Spring 2016 Study Group - BABOK 2.0 

By request from members, IIBA Houston will present a Study Group on BABOK 2.0. If you are serious about pursuing your CBAP® and want to stay accountable, or if you are curious to find out what its all about, come check out the BABOK® Fast Track Study Group. 

Sessions are free for paid members of IIBA Houston. They are $10 each session for non-members or $75 for all 8 Sessions. 

The topic of this session is: Chapter 1 Introduction & Chapter 5 Enterprise Analysis

A Guide to the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge® (BABOK® Guide) is a globally recognized standard for the practice of business analysis.

The BABOK® Guide describes business analysis areas of knowledge, their associated activities and tasks, and the skills necessary to be effective in their execution. The primary purpose of the BABOK® Guide is to define the profession of business analysis. It serves as a baseline that practitioners can agree upon in order to discuss the work they do and to ensure that they have the skills they need to effectively perform the role, and defines the skills and knowledge that people who work with and employ business analysts should expect a skilled practitioner to demonstrate. It is a framework that describes the business analysis tasks that must be performed in order to understand how a solution will deliver value to the sponsoring organization. The form those tasks take, the order they are performed in, the relative importance of the tasks, and other things may vary, but each task contributes in some fashion, directly or indirectly, to that overall goal.

This chapter provides an introduction to key concepts in the field of business analysis and describes the structure of the remainder of the BABOK® Guide. Chapters 2 through 7 define the tasks that a business analyst must be capable of performing. Chapter 8 describes the competencies that support the effective performance of business analysis, and Chapter 9 describes a number of generally accepted techniques that support the practice of business analysis.

Chapter 5: Enterprise Analysis
The Enterprise Analysis Knowledge Area describes the business analysis activities necessary to identify a business need, problem, or opportunity, define the nature of a solution that meets that need, and justify the investment necessary to deliver that solution. Enterprise analysis outputs provide context to requirements analysis and to solution identification for a given initiative or for long-term planning. Enterprise analysis is often the starting point for initiating a new project and is continued as changes occur and more information becomes available. It is through enterprise analysis activities that business requirements are identified and documented. It describes the business analysis activities that take place for organizations to: § Analyze the business situation in order to fully understand business problems and opportunities. Assess the capabilities of the enterprise in order to understand the change needed to meet business needs and achieve strategic goals. § Determine the most feasible business solution approach.
§ Define the solution scope and develop the business case for a proposed solution. § Define and document business requirements (including the business need, required capabilities, solution scope, and business case).

We'll meet every Wednesday for 8 weeks and cover the ENTIRE BABOK (version 2). 

Mar 16  -  Chapter 1 Introduction & Chapter 5 Enterprise Analysis

Mar 23 - Chapter 6 Requirements Analysis

Mar 30  - Chapter 7 Solution Assessment & Validation

Apr 6  - Chapter 2 Planning & Monitoring

Apr 13    - Chapter 4 Requirements Management & Communication

Apr 20  - Chapter 8 Underlying Competencies & Chapter 9 Techniques - part 1

Apr 27  - Chapter 9 Techniques - part 2

May 4  - Chapter 3 Elicitation and Exam tools

During these sessions, a facilitator will lead a discussion of each knowledge area, helping you understand the goal of specific business analysis activities, key tasks involved, relationships of various artifacts and deliverables. It's a great way to learn more about BA tasks, but it's especially geared to those studying for the CBAP exam. However, you will need to read the chapters before each week's session. The sessions are a great place to ask questions and dig deeper, but it works best when everyone is familiar with the material. We know it's a lot to cover in 8 weeks, but this Fast Track format has been most successful for us - and we've held sessions for about 3 years and a lot of Houston Chapter members have recieved thier CBAPcertification after taking this course. 

We'll also cover tips for the application process and lots of tools and techniques to employ during the test. We have several CBAPs that will join our sessions to answer questions about the test and the certification process. 

We'll send out more information to registrants the week before sessions start. If you would like to attend, but the location doesn't work - let us know. We are open to alternate locations, based on where the majority of attendees are coming from. Contact us at Education@houston.iiba.org for more information. 

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