BCS Foundation Certificate in Business Analysis

BCS Foundation Certificate in Business Analysis Outline

Module 1: What is Business Analysis? 

• Describe the Business Change Lifecycle 

• List the Key Principles of Business Analysis 

• Variants of the Business Analyst Role 
   

Module 2: The Competencies of a Business Analyst 

• Concept of the T-shaped Professional 

• Identify the Three Areas of Business Analysis Competency 
   

Module 3: The Strategic Context for Business Analysis 

• Business Analysis and the Strategic Context 

• Factors Assessed Using PESTLE to Analyse an External Environment 

• Identify the Elements of the VMOST Technique Used to Analyse an Internal Environment 

• Elements of Performance Measurement 

• Structure of a SWOT Analysis 

• Techniques Used in Strategy Execution 
   

Module 4: The Business Analysis Service Framework 

• Identify the Activities in the Business Analysis Service Framework (BASF) 
   

Module 5: Investigating the Business Situation 

• Define Workshops 

• Define Observation 

• Define Interviews 

• Define Scenarios 

• Define Prototyping 

• Define User Role Analysis 

• Define Quantitative Approaches 

• Describe Two Diagrammatic Techniques Used to Record a Business Situation 
   

Module 6: Analysing and Managing Stakeholders 

• Identify Stakeholder Categories Using the Stakeholder Wheel 

• Use of the Power/Interest Grid Technique to Analyse Stakeholders 

• Stakeholder Responsibilities Using a RACI Chart 
   

Module 7: Improving Business Services and Processes 

• Business Process Hierarchy 

• Techniques Used to Model the Enterprise-Level Processes 

• Aspects of the Event-Response Level 

• Aspects of the Actor-Task Level 

• Aspects of the As-Is Process Model 

• Identify Generic Approaches to Improving Business Processes 

• Purpose of Customer Journey Maps 
   

Module 8: Defining the Solution 

• Describe the Gap Analysis Process 

• Explain the Use of POPIT™ in Gap Analysis 

• Process for Developing Options 

• Purpose of Design Thinking 
   

Module 9: Making the Business Case 

• Lifecycle for a Business Case in Business Case Development 

• Identify the Areas of Feasibility Assessment 

• Structure and Contents of a Business Case 

• List the Key Features Relevant to the Production of a Business Case within an Agile Environment 

• Identify the Elements of a CARDI Log 

• Purpose of the Investment Appraisal Techniques 
   

Module 10: Establishing the Requirements 

• Requirements Engineering (RE) Framework 

• Identify the Actors in Requirements Engineering 

• Identify the Types of Requirements 

• Hierarchy of Requirements 

• Describe the Requirements Elicitation Techniques 

• Explain the Elements of Requirements Analysis 
   

Module 11: Documenting and Modelling Requirements 

• Identify the Documentation Styles 

• List the Elements of a Requirements Catalogue 

• Format of User Stories 

• Elements of the Use Case Diagram Used to Model Functional Requirements 

• Elements of a Class Model Used to Model Data 

• Product Backlog in Modelling and Documentation in an Agile Environment 

• Define the Structure of the Business Requirements Document 
   

Module 12: Validating and Managing Requirements 

• Types of Requirements Validation 

• Aspects of Requirements Management 
   

Module 13: Delivering the Requirements 

• Describe the Types of Delivery Lifecycle 

• Explain the Advantages and Disadvantages of the Lifecycles 
   

Module 14: Delivering the Business Solution 

• Role of the Business Analyst in the Business Change Lifecycle 

• Role of the Business Analyst During the Design, Development, and Test Stages 

• Approaches Used in the Implementation Stage 

• Describe How the Benefits Plan is Used in the Realisation Stage 

What You’ll Learn in this Course

This course takes you from understanding the fundamentals of business analysis to applying structured techniques for solving business problems and driving change. Each stage builds knowledge and confidence for real-world application. 
 

• Learn the key principles and framework of business analysis 

• Learn how to investigate and understand business situations effectively 

• Learn techniques to identify and define business requirements 

• Learn how to engage stakeholders and manage expectations 

• Learn to apply analysis methods to support organisational change 

• Learn how to evaluate solutions and align them with business objectives 

BCS Foundation Certificate in Business Analysis Exam Information  

The BCS Foundation Certificate in Business Analysis Exam assesses candidates’ understanding of core concepts and techniques in business analysis. The format of the exam is as follows: 

• Question Type: Multiple Choice  

• Total Questions: 40 Questions  

• Total Marks: 40 Marks  

• Pass Mark: 65%, or 26/40 Marks  

• Duration: 60 Minutes  

• Open Book/Closed Book: Closed book