-one interviews Requirements workshops Surveys Brainstorming Document analysis Focus group Job shadowing/observation Competitive analysis Interface analysis Reverse engineering Learn to proactively plan interactions with stakeholders to make the most effective use of their time
Scoping the Project from the Business Analysts Perspective 5 hrs.

Understand why the project is being done. Without this understanding it will be difficult for business analysts to elicit and document the right requirements and focus their business analysis work in the appropriate areas. Get an introduction to Enterprise Analysis. Understand the organisational environment. Identify the business stakeholders who will be involved in the project and how they will impact business analysis Learn to ask probing questions about the requirements scope and facilitate a discussion with project stakeholders using visual representations of the requirements boundaries Learn the context level dataflow diagram technique to identify and scope what is and, more importantly, what is not to be analysed. Analyse interfaces with people, other organisations, existing systems, and other software applications Discuss how a business analyst should collect, organise, and maintain requirements for efficient analysis and reuse on future projects Workshop - Scope the class case study project Workshop Reinforce the analysis techniques on a current project. Students will leave class with a draft visual representation of their current business area along with a list of follow up questions.
Defining and Detailing Requirements 4 hrs.

Learn a recommended approach to categorising requirements. Why should requirements be categorised? Who uses each category? Why is it difficult to create distinct categories? Business Requirements Functional Requirements Non-functional Requirements Technical Requirements Learn the concept of traceability of requirements Discuss the most commonly used analysis techniques to organise and refine requirements. Business analysts should have expertise in many analysis techniques to be able to adapt to different types of projects and businesses: Structured textual templates (process descriptions, data descriptions, business rules, use cases) Entity relationship diagram Decomposition diagram User stories, use case diagram and use case descriptions Workflow diagram (UML, BPMN, ANSI, swimlane Prototyping Consider options for packaging requirements and choosing the appropriate documentation techniques for each project Review currently available software tools that can be used to document requirements Workshop Put into practice several of the analysis techniques on the course case study requirements
Conducting a Requirements Review 2 hrs.

Learn the importance of building strong relationships with project stakeholders. How should business analysts communicate with users? How should business analysts communicate with the technical team? Improve your ability to develop in-depth, detailed questions for stakeholders by identifying the appropriate source of information, deciding on an approach, and using clear, consistent language Review selected analysis techniques to frame questions driving stakeholders to reveal core needs and problems. Ask the right questions through use of interviewing templates developed specifically for business analysis Recognise active listening as the most powerful elicitation communication skill, learn to listen for key phrases that reveal specific types of requirements Improve listening skills by recognising common barriers to listening, understanding verbal and nonverbal messages, acknowledging the message, and responding with appropriate feedback Learn to effectively plan communications and facilitate groups to consensus Workshop Practice active listening and receive feedback from the instructor and other students.
Working with Virtual Teams 2 hrs.

Understand what constitutes a virtual team Learn about virtual team structures and terminology Learn about technology requirements for virtual teams: Define Webinars, web conferencing, webcasting Understand the uses for collaboration tools Consider business analysis process changes for virtual team work: Set policies for the team Utilise the Six Thinking Hats technique Effectively utilise the people on the virtual team Understand the critical success characteristics Tips for conducting virtual meetings successfully Choose the appropriate elicitation techniques for virtual teams
Course Summary 1.5 hrs.

Learn how to conduct a requirements review: Who should participate? What are the required steps? How is a session conducted? What are the common challenges? Workshop - Review a sample requirements Package: Identify missing or incomplete requirements Identify potential test cases Document issues and develop an approach for going forward
Validate the Requirements 2 hrs.

Review business analysts tasks and skills Workshop Draft an initial Business Analysis Communications Plan for a CRM project Develop an Action Plan with next steps on the students current project Student questions/discussion topics
Appendix - Overview of Application Development Methodologies - Optional

Understand the role of business analysis in

validating requirements and software testing

Introduction to software testing: Why is testing

What is a requirement? Why is it important to gather and document requirements? What are the criteria used to judge the quality of excellent requirements? Learn how software developers use requirements Understand the difference between analysis and design or business vs. technological requirements. Why is it necessary to

important? What is the business analysts role in testing? What is the primary objective of testing? What are the phases and types of testing? Learn to verify that the business requirements are complete by identifying test cases Practice identifying test cases and refining requirements based on quality assurance principles.

Discuss various methodologies for application development Learn which models are used in each methodology: Waterfall Information Engineering IDEF RAD Iterative/Agile BPMN Object Oriented - UML Spiral/RUP

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CERTIFIED CORE COURSE 3 DAYS Intended Audience

This course is designed for business analysts, systems analysts, data administrators, database administrators, or any other project team member involved with business analysis. This course may also be appropriate for individuals who manage business analysts or those who work with the business requirements document and need a more in-depth understanding of the process and documentation.

Detailing Business Data Requirements

Overview
Understanding and documenting business data requirements is a critical component in defining complete requirements. Every process uses data and almost all business rules are enforced by data. Missing a critical piece of data or incorrectly defining a data element contributes to the majority of maintenance problems and results in systems that do not reflect the business needs. This course teaches students an in-depth approach to identify and define all necessary data components using both textual templates and an entity relationship diagram. Students will be given data templates with a suggested documentation structure for defining business data requirements. In addition students will be shown how to document data using an entity relationship diagram to produce a logical data model in combination with the supporting detailed templates. Even if your organisation has a data administrator or data warehouse team who is responsible for documenting and managing the organisations information needs, every project uses a subset of that enterprise information in its own unique way. Business analysts must understand the importance of data in all of their projects and include data requirements in their business requirements documentation. Failing to document which data elements need to be used in a calculation, or displayed on a report, leaves the developer the responsibility of choosing the correct pieces of business data from hundreds if not thousands of available fields. These missing requirements often lead to expensive and lengthy project delays during the testing phase. In this course students will learn to: Identify core data requirements beginning with project initiation. Identify excellent data requirements at the appropriate level of detail. Detail the data requirements (using a suggested documentation structure and templates in Microsoft Word format or using an entity relationship diagram). Identify and detail attributive, associative, and subtype and supertype entities. Detail complex data-related business rules. Discriminate between business data (logical data) and database design (physical data). Assist with the transition of business data to database design. Utilise easy normalisation techniques (without all the mathematical theory). Validate data requirements with activity (process or use case) requirements.

Prerequisites
We recommend that students first attend our Essential Skills for the Business Analyst class or have experience in project scope definition, gathering requirements from subject matter experts, and understand how business requirements fit into the entire systems development effort. Earn 21 IIBA CDUs

Pricing R7,200 excluding VAT per Student Proficiency Exam: R900 excluding VAT per Student The following discounts apply to the above pricing: 6-10 candidates per scheduled course: 7% discount on total course booking 11+ candidates per scheduled course: 14% discount on total course booking

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Course Outline
Introduction 1 hr. Detailing the Data Requirements 5 hrs. Workshop - e-commerce case study 4 hrs.

What is a business data requirement? Why are these requirements important? Review the requirements package What is the difference between business data and database design? Review the 7 characteristics of excellent requirements Review the 5 core requirements components
Entities and Attributes 5 hrs.

Review the components included in the project

initiation section of the requirements package Learn to use the context level dataflow diagram as a starting point for identifying data requirements Entity types are the basic building blocks of the business data. This section defines entities, gives suggested naming guidelines, teaches the importance of entity definitions, gives criteria to evaluate potential entities, describes entity unique identifiers, and asks students to identify and document entities from the case study Attribute types are characteristics of entity types. This section defines attributes, gives suggested naming guidelines and class words, teaches attribute cardinalities, gives criteria to evaluate attributes, and ask students to identify and document attributes from the case study Understand the difference between logical unique identifiers and primary keys
Entity Relationships and Diagramming Conventions 4 hrs.

Detailing repeating data elements. Repeating attributes must be broken down into their components, properly named, and clearly documented with example data values Students will refine their requirements document based on additional business requirements Detailing complex business rules. Complex business rules (many to many relationships) should be properly named and clearly documented with example data values Students will refine their requirements document based on additional business requirements Detailing sub-category entities. Some business data naturally falls into sub-categories and should be documented as such. These entities must be properly named, and be related to the supertype entity. The sub-category is defined as either exclusive or inclusive and a discriminating attribute is created
Transition from Business Data to a Physical Design 2 hrs.

Identify and document entities Identify and document attributes Identify and document data related business rules
Appendix - Data Normalisation

What is data normalisation and why is it important? What are the rules of normalisation?

Learn how business data requirements are displayed in an entity relationship diagram Relationships are data associations that define the business rules of the project as they relate to data. This section defines relationships and business rules, gives suggested naming guidelines, teaches relationship cardinalities, and has students identify and document relationships from the case study Review common diagram notations for data related business rules

Learn how to link the data and process elements to identify missing or incomplete requirements. Each essential process must use data, and each data element must be used by at least one essential process How does business data become a database design? Review the data requirements for completeness, understand how logical components are translated to physical components, and develop a strategy for maintaining the business requirements Introduction to database design Scope the design area using subject areas What is de-normalisation? Why de-normalise a database design?

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CERTIFIED CORE COURSE 4 DAYS Intended Audience

This course is designed for business analysts, systems analysts, or any other project team members responsible for gathering and documenting business requirements and designing functional requirements. Students are encouraged to bring examples of their requirements documents to the class for review and feedback. This course may also be appropriate for individuals who manage business analysts or those who work with the business requirements document and need a more in-depth understanding of the process and documentation.

Detailing Process and Business Rule Requirements

Overview
Business process requirements provide the foundational element of any project. This course continues the development of the requirements package by defining the essential processes and business rules. The most effective approach to ensure success is to understand the business environment and use this understanding to elicit and document business and functional requirements. Students are taught proven techniques to identify and define the essential business processes within the scope of the project and then detail them into functional requirements. These techniques include AS IS and TO BE modeling, workflow modeling, process decomposition diagrams, use cases, and prototypes. Students will learn how and when to effectively use these techniques at the appropriate level of detail for varying audiences. Business analysts are uniquely qualified to elicit and document process and business rule requirements because of their understanding of the business needs and the users work environment. Business analysts are expected to analyse and understand business problems and present solution recommendations to the business stakeholders. Business process modeling adds value to projects by ensuring the technology solution will meet the business needs. In this course students will learn to: Understand and document the business environment using industry best practices. Use provided templates to elicit and document processes and business rules. Look beyond the current technology or procedures to discover the true nature of the business activity. Ask the right questions to identify the core business processes and the business rules that control or guide them. Document functional requirements that specify how users will interact with the software and how the software will respond. Deliver consistent, detailed use case descriptions. Use several diagrams including the decomposition diagram, use case diagram, and workflow diagrams. Look at the business area objectively after business requirements are documented and organised to present alternative design solutions that meet the customer needs. Validate business processes against data requirements. Consider usability when developing prototypes.

Prerequisites
We recommend that students first attend our Essential Skills for the Business Analyst class or have experience in project scope definition, gathering requirements from subject matter experts, and understand how business requirements fit into the entire systems development effort. We also recommend that students attend Detailing Business Data Requirements before attending this class. Earn 28 IIBA CDUs

Pricing R9,600 excluding VAT per Student Proficiency Exam: R900 excluding VAT per Student The following discounts apply to the above pricing: 6-10 candidates per scheduled course: 7% discount on total course booking 11+ candidates per scheduled course: 14% discount on total course booking

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IndigoCube 011 759 5950 www.indigocube.co.za

Course Outline
Introduction 1 hr. Finalising the Business Requirements 2 hrs. Documenting System Functionality 3 hrs.

