Detailed Syllabus

Business Process Analysis and Facilitation for Major Projects

Eight Modules Covered in Three Weeks:

Week 1 Module 1- Business Analyst Roles and Responsibilities- one day Module 2- Defining Projects and Business Cases: High Level- two days Module 3- Business Process Modeling: Documenting the “As-Is”- two days Week 2 Module 4- Facilitating Process Modeling: “As-Is”- three days Module 5- Business Process Analysis: Optimizing the “To-Be”- two days Week 3 Module 6- Facilitating Process Modeling: “To-Be”- two days Module 7- Business Use Cases and Transitioning to Design- two days Module 8- Applications of Process Models- one day

Detailed Syllabus Day 1

Module 1: Business Analyst Roles and Responsibilities Overview: With the ever increasing complexity and accelerating change in today’s business environment, the roles and responsibilities of Business Analysts continue to evolve and expand. To manage competitive pressures, scarcity of resources, global impact and pace of change, today’s organizations are investing in optimized processes that align with business strategies. Business Analysts must be able to deliver processes that work effectively across the enterprise. They must have the skills to communicate effectively in order to translate business needs and requirements into optimized solutions that fulfill business intentions. Keys to success include leveraging what has worked well in the past, capitalizing on new opportunities and reducing duplicate work and wasted effort. For many organizations, the transition to this new environment has been neither uniform nor simple. Rarely is there consensus on: • The underlying approach to be followed in discovering and analyzing the business and its requirements. • How the work should be documented and transformed into systems that fit the business. • The distribution of roles and responsibilities between the Business Analysts, the Project Managers, the business staff, the technical staff and others. Outcomes: This course will provide Business Analysts with a structured approach to: 1. Understand their critical role in today’s organization. 2. Discover the premises, descipline and mindset required to successfully serve the needs of the organization. 3. Communicate effectively with clients about needs and requirements. 4. Examine and apply industry directions and trends to improve their effectiveness. 5. Document a framework for their desired business analysis approach including responsibilities, techniques, and interfaces to the rest of the organization. 6. Determine concrete steps for ensuring that business processes are aligned with business strategies and intentions. Module 1 Outline: 1. Overview of Business Analysis 2. Premises 3. Project Disciplines • What is Business Analysis? • What Drives the Effort? • Definition • Evolution of the Business Analyst Role • Business Driven • Analysis • The Role of the Business Analyst in • User-Centric • Design Today’s Business Environment • Appropriate Enabling Medium • Realization • Causes of Project Failure • Situations are Unique • Implementation • Disciplines vs. Waterfall 4. Industry Directions and Trends 5. Defining Success 6. Discovering Your Current • Scanning: IIBA, Six Sigma, OOA, • Goals Approach UML, eXtreme, Zachman, Business • Principles and Priorities • Activities and Roles Rules, … • Focus • Interfacing with Project Mgmt. • Pros and Cons • Obstacles and Opportunities in • Interfacing with Business Units • Fads vs. Trends Your Environment • Interfacing with Customers • Assessing Fit to Your Environment 7. Specifying Your Future 8. Successful Business Analysts 9. Making it Happen • Assessing Opportunities and Obstacles • Communication Skills • Low hanging fruit • Improving the Process • Analysis Skills • Improving your skills • What can we Offload, Outsource or • Technical Skills • Culture change Make Obsolete? • Attitudes and Temperaments • Promotion - Evolution vs. • Redefining Roles • Why Modeling? Revolution • Specifying Instruments and Tools • Other Knowledge • Priorities and Responsibility Detailed Syllabus Days 2, 3

Module 2: Defining Projects and Business Cases: High Level

Overview: Project Definition sets the foundation for the effective management of a successful project. A project definition is an informal contract among the project stakeholders which defines the purpose and boundaries of a given effort, determines what constitutes a meaningful and effective solution, improves communication and coordination of all stakeholders and minimizes risk.

Business cases allow business managers to judge the feasability and impact of a project. Developing a business case enables management to evaluate a project’s contribution to the success of the business. The business case is also an effective tool for project managers and sponsors to validate that a project merits management’s support and serves recognized business needs.

When properly constructed and utilized, project definitions and business cases minimize project failures from the following causes: • Resistant users • Project Managers not understanding users’ needs • Lost sponsorship • Not enough solid business support • Poorly-defined scope • Lack of acknowledged contribution to business success Outcomes: In this course, each element of a project definition is defined and analyzed. Students will learn to recognize stakeholders, use focus statements to remove irrelevant activities from a project, and state project intentions as expected business results. They will discover the values that govern decisions and learn how to prioritize them when trade-offs need to be made. Students will learn the role of the business case in project decision making and life cycle. They will study the components of an effective business case including problem and solution definitions, desirablity analysis, recommended course of action and forecasted schedules.

Students completing this course will return to work understanding: 1. How to construct a project definition that garners stakeholder commitment. 2. How to use a project definition to drive towards and evaluate success. 3. How to develop and use a business case to effectively judge a project and build management support. Module 2 Outline: 1. Overview of Project Definition 2. Project Definition - A Minimal 3. Project Definition - A Basic Version • Why Projects Fail Version • Aspects of a Project Definition • The Role of Project Definition • What is a Project Definition? • Five Premises of How You Wish to • Characteristics of a Project • Overview of the Elements of a Work • What is an Objective? Project Definition • Project Definition Elements • Aspects of the Project Vehicle • Change • A Path to a Solution • Process of Establishing a Project • Alternatives to Change 4. Implications of Project Definition 5. Project Definition - A Detailed 6. Stakeholders and Intentions • Benefits of Having a Project Version • Categories of Stakeholders Definition • Intentions • Identifying Stakeholders • Costs of Having a Project • Values • Expressing Intentions in Business Terms Definition • Focus • Who are Your Customers? • Obstacles in Obtaining a Project • Context • Measurements of Success Definition • Stakeholders 7. Focus Statement 8. Context 9. Business Cases • Breadth • Issues • Why Business Case? • Perspectives • Latitudes • Desirability Analysis • Depth • Uncertainties • Cost/Benefits/Feasability/Sustainability • Scope of Integration • Understandings • Business Case Management Detailed Syllabus Days 4, 5

Module 3: Business Process Modeling: Documenting the “As-Is”

Overview: Business Process Modeling is a technique used for discovering and documenting an organization’s business processes. Process models are created with business teams to produce a blueprint of how business operations are conducted. These models form the basis for business process improvement, organizational design, and the design and implementation of technology systems.

Benefits of Process Models: • Creating an illustration quickly identifies obstacles and opportunities for improvement. • Enhances communication among team members. • Scaleable to accommodate analyzing both high-level functions and detailed activities. • Using a diagram with supporting text allows an overview of both the process, as well as all appropriate supporting details. • Prevents analysis sessions from degenerating into expansive word-smithing exercises. • Ensures business operations align with strategy and technology aligns with business.

Outcomes: Students of Business Process Modeling will return to work: 1. Recognizing the importance and benefits of process modeling. 2. Able to read and use process models. 3. Able to produce moderately-complex “As-Is” process models in their business environment.

Module 3 Outline: 1. Foundations 2. The Role of Focus 3. Fundamentals of Process • What is Business Process Analysis? • Breadth Modeling • What is a Model? • Depth • Data Flow Diagram Definitions • What Does It Represent? • Emphasized Perspectives • Drawing Data Flow Diagrams • Physical/Logical/Essential Models • Universality • Naming • Techniques, Instruments and Tools • Scope of Integration • Text and Templates 4. Data Flow Diagrams 5. Partitioning 6. Conclusion • Processes/Functions • Top Down vs. Bottