Developing a Business Analysis Work Plan

Course Description

Having trouble getting started with your business analysis work? Unsure about how much time to request from your project manager?

Developing a business analysis work plan will prevent major problems by ensuring that all of the appropriate stakeholders are involved and the requirements will be analyzed and presented using the most effective communication approaches. This class teaches students to consider all of the project and stakeholder characteristics before deciding on appropriate deliverables and producing a time estimate.

The work plan also helps the business analyst develop realistic time estimates based on the chosen deliverables. These estimates provide detailed justification for negotiation with project managers and project sponsors. During class students are presented the Business Analysis Planning Framework™ and are given worksheets to guide their planning efforts.

Students are encouraged to bring their own project initiation documentation for a current or past project to the class. During the workshops, students will develop their business analysis work plan. If students do not have a project, a class case study is available and should be reviewed prior to the first day of class.

Regardless of when the BA joins a project or the project type, this class will guide planners to deliver an intelligent business analysis work plan to the project manager and have a detailed roadmap upon which they can immediately begin to execute. 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.

Learning Objectives

• • Use project characteristics, people, and process to determine what business analysis tasks are needed for a project
  • Create a business analysis work plan which includes tasks and time estimates for the business analysts and other stakeholders
  • Determine the appropriate level and formality for a plan
  • Use the business analysis work plan as a negotiation tool to get approval for business analysis work on a project

“Rowing harder doesn’t help if the boat is headed in the wrong direction.”
– Kenichi Ohmae, Management Consultant

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.

Prerequisites

Business analysts registering for this course must have attended Essential Skills for Business Analysis, or have at least 2 years experience in requirements elicitation, analysis, and documentation using structured techniques. Contact B2T Training if you would like to pass out of these prerequisites.