What are business requirements? Why are they important? Review the requirements package What are the differences between business and functional requirements? Review the 7 characteristics of excellent requirements Review the 5 core requirements components
Identifying and Defining Essential Business Processes 3 hrs.

Learn to link the data and process elements to identify missing or incomplete requirements Each essential process must use data, and each data element must be used by at least one essential process Learn how test cases can help solidify requirements Review a requirements completeness checklist Obtain approval signoffs from appropriate stakeholders
Translating Business Requirements to Functional Requirements 3.5 hrs.

Learn to identify essential business processes An essential business process is a core requirement of the business area necessary to provide the right solution deliverable. Each business process must be clearly defined, consistently named, and completely decomposed Students are given a template to document this detailed information and learn to identify essential processes from a case study Learn to extract essential processes from realworld, detailed user description interview notes Learn to use the process template as both an interviewing and documentation tool Learn to look for redundant or reusable processes
Processes Analysis 3 hrs.

Learn to organise essential business processes

in a process outline and decomposition diagram Learn 3 major business process identification approaches and the situations in which each would work most effectively Students will use each approach to identify detailed processes from a case study Top down Bottom up Event partitioning
Documenting Business Rules 2.5 hrs.

Define the design area scope. Once the analysis is complete and the business requirements have been documented, the project team must decide which business processes will be automated Learn a six-step approach to defining the design area scope: Document the functional design of each process Document business priority Document technical priority and estimated cost Break project into phases Document design area using a use case diagram: - Define actors involved with the application - Identify actor interactions - Learn multiple techniques to derive use cases from essential business processes Obtain signoff
Utilising Workflow Analysis 3 hrs.

Learn to identify use cases Outline each use case for a high-level understanding of broad behaviour Identify primary path, alternate path, and exception paths Decompose large use cases into smaller subsets, identifying reusable use cases where possible Learn how and where to document system user messages Learn 8 steps for excellent use case generation Learn to create detailed use case descriptions Students are given a template to document the detailed use case descriptions
Designing User Interfaces 2 hrs.

Learn to use completed documentation to identify where prototypes are necessary Learn to document report requirements, including ad-hoc and predefined Create and document prototypes Learn to use provided templates to document field edits and screen functionality Review usability considerations
Documenting Additional Functional Requirements 1 hr.

Learn the major types of business rules and why each one should be documented Review data-related business rules as they are documented in an entity relationship diagram Learn to detail business rules that involve both data and process components Learn several techniques for documenting business rules Learn to extract business rules from different sources

Learn to create detailed workflow diagrams using a number of techniques: ANSI standard flowchart Swimlane diagram Geographic diagram UML activity diagram Understand the benefits of each diagram to target each technique to a specific audience and need Documenting AS IS vs. TO BE scenarios

Identify requirements not previously addressed by business, functional, or technical requirement categories: Performance requirements Security requirements Quality requirements Scalability Discuss the business analyst role in the documentation of these requirements
Workshop - Maintenance Case Study 3 hrs.

Identify essential processes and build a decomposition diagram Determine the design area scope Write a use case description Document functional requirements for an online screen, report, and manual procedure
Course Summary 1 hr.

Review techniques appropriate for each project using real-world scenarios Pull it all together; review the complete steps to business analysis

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ADVANCED AND SPECIALISED COURSE 3 DAYS Intended Audience

This course is intended for anyone who is interested in learning a practical approach to planning the necessary business analysis tasks for their project.

NEW

Developing a Business Analysis Work Plan

Overview
This course leads students through the development of a structured business analysis plan. With a business analysis plan the business analyst is less likely to miss major requirements or stakeholder areas, or to go down the wrong path and build the wrong solution for the business problem. There are many things that a business analyst should consider at the beginning of a project to ensure the projects success. An excellent business analyst develops a work plan at the beginning of each assignment to make sure that the work will be done properly and completely. The business analysis work plan may be a single sheet of brief notes on a small project or a more formal document on larger projects. Regardless of the output produced, an excellent business analyst thinks through the plan before starting work. Planning is constantly reconsidered and revised as the business analyst learns more and more about the project. The business analyst may sometimes be assigned to a project after a project manager has already scoped and planned the project. Sometimes they are assigned before the project has been clearly defined and approved. The business analyst must first assess his or her assignment to determine what has already been done and plan the business analysis work from that point. The course will help business analysts plan for and estimate the business analysis effort for various types of projects and situations including: Projects using an agile development approach. Stakeholders who are geographically dispersed. Projects that have not been clearly defined. Projects with high business impact and risks.

Prerequisites
Business analysts registering for this course must have attended Essential Skills for the Business Analyst, or have at least 2 years experience in requirements elicitation, analysis and documentation using structured techniques. Contact IndigoCube if you would like to discuss an exception being made to these prerequisites. Earn 21 IIBA CDUs

Pricing R8,400 excluding VAT per Student The following discounts apply to the above pricing: 6-10 candidates per scheduled course: 7% discount on total course booking 11+ candidates per scheduled course: 14% discount on total course booking

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IndigoCube 011 759 5950 www.indigocube.co.za

Course Outline
Introduction 1 hr. People Stakeholder Analysis and the Stake Holder Analysis and the Communication Plan 4 hrs. Course Summary 0.5 hr.

Business analysis planning Overview of business analysis planning activities Discuss the relationship of the project manager and the business analyst in planning Use of the BA Planning Framework approach to planning Project - Understanding the project characteristics People - Identifying stakeholders and planning for communications Process - Planning the analysis activities The business analysis work plan
Planning for Different Types of Projects 4 hrs.

