Which Business Analysis course is right for me?

Business Analysis skills are in high demand, and with the right course you can gain understanding, build the fundamental skills and knowledge, and learn how to uncover the business needs and identify the solutions. But which course is the right one for you? What roles do each of our courses best suit? And how can the courses help you progress your career in business analysis? Read on to find out.

BCS Business Analysis

The BCS Business Analysis training course is designed to set you up with the fundamental skills to be a successful business analyst. Gaining certification evidences that you can identify business objectives, and that you understand the value of achieving business goals and finding actionable solutions to business problems.

The BCS Business Analysis training course betters candidates’ understanding of business analysis, as well as how they can support change and improve business processes. With this BCS-accredited course at Foundation level you’ll cover the following modules:

• The roles and competencies required of the Business Analyst
• Strategic analysis
• Business systems
• Process modelling
• Business case development

And much, much more. Check out the BCS Business Analysis Foundation course page and click the ‘What’s covered?’ tab for the full module list.

Is this the right course for me?

The BCS Business Analysis training course is essential for anyone looking to gain the International Diploma in Business Analysis. It is ideal for roles such as business change managers, project managers, IT professionals, business managers and business analysts. But in fact, it is aimed at anyone looking to better understand business analysis and support change. And best of all, there are no formal prerequisites for taking this course or taking the exam, no need to be working in the field or have any business analysis experience.

Where can I go from here?

As mentioned, the BCS Business Analysis course is one of the prerequisites of the BCS International diploma in Business Analysis. The training begins at foundation level and is the first step in a journey to becoming a BCS Certified Business Analyst. Alternatively, the wealth of knowledge gained from this course alone can be used to improve your understanding of business analysis, enabling you to perform better in your current role; be that in IT, business management, or the project profession.

Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP)

An alternative route, at a more advanced level, is the Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP®) training which we offer here at ILX. This course is best suited for business analysis professionals with seven to ten years of experience, senior analysis professionals, and project managers.

The training prepares candidates for the CBAP exam, which is taken with the IIBA accredited body. (More information on this is available on the course page, under the exam information tab.) This training contains business analysis resources to help candidates:

• Have a thorough understanding of business analysis tasks
• Learn the skills and practices for creating solutions
• Find the best solutions for growth in line with the business needs, and identify new opportunities
• Gain an in depth understanding of five BA perspectives - agile, business intelligence, information technology, business architecture and business process management
• Build upon the skills, tools and techniques to become an outstanding business analyst
• Write and pass the CBAP exam with ease and confidence

Is this the right course for me?

The Certified Business Analysis Professional course and certification are perfectly suited to candidates in business analyst roles. The training is comprehensive and delves into the roles and responsibilities a senior analysis professional needs, and aligns with the high standards set by IIBA®. It’s also suitable for professionals working in:

• Project management
• Requirements analysis or management
• Systems analysis
• Process improvement
• Consulting

Where can I go from here?

Beyond the training course, candidates wishing to take the CBAP certification exam will also have to meet certain criteria, including, but not limited to:

• A minimum of 7,500 hours of BA work experience
• Two references from a career manager, client, or certified BA professional
• At least 35 hours of professional development in the last four years.

This training course will improve your career in business analysis, as becoming CBAP certified places candidates in a position to command higher pay and helps them to stand out to employers.

Improve your career in business analysis with this CBAP® certification training

Agile Business Analyst (AgileBA)

Finally, the APMG AgileBA® training course is designed to help you learn to be an effective business analyst in an agile environment. The course focuses on developing skills and competencies in agile ways of working. It covers the principles, processes and fundamental philosophy of agile business analysis, as well as how to deliver valuable solutions as part of an agile project team.

Gaining certification provides evidence that you understand:

• The steps of a typical agile project
• Key components within agile - requirements, user stories, prioritisation, product, release, iteration
• How to plan and manage an iteration
• The roles and responsibilities involved within an agile project
• The use of modelling and agile analysis
• How to analyse business goals and their decomposition

And a whole lot more. By the end of the course, you should understand the fundamental principles and terminology within the Business Analysis guidance, setting you up for exam triumph.

Is this the right course for me?

The good news is, there are no prerequisite entry requirements for the Agile Business Analyst certification. The course builds from the ground up, and even at foundation level, will establish the core skills a business analyst will need for working in an agile environment.

The training is both theory based and practical, a great learning style for many professionals. This mixed approach allows candidates to gain a deeper understanding of agile business analysis in practice. Participants benefit from practical workshops where they’ll learn lean analysis skills and discover real world experience of how AgileBA methods contribute to project success.

In terms of target audience, AgileBA training is aimed at practising business analysts, team members looking to become agile business analysts, product owners, managers, and project managers looking to understand business analysis.

Where can I go from here?

Increasingly companies are adopting agile methodologies to achieve a competitive advantage. In turn, this means more and more organisations are looking to take on business analysts au fait with agile practices. With our AgileBA training you can develop in-demand skills and be ready to fill that gap, advancing your career as a result.

Beyond the AgileBA foundation course, candidates may look to gain the AgileBA Practitioner certificate and become a certified APMG Agile Business Analyst. As with all APMG-related training courses here at ILX, the Agile Business Analyst certification is fully accredited by APMG. Agile business analysis is a vital skill in today’s increasingly agile-driven business environments and this course has been devised to set you up for success.