Course 110:
The Agile Business Analyst

(3 days)

 

Course Description

The Agile software development movement has advanced into the general software development mainstream, being adopted in various ways and to various extents throughout the IT industry. In many of the Agile software development approaches, the role of the business analyst has been removed on the basis that the developers should get the requirements directly from the business people without the business analyst acting as intermediary. This course explores the Agile software development approaches and how the business analyst works within the Agile framework. Highly interactive, the course uses Scrum as an example of an Agile approach and involves the participants in Scrum practices, roles, and ceremonies. The course goes beyond describing the involvement of the business analyst in Agile software development approaches by describing how business analysts can be fully Agile even in situations where they are not working with Agile software development, and when they are not working with software development at all. This course is about how to become more agile, responsive, flexible, and successful as a business analyst.

Learning Objectives

  • Identify the phases of the FRS Software Development Framework and the tasks, activities, responsibilities, and objectives of each phase
  • Relate the SDF to the other FRS Technical Project Management standards

Who Should Attend

Business analysts, managers of business analysts, project managers working with business analysts, anyone performing business analysis, or anyone interested in gaining more understanding of Agile practices and business analysis.

Course Outline

Unit 1: Business Analysis Overview

  • What Is Business Analysis?
    • The Definition of Business Analysis
    • The Scope of the Business Analyst’s Activities and Responsibilities
    • The Business Analyst in the Traditional Life Cycle

Unit 2: Introduction to Agile Software Development 

  • Software Development Life Cycles
    • What Are the Obstacles to Successful Software Development?
    • The Phased Approach
  • Process-Oriented Development
    • Benefits of Processes
    • Problems with Processes
    • What Can Be Done to Reduce the Risk?
    • Lean Development
  • Basis for Agile Software Development
    • Software Development Approaches
    • Command and Control Approaches

Unit 3: The Agile Approach

  • Rise of Agile Methods
  • Principles of Agile Approaches
    • The Agile Manifesto
    • Agile Principles
  • Generic Agile Practice
    • Practicality of Agile Approaches
    • Agile Practice and the Business Analyst
    • Overview of Agile Approaches

Unit 4: Business Analysis in the Agile Approach

  • Scrum: The Basic Agile Framework
    • The Scrum Roles
    • Product Owner
    • Developers
    • ScrumMaster
    • Where Does the Business Analyst Go?
  • The Rest of the Project
    • Technical Practices
    • Team Capacity and Velocity
    • Big Visible Boards
  • Generic Agile Practice
    • Practicality of Agile Approaches
    • Agile Practice and the Business Analyst
    • Overview of Agile Approaches
    • Contributing as a Business Analyst on a Scrum Project

Unit 5: Agile Requirements

  • User Stories
    • Basic Formats
    • User Stories and Epics
    • Themes
    • Epics to Stories
  • Backlog and Backlog Items
    • Create the Backlog
    • Grooming the Backlog
  • Requirements in the Sprint
    • Sprint Planning Session
    • Estimating Backlog Items
    • Splitting Stories
    • Daily Standups
    • Acceptance Test-Driven Development
    • End of Sprint Ceremonies
  • Release Planning
    • Types of Releases
    • Release Sprint
    • Themes, Goals and Releases

Unit 6: Agile and the Standards

  • Agile and the Business Analyst Standards
    • A Guide to the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge® (BABOK® Guide)
    • The Agile Extension to the BABOK® Guide
    • The Business Analysis Practice Guide from the Project Management Institute
    • Business Analysis Certifications
  • Agile and SDF and TPMN
    • TPM Phases and Agile
    • SDF Phases and Agile

Unit 7: Being an Agile Business Analyst

  • Maintain Product Value
    • The Big Picture—System and Strategic Thinking
    • Deliver Value to the Organization
  • Agile Communication
    • Agile Meetings—An Oxymoron
    • Moderating and Facilitating
  • Agile Business Analyst Attitude and Practices
    • Expanding Your View
    • Dealing with Entrenchment
    • Agile Solutionizing
    • Business Rules and Agility: Changing the Rules
    • Critical Thinking: Dealing with Cognitive Biases
    • At the Center of Everything: Asking Questions
    • Becoming Agile

Unit 8: Retrospection

  • Last Thoughts
    • Agile Takeaways
    • Concerns about Agile
    • Benefits of Agile
    • Best Practices
    • Where to Go for More Information

Please Contact Your ROI Representative to Discuss Course Tailoring!