Planning a large development project Planning for enhancement or maintenance projects Planning for a COTS (commercial of the shelf software) project Planning for an outsourced or off-shore development project Planning for a project using a RUP Style/ Iterative style development methodology Planning for an Agile style development process Planning for a reporting or data warehouse project Planning for a process improvement effort Planning for an infrastructure upgrade (getting a new email system or operating system like VISTA) Group workshop: Discuss planning considerations for case study projects
Project Understanding the Project Characteristics 4 hrs.

Why plan for stakeholder interactions? Assess the project sponsor Identify both primary and secondary stakeholders: Searching for all stakeholders, not just the obvious ones Understanding each stakeholders area of concern Documenting stakeholders needs Consider the characteristics of each stakeholder group Determine effective communication practices for each stakeholder group: Is this group providing requirements, using requirements, or supporting the project work? Which elicitation technique(s) will be most effective? What requirement presentation format will be most comfortable for this group? The Stakeholder Analysis Worksheet: When and where will communications with each stakeholder be most effective? What are the best communication techniques for each stakeholder? Group Workshop - identify and analyse the stakeholder groups for an example project and develop the communication plan
Process - Planning the Analysis Activities 3.5 hrs.

Final thoughts Planning Worksheet Map Optional exercises

Appendix Ongoing Requirements Management - Optional

What is Requirements Management? Using a requirements repository Develop a requirements management plan Reusing existing requirements Reusing existing data Identifying requirements attributes Plan for requirements traceability: Learn about traceability matrices and requirements links Understand the purpose of forward and backward traceability Determine which requirements should be traced Determine the appropriate approach for managing traceability Exercise: Perform impact analysis using traceability
Appendix Project Cost/Benefit Analysis - Optional

Learn the purpose of cost/benefit analysis Learn to use SWOT analysis Learn to use the requirements package to estimate project costs and benefits
Appendix Enterprise Analysis - Optional

Lets get started A checklist to assess the current state of the project and to help get started The Project Overview Worksheet Is the project clearly defined? Business objectives Problems/opportunities Requirements scope High level business processes The Business Impact Worksheet What is the relative importance of the project to the organisation? Size (number of stakeholders, number of business processes involved, number of business rules) Importance (estimated cost, potential benefits, criticality of business area, level of key stakeholders) Risk (project, business, technology) High-level business processes Enterprise analysis - Understanding how this project fits into the organisation's overall strategy Group Workshop - Assess the project and score the business impact of a sample project

Plan the analysis activities Step one Assess which requirements components are needed Step two Determine which deliverables are needed using the Deliverable List Worksheet Step three Develop an approach for creating each deliverable using the Deliverable Worksheet Consult with organisational standards/ methodologies for required deliverables
Creating the Business Analysis Work Plan 4 hrs.

Learn to use root cause analysis Learn to use SWOT analysis Learn to create a high-level Six Sigma SIPOC process map
Appendix Advanced Project Initiation Requirements - Optional

Step one Create the business analysis task list Step two Estimate analysis time using historical data to estimate tracking actual time to estimate Step three Finalise the business analysis work plan Group workshop Develop a task list of analysis and requirements activities for a sample project Intelligent negotiation skills Getting sign off on the plan Base-lining the plan and initiating change control

Advanced project initiation requirements: Learn techniques to identify strong project objectives Learn a technique to help subject matter experts scope a project with unclear boundaries Group Workshop - scope an unclear project Gap Analysis

IndigoCube 011 759 5950 www.indigocube.co.za

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ADVANCED AND SPECIALISED COURSE 3 DAYS Intended Audience

This course is designed for experienced, knowledgeable business analysts involved with requirements gathering. Students are expected to understand the purpose of business and functional requirements.

Facilitating Requirements for Business Analysis

Overview
The art of bringing people together, face-to-face or remotely, to gather requirements and gain consensus on solutions is a critical success factor for all business analysts. This course teaches facilitation techniques that can be used for structured sessions and facilitation-on-the-fly. This course goes beyond traditional facilitation training by focusing on facilitation techniques specific to gathering business and functional requirements. This class is limited to 8 students, allowing each student the opportunity to practice facilitating multiple requirements gathering sessions in a safe environment with personalised feedback. Students will spend 60% of class time participating in interactive, real-world business case studies and performing each key role in at least one session. The workshops in this course require students to plan the requirements gathering session, develop the correct questions to ask the group, and facilitate the group to a consensus on the requirements using one of the learned techniques. Students will conduct a requirements gathering session for at least one requirement deliverable (i.e. context level dataflow diagram, workflow diagram). In this course students will learn to: Facilitate using proven techniques for business requirements gathering. Identify when and how to use each technique. Develop confidence and a skill set to conduct facilitated sessions. Actively practice learned skills and techniques. Use a requirements planning session template. Prepare the participants for the requirements gathering session. Perform each facilitation role through role playing each session. Conduct the session to stay focused on the core requirement that was planned as a deliverable. Select which facilitation technique to use for each core requirement being gathered. Complete checklists for managing and conducting the session. Facilitate a requirements gathering session.

Prerequisites
We recommend that students first attend our Essential Skills for the Business Analyst class or have experience in project scope definition, gathering requirements from subject matter experts, and understanding how business requirements fit into the entire systems development effort. Earn 21 IIBA CDUs

Pricing R8,400 excluding VAT per Student The following discounts apply to the above pricing: 6-10 candidates per scheduled course: 7% discount on total course booking 11+ candidates per scheduled course: 14% discount on total course booking
Page 16 IndigoCube 011 759 5950 www.indigocube.co.za

Course Outline
Introduction 1 hr. Planning and Preparing for a Facilitated Session 4 hrs. Conducting the Session 1 hr.

Learn guidelines for requirements facilitators. Set session rules and manage the session. Learn reactive techniques to use during the session: Encourage participation Manage group focus Manage group conflict Consider remote facilitation techniques
Student Workshop 1.5 hrs.

