BCS Training has been a cornerstone of the Expleo Academy since 2014. One measure of its success is the repeat visits from trainees as they proceed to the next step on their learning pathway.
Any invested trainer will tell you of the job satisfaction in sharing trainees’ success. To begin with, experiencing collaborative learning first-hand is a rewarding experience for all involved. As learning objectives are achieved, trainees feel enabled to bring a new tool or technique back to their workplace. Therefore, another micro-step is taken on their BA Learning Pathway. I will talk more about our collaborative “Training from the Back of the Room” approach to BA training in a later blog.
BCS Training for our T-shaped Business Analyst
Even outside of the training environment, our Core Business Analysis (BA) Learning Pathway allows us to share the success of our trainees. We witness progression through our range of BCS certificates. We love to hear from our trainees when they have successfully earned their cert through passing an accredited examination. Our core BA options facilitate a journey toward achieving an International Diploma in Business Analysis. We are always happy to see familiar faces return for the next step on the Learning Pathway to that Diploma.
Expleo Academy’s Business Analysis Learning Pathways
Our BCS Training Learning Pathway
Qualification for the BCS Diploma requires you to firstly pass three Practitioner level certificates and one knowledge-based certificate. Each of our BA training courses are delivered by experienced Business Analysts. These BA’s are also qualified trainers. They can provide feedback to you as you practice BA techniques to deepen your level of learning.
The BCS Certificates
Business Analysis Practice addresses how to support decision-making for successful business change. It does so by exploring a framework and a range of techniques which helps you recognise the strategic context for needing change. We then enable you to create a business case to justify investment in that change.
Requirements Engineering provides rationale for choosing an optimal approach to managing your business requirements. We cover a variety of analysis and modelling techniques. The course begins with an approved business case to invest in change. It then enables you to evolve the business need for change into detailed requirements to support implementing the change.
Our Modelling Business Processes course walks you through how to model business processes in order to manage implementation of the business change. It does so by providing a 3-level hierarchy of modelling approaches. We also practice techniques and notation to use at each hierarchy level.
We offer the Foundation Certificate in Business Analysis as a knowledge-based certificate to help you on your path to achieving the International Diploma in Business Analysis. The Foundation course provides a surface level overview of the entire end-to-end BA engagement that is detailed on our three practitioner courses. The practitioner courses expect you to demonstrate your capability in using BA techniques. By contrast, the Foundation level course expects you to take a higher level view. You need to demonstrate understanding of the purpose of these techniques and their place in the bigger picture of business change.
The order in which you choose to take these certificates is entirely your own choice. This allows you to select a certificate that could meet an immediate training need. It also offers the flexibility to schedule your next certificates to align with your own evolving needs.
Learning Pathway Tailored to Training Needs
In general, we recommend taking BAP, then RE and then MBP. This can help with following the natural progression of BA engagement through business change projects. We also advise you to take the BAF course last, as it then provides a useful recap and consolidation of the various learnings across the practitioner courses. However, we understand that you might have immediate training needs on particular techniques or concepts related to Business Analysis. We are always happy to speak with you to advise on a personalised BA Learning Pathway.
In my next blog, I will share with you some of the additional benefits of our BA Learning Pathway options. I will also focus in particular on our training options for BA’s in Agile environments.
Ciaran O’Leary is an accredited trainer of BCS, IC Agile, iSQI and ISTQB certified courses, with over 20 years’ experience in business analysis, quality assurance, and training roles. Ciaran has worked in a variety of industries, including Telecommunications, Banking, Insurance, and Pharmaceutical; and in a variety of geographical regions, including Ireland, UK, Germany, Netherlands, America, Australia, and South Africa. Ciaran is passionate about learning as a key competency, for both individuals and business systems, in today’s rapidly changing world. His objective is to help you on your learning pathways in pursuit of your career ambitions, and business objectives.
