BA 101: Essentials - Two Day Course (Brisbane)

In this hands-on workshop, you’ll cover:

Introduction to Business Analysis

• The Role of a BA in Project Life Cycles
• Project Phases: BA involvement in each phase (initiation, planning, execution, closure).
• Agile vs Waterfall: Understanding BA roles in different project methodologies.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Identifying Stakeholders: Techniques to map stakeholders and assess their needs.
• Communication and Collaboration: Effective ways to engage and manage stakeholder expectations.
• Stakeholder Analysis and Management: Using tools like the RACI matrix and power-interest grid.

Requirements Elicitation

• What is Elicitation? Gathering requirements through interviews, workshops, surveys, and observation.
• Techniques for Elicitation: Brainstorming, document analysis, prototyping, and use cases.
• Tips for Effective Elicitation: Listening actively, asking the right questions, and managing ambiguity.

Requirements Documentation

• Types of Requirements: Functional, non-functional, technical, and business requirements.
• Creating Requirement Documents: Writing clear, concise, and testable requirements.
• Common Documentation Formats: Business Requirements Document (BRD), Functional Requirements Document (FRD), and user stories (Agile).

Modelling Techniques

• Process Modelling: Flowcharts, swimlane diagrams, and process maps.
• Use Case Modelling: Use cases and user stories.
• Business Process Modelling Notation (BPMN2.0): Standard symbols and methods for business process modelling.

Analysis Techniques

• SWOT Analysis: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats analysis.
• PESTLE Analysis: Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, Environmental.
• Root Cause Analysis: Fishbone diagrams, the 5 Whys technique.
• Gap Analysis: Assessing the difference between current and desired states.

Solution Evaluation

• Evaluating and Selecting Solutions: Prioritisation techniques (MoSCoW, Weighted Scoring).
• Validating Solutions: Verifying that the solution meets business needs and stakeholder expectations.
• Post-Implementation Review: Measuring outcomes and benefits realisation.

Tools of the Trade

• BA Tools and Software: Requirements management tools, process modelling tools, and collaboration tools.
• Data and Reporting Tools: Excel, Power BI, and other data visualisation tools.

Soft Skills Development

• Communication and Presentation: How to communicate complex ideas clearly.
• Negotiation and Conflict Resolution: Navigating disagreements and finding common ground.
• Leadership and Facilitation: Running effective meetings and workshops.

Agile and Scrum for BAs

• Introduction to Agile: and

Practical Exercises and Case Studies

• Real-World Scenarios: Use case exercises, requirement gathering workshops, and problem-solving tasks.
• Mock Projects: Participants work on a simulated project to apply learned skills.
• Feedback and Debrief: Reviewing performance and areas of improvement.

Templates and Frameworks

Provide templates for: Requirements documentation, stakeholder maps, process models, communication plans.

BA Career Path and Certification

• Professional Development: Overview of certifications like IIBA’s CBAP, PMI-PBA, and Agile certifications (ScrumMaster).
• Career Progression: Typical career paths for BAs (e.g., Senior BA, Product Owner, Project Manager).

Georgiana Mannion, founder of evolvingBA, has over 15 years of project experience and is recognised for her innovative stakeholder engagement techniques. A dynamic trainer, executive coach, and keynote speaker, Georgiana was named one of IIBA’s ‘Business Analysts to Watch 2022’ and Passionate BA’s ‘BA to Watch 2024!’ Her extensive background includes roles in Change Management, Project Management, Data Analysis, and Solution Architecture.

“Not being a BA or having attended anything like that before I found it really informative and I learnt a lot.”

“Thoroughly enjoyed this session. Covered a lot of content but in a playful and enjoyable way.”

“Great presentation style and interactive session. Georgiana is refreshing and very engaging.”

Host or Publisher evolvingBA