Conduct a mini facilitated session. Practice techniques used for facilitated sessions.
Session Feasibility 1 hr.

Determine when facilitated sessions are appropriate: Determine need/requirements deliverable desired. Determine commitment level. Determine risks. Practice determining session need using realworld scenarios. Review the core requirements components and discuss how they are best gathered. Learn when not to use facilitated sessions.

Plan the session: Determine the number session(s) needed and the length of the session(s) Document the purpose of the session Identify potential participants Define session requirements deliverables Document the plan using session planning templates Prepare for a session: Outline the goals and requirements deliverables Select session participants and determine if pre-session interviews are appropriate Learn facilitation techniques: - Brainstorming - Consensus building - Flowcharting - Force field analysis - Hip pocket techniques - Nominal group - Root cause analysis - Storyboarding - Facilitating across distance Develop focused questions to gather requirements: - Direct - Open-ended - Clarifying - Leading - Re-focusing Create a detailed agenda for the facilitation team Learn group-oriented facilitation techniques Create a formal agenda for the session participant Orient the facilitation team Prepare the facilities
Student Workshop 3.5 hrs.

Learn the stages of group development/productivity Facilitate decision making work toward consensus Conducting the session: Introducing the session Managing the session Creating a follow-up action plan Review/approve requirements deliverables
Student Workshop 8 hrs.

Plan and conduct a requirements gathering facilitated session Use one or more of the learned facilitation techniques Produce the requirements deliverable using one of the facilitation techniques Personal feedback will be provided to drive skill development
Session Follow-Up 1 hr.

Produce the final requirements document Share session feedback Determine the next steps to finalise the requirements

Each student will practice elicitation techniques in a facilitated session Personal feedback will be provided to drive skill development

IndigoCube 011 759 5950 www.indigocube.co.za

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ADVANCED AND SPECIALISED COURSE 2 DAYS Intended Audience

This course is designed for business analysts or anyone interested in improving and validating the quality of their requirements.

Requirements Validation
Overview
This course takes you through the steps to ensure that business requirements are validated and that the solution is usable and meets the business needs. Validating requirements improves the likelihood of project success, making sure that we are building the right solution. The cost to correct a software defect may be as high as 2900 times the cost to correct a requirement. Finding missing requirements and requirements inconsistencies decreases the overall project length and cost. Business analysts must use risk assessments to prioritise requirements and requirements validation activities. The highest risk areas of the business must be addressed first. This course teaches business analysts to design efficient requirements validation tests to make the best use of limited resources and time. Solution Assessment and Validation is one of the key knowledge areas in the BABOK. This course addresses many of the important tasks in the knowledge area and equips business analysts to design efficient and effective tests to demonstrate that the application solutions meet their users needs. This course answers many of the key questions about requirements validation including: How do we validate requirements? Which types of validation and verification processes are appropriate for my project? How does the team ensure that the solution meets the business stakeholder needs? What is software usability? Why is it important? How does the team correct problems when they are discovered? How do I work with technical members of the solution team? What do they need from a business analyst to be successful?

Prerequisites
We recommend that students first attend our 3 core courses (or at a minimum Detailing Process and Business Rule Requirements) before enrolling for this course. Earn 14 IIBA CDUs

Pricing R5,600 excluding VAT per Student The following discounts apply to the above pricing: 6-10 candidates per scheduled course: 7% discount on total course booking 11+ candidates per scheduled course: 14% discount on total course booking
Page 18 IndigoCube 011 759 5950 www.indigocube.co.za

Course Outline
Introduction to Requirements Validation 1 hr. Documenting Requirements Validation Deliverables 3 hrs.

What are requirements? Why do we validate requirements? How do we validate requirements? When should requirements be validated? Who validates requirements?
Validating and Testing Requirements 3 hrs.

What does it mean to validate requirements? Conducting effective requirements reviews: Review guidelines Sample review invitation and results form. Review question checklists How do reviews improve future projects? Workshop: validate requirements using a formal review Introduction to usability testing Effective user acceptance testing (UAT) Post implementation user assessment How to correct problems that are discovered during requirements validation? Use a consistent defect reporting procedure Track defect types to improve requirements on future projects Assess defect type, severity, and status
Usability Testing 2 hrs.

Designing a requirements validation plan: IEEE testing templates What is a test design, test case, and test procedure? Identifying tests from requirements documentation Using use case descriptions to develop testing procedures Tracking test cases Workshop: validating requirements using test cases Tracing test cases to requirements - cross checking the solution Designing a requirements validation plan Planning considerations: Who will validate requirements? How will this be accomplished? Where are the highest risks? Where will tests be conducted? Who will conduct testing? Who will review test results? What test data will be used?
Solution Assessment and Validation BABOK Knowledge Area 2 hrs.

Learn the principles of usability Learn how usability testing differs from traditional testing Discuss methods of usability testing Learn to use requirements to design usability tests Workshop: conduct a usability test
Working with IT Stakeholders 3 hrs.

Understanding the tasks in the IIBA BABOK -

Solution Assessment and Validation Develop alternate solutions Ensure the usability of the solution Support the QA process Support the implementation/deployment of the solution Communicate the solution impacts

Communicating with IT development stakeholders. Verifying requirements or specification: Unit testing Integration testing Systems testing Testing business requirements Testing functional requirements Testing technical requirements Regression testing - re-testing after a change Testing environments Common IT testing methods: White box and black box testing Positive and negative testing Choosing data values for testing Working with QA stakeholders: Software quality assurance (SQA) planning and structure Utilising SQA personnel throughout the SDLC

IndigoCube 011 759 5950 www.indigocube.co.za

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MANAGEMENT/TECHNICAL SEMINARS 1/2 DAY Intended Audience

This seminar is a management overview of business analysis for managers, supervisors, and project managers who work with business analysts.

Overview of Business Analysis

This seminar presents the business analyst role to managers and others who lead and work with business analysts. For the business analyst to be successful, both the IT and business community must embrace the business analysis process. This seminar can be used as a working session to discuss how an organisation will implement the business analysis process and approaches for documenting the requirements. Both large and small organisations are realising the benefits of using business analysts on all of their application development projects. Improving the communication between the business areas and the IT team significantly increases the quality of the systems developed. A business analysts main responsibility is to elicit, analyse, and document requirements in a format that is useful to their business stakeholders and the technical developers. Analysis is a very important and time-consuming phase of every project. Business analysts need strong leadership as they gather and document requirements that are often unclear, inconsistent, and expensive. Business analysts work most effectively when they have clear direction and frequent reviews of progress.

Prerequisites
None.

Pricing R2,000 excluding VAT per Student The following discounts apply to the above pricing: 6-10 candidates per scheduled course: 7% discount on total course booking 11+ candidates per scheduled course: 14% discount on total course booking

1 DAY Intended Audience

This course is designed for software developers, software architects, or any other project team member who will be using requirements documents for their development work. It is useful for both new developers and experienced developers. Developers will learn how business analysts gather, analyse, and document requirements.

Developers Introduction to Business Analysis

This class provides an overview of the business analyst role and a detailed review of the requirements document provided to the development team. To ensure an integrated team, IT developers need to understand the role of the business analyst. They should also be familiar with the requirements that business analysts are gathering and documenting. This includes understanding categories of requirements, the core requirement components, and the documentation formats used for each type of requirement. IT team members must also understand the testing life cycle and the personnel involved. This course gives students an overview of the role of the business analyst, requirements documentation, and software testing.

Prerequisites
None.

Pricing R2,800 excluding VAT per Student The following discounts apply to the above pricing: 6-10 candidates per scheduled course: 7% discount on total course booking 11+ candidates per scheduled course: 14% discount on total course booking

Page 20

IndigoCube 011 759 5950 www.indigocube.co.za

PRACTITIONER COURSE 1 DAY Intended Audience

This is a basic course for team members who are involved in writing use cases.

WRITING GOOD USE CASES

Course Description
This course is designed to systematically build student skills in writing good use cases. After taking the course, students will be able to define use-case modeling concepts, and apply different writing techniques to write a detailed use case using the recommended Rational Unified Process (RUP) style. Note: This course does not teach requirements management using the RUP. To learn how to manage requirements using the RUP and to write use cases, enrol in Mastering Requirements Management with Use Cases.

Prerequisites
None

Skills Taught
Define key use case related terms Describe the use case writing process Write a detailed use-case specification

Topics Covered
Introduction to use-case modeling Use cases and the requirements management process The use-case writing process Finding actors and use cases Creating use-case diagrams Outlining a use case Detailing a use case Use case writing tips

Pricing R2,400 excluding VAT per Student The following discounts apply to the above pricing: 6-10 candidates per scheduled course: 7% discount on total course booking 11+ candidates per scheduled course: 14% discount on total course booking

IndigoCube 011 759 5950 www.indigocube.co.za

Page 21

PRACTITIONER COURSE 3 DAYS Intended Audience

Practitioners who desire an understanding of business/ systems analysis and concepts using UML modelling, as well as hands-on practical experience applying the techniques within a usecase-driven and iterative development process, and who are involved in writing use cases.

ANALYSIS USING UML 2.0

Course Description
Business/Systems Analysis using Unified Modeling Language (OOA/UML 2.0) presents the concepts and techniques necessary to effectively use diagrams and system requirements captured in use cases to drive the development of a robust analysis model. In this intensive, hands-on workshop, learn to apply UML throughout the project life-cycle to capture and communicate analysis decisions. Thus, you learn UML 2.0 notation in the context of an iterative, use case-driven, process. In addition, the course is designed to systematically build student skills in writing good use cases. After taking the course, students will be able to define use-case modeling concepts, and apply different writing techniques to write a detailed use case using the recommended Rational Unified Process (RUP) style.

Prerequisites
Students should be familiar with: Analysis Tasks

Skills Taught
Upon completion of the course, participants should be able to: Apply an iterative, use case-driven, process to the development of a robust analysis model Use UML 2.0 to represent the analysis model Define key use case related terms Describe the use case writing process

Note:
This course is a combination of the following Courses:

Write a detailed use-case specification

Essentials of Visual
Modeling with UML 2.0

Topics Covered
Modeling the as-is and to-be business process as a pre-cursor to systems analysis Overview of requirements activities and artifacts Use case analysis Basic Principles of object-oriented analyis Domain modeling and other UML diagrams Introduction to use-case modeling Use cases and the requirements management process The use case writing process Finding actors and use cases Creating use case diagrams Outlining a use case Detailing a use case Use case writing tips

Mastering Object-Oriented
Analysis (excluding Design) with UML 2.0

Business Modeling with UML Writing Good Use Cases

Course Overviews for each of the above are available on request.

Pricing R7,200 excluding VAT per Student The following discounts apply to the above pricing: 6-10 candidates per scheduled course: 7% discount on total course booking 11+ candidates per scheduled course: 14% discount on total course booking
Page 22 IndigoCube 011 759 5950 www.indigocube.co.za

PRACTITIONER COURSE 3 DAYS Intended Audience

The course serves two audiences. The primary audience is people who will be actively engaged in the elicitation and definition of software requirements. This includes systems analysts, requirements analysts, and business analysts. The secondary audience would be interested in taking this class because they are consumers of the software requirements and need to understand how to read, verify, interpret and plan with the software requirements of the system. This group includes project managers, software analysts and designers, QA designers and testers, and customers and users.

MASTERING REQUIREMENTS MANAGEMENT WITH USE CASES

Course Description
Mastering Requirements Management with Use Cases provides training in requirements management and use-case modeling techniques. The course focuses on eliciting and managing the changing requirements of a project; analysing the problem, defining the product vision and feature requirements, defining software requirements with use cases, and requirement attributes, and maintaining traceability, change management, and impact analysis for project scope management. The course shows how use-case modeling and requirements management techniques are used to define and document requirements that meet stakeholder needs. In-class exercises will give students practical experience in developing use cases.

Skills Taught
Upon completion of the course, participants should be able to: Apply requirements management techniques to define a clear statement of product requirements. Capture and document requirements with use-case modeling techniques. Develop requirements in an iterative process. Describe a documentation hierarchy and standards for defining levels of requirements for a product. Use requirement attributes and traceability to help manage scope and change throughout product lifecycle. Use requirements to drive ongoing design, test, and user documentation activities

Prerequisites
Students should have an understanding of: Project management practices The software development lifecycle

Topics Covered
Best Practices of Software Engineering Introduction to Mastering Requirements Management with Use Cases Introduction to Use-Case Modeling Analyse the Problem o Find the root causes of the problem o Identify the best solution to solve the business problem Understand Stakeholder Needs o Define the System Define product features Find Actors and Use Cases Manage System Scope o Use requirements attributes to plan and manage scope o Refine the System Definition Detail the Use Cases Define Supplementary Specifications o Manage Changing Requirements o Structure the Use-Case Model include, extend, use-case, and actor generalisation Requirements across the Product Lifecycle

Pricing R7,200 excluding VAT per Student Assessment: R500 excluding VAT per Student The following discounts apply to the above pricing: 6-10 candidates per scheduled course: 7% discount on total course booking 11+ candidates per scheduled course: 14% discount on total course booking
IndigoCube 011759 5950 www.indigocube.co.za Page 23

BABOK/CBAP

BABOK
The Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK) is the collection of knowledge within the profession of Business Analysis and reflects current generally accepted practices. As with other professions, the body of knowledge is defined and enhanced by the Business Analysis professionals who apply it in their daily work role. The BABOK Guide describes Business Analysis areas of knowledge, their associated activities and the tasks and skills necessary to be effective in their execution. This Guide is a reference for professional knowledge for Business Analysis and provides the basis for the Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP ) Certification.

Prerequisites for CBAP

Individuals must meet the IIBAs application requirements to sit for the CBAP exam including work experience, areas of expertise, education and professional development, and references. See the requirements listed on the IIBA website at

CBAP Certification
The International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA) is dedicated to the development and maintenance of standards for the practice of Business Analysis, and for the certification and recognition of practitioners. It is the first organisation to offer formal certification for Business Analysis Professionals. The IIBA has created the Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP ), a designation awarded to candidates who have successfully demonstrated their expertise in this field. This is done by detailing hands-on work experience in business analysis through the CBAP application process, and passing the IIBA CBAP examination. Certified Business Analysis Professionals are experts in identifying the business needs of an organisation in order to determine the best solutions, a role that is increasingly seen as a vital component of any successful project. More and more companies are recognising the CBAP designation and the value and expertise that these professionals bring to their organisations. If you are working in the role of business analysis, systems analysis, requirements analysis or management, project management, consulting or process improvement, and have an advanced level of knowledge and experience, you may want to consider the many professional benefits of earning the CBAP designation.

www.theiiba.org
for details.

Requirements Template Roadmap

Each project that a business analyst works on is unique and may require different combinations of requirements components. Templates provide a checklist for planning requirements work. The Requirements Template Roadmap helps the business analyst choose appropriate templates to use for each project. To assist business analysts in documenting requirements, we offer a Requirements Package Template that is available on the Downloads section of our website. The templates in this package provide business analysts with a structured format for eliciting and documenting requirements. Standard, re-usable templates allow for faster and easier requirements review and approval. The Requirements Template Roadmap may be used as a companion to B2T Trainings Requirements Package Template. This Roadmap serves as a reference tool for business analysts when completing the requirements package based upon the templates. Using this Roadmap as a guideline or map for the requirements templates will help business analysts determine what to include in a requirements package, who should prepare A must have which sections of the package, and when and why the reference tool requirements components R250 ex VAT* should be prepared. Additionally, the Roadmap provides examples of complete requirements templates. The Requirements Template Roadmap is available for purchase from IndigoCube. Contact: [email protected]

*Students who attend the Essential Skills for Business Analysis course will receive a free copy.

.
Page 24 IndigoCube 011 759 5950 www.indigocube.co.za

Assessing the skills of the Business Analysts in your organisation

Developing the skills of an individual Business Analyst is no simple task. An ideal Business Analyst has to have the right aptitude (inborn ability) and the acceptable skill levels for the relevant methodology and techniques used by an organisation. Most Business Analysts will have different skills and abilities while the relevant skills they require might differ from one organisation to the next. Any attempt to improve skills levels to a common level will require some insight into the existing abilities, skills levels and imbalances.

In response, IndigoCube has developed one of the most comprehensive individual assessments to address these challenges.
Our assessment consists of several modules that allow tailoring to the specific skills requirements of the organisation before it is executed. We use the output from the individual assessment to tailor training and skills development initiatives for the organisation, as well as for the individual.

What are we testing?

This assessment focuses on two critical components required of a Business Analyst: aptitude and skill. The aptitude test determines how closely a person matches the ideal profile of a Business Analyst. A person may undergo ongoing training but, if they dont have the required aptitude, performance may be insufficient. The skills assessment is a practical test that questions the Business Analyst within all the Knowledge Areas of the BABOK (Business Analysis Body of Knowledge) and on specific methodologies and techniques. Enterprise Analysis Requirements Planning and Management Requirements Elicitation Requirements Communication Requirements Analysis and Documentation Solution Assessment and Validation Business Analysis Fundamentals

How do we test?
Aptitude test
We make use of the Neethling Brain Instrument (NBITM). By using the NBITM we are able to map a persons profile and then compare that to the ideal. This not only allows us to determine the suitability of the individual to do Business Analysis but also to identify areas where training and skills development need to receive more attention.

Skills assessment
The skills assessment is done using a structured questionnaire that contains three sections: Section 1: A multiple-choice section that tests the individuals understanding of the Business Analysts role. Section 2: A case study that tests the individuals analytical skills. Section 3: Scenario-based questions that test the individuals ability to use specific Business Analysis techniques which are relevant to the organisation.

What is the output?

After completion of the assessment, compiled that will indicate the following: a report is

1. The suitability of the individual in the role as a Business Analyst. 2. Confirmation of the individuals skills levels. 3. Training recommendations specific to the individual.

IndigoCube 011 759 5950 www.indigocube.co.za

Page 25

ID
RP401 RP601 RP215 RD601 RD565 RD270 RA902 RD406 JA355 RD810 RD815 RD795 RD793 WD505 WD501 RS800 RD195 B2T101 B2T102 B2T103 B2T201 B2T202 B2T203 B2T301 B2T302 IC601
RR621BPMN

Name
Project, Process and Portfolio Management Essentials of Rational Unified Process V7.0 Mastering the Management of Iterative Development Basic Method Authoring with IBM Rational Method Composer V7.5 Software Architecture Management Mastering Object-Oriented Analysis and Design with UML 2.0 Essentials of Modeling with Rational Software Architect V7.5 UML Model Reporting with Rational Software Architect and BIRT Architecting Services with IBM Rational Software Architect V7 Essentials of IBM Rational Asset Management V7.1.1 Construction and Assembly Management Introduction to Java SE 5 Using Eclipse 3.2 Mastering Servlet and JSP Development with Rational Application Developer V7.5 Mastering Web Application Development with Rational Application Developer V7.5 Mastering JSF Development with IBM Rational Application Developer V7 Mastering EJB Development with Rational Application Developer V7 Web Services Devt for WebSphere Application Server V6.1 with IBM RAD V7 Using Struts for Web Application Development with WebSphere Studio Essentials of IBM Rational Team Concert V2.0 Essentials of IBM Rational Software Analyser V7.0 Business Analysis / Requirements Definition and Management Essential Skills for Business Analysis Detailing Business Data Requirements Detailing Process and Business Rule Requirements Facilitating Requirements for Analysis Requirements Validation Developing a Business Analysis Work Plan Overview of Business Analysis Developers Introduction to Business Analysis Analysis using UML 2.0 Business Modeling with the UML and BPMN IBM WebSphere Business Modeler V6.2: Process Mapping and Analysis Mastering Requirements Management with Use Cases Writing Good Use Cases Essentials of IBM Rational Requirements Composer V1.0 Essentials of IBM Rational RequisitePro V7.0 Essentials of IBM Rational Software Modeler v7.0 Change, Build and Release Management Essentials of IBM Rational ClearQuest V7.1 Essentials of IBM Rational ClearCase UCM for Windows V7.1 Essentials of IBM Rational ClearCase UCM using CC Remote Client V7.1 Essentials of Configuration Management with IBM Rational ClearCase UCM V7.1 Mastering IBM Rational ClearCase Administration for Windows V7.0 Mastering Rational ClearQuest Administration V7.1 Essentials of IBM Rational Build Forge V7.1 Efficient Document Production with IBM Rational Publishing Engine V1.1 Quality Management Principles of Software Testing for Testers Essentials of Test Management with IBM Rational Quality Manager V1.0.1 Essentials of Manual Testing with IBM Rational Quality Manager V1.1 Essentials of IBM Rational Functional Tester, Java Scripting V8.0 Essentials of IBM Rational Functional Tester, .NET 2005 Scripting V8.0 Essentials of IBM Rational Performance Tester V7.0 Essentials of Functional Testing with IBM Rational Tester for SOA Quality V7.0.1 Web-site Security and Compliance Management Essentials of IBM Rational AppScan Enterprise Edition V5.4 Essentials of IBM Rational AppScan Standard Edition V7.7 Essentials of IBM Rational Policy Tester V5.4

Days
2 2 2 4 2 2 2 1 5 5 5 3 5 5 3 1 1 4 3 4 3 2 3 1 3 1 3 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 3 2 1 2 1 1 2 2 2 1 2 2 2

Prices ex VAT
R 4,800.00 R 5,600.00 R 6,000.00 R 7,900.00 R 5,600.00 R 6,000.00 R 6,000.00 R 3,000.00 R 5,500.00 R 14,500.00 R 14,500.00 R 9,800.00 R 14,500.00 R 14,500.00 R9,800.00 R 3,000.00 R 3,000.00 R 9,650.00 R 7,200.00 R 9,600.00 R 8,400.00 R 5,600.00 R 8,400.00 R 2,000.00 R 2,800.00 R 7,200.00 R 2,800.00 R 9,000.00 R 7,200.00 R 2,400.00 R 3,000.00 R 2,400.00 R 3,000.00 R 3,000.00 R 3,000.00 R 3,000.00 R 6,000.00 R 6,000.00 R 9,000.00 R 7,000.00 R 3,000.00 R 5,600.00 R 3,000.00 R 3,000.00 R 6,000.00 R 6,000.00 R 6,000.00 R 3,000.00 R 6,000.00 R 6,000.00 R 6,000.00

WB284 RR611 RR631 RR350 RR331 RD561 RS204 RS524 RS319 RS404 RS602 RS633 RS544 QG126 RT101 RT270 RT280 RT545 RT546 RT522 RT550 RT355 RT350 RT360 Nov 2009

IndigoCube (Pty) Ltd Victoria Gate South Hyde Lane Hyde Park, Sandton email: [email protected] / Tel: 011 759 5950 / Fax: 011 759 5907

P O Box 408 GALLO MANOR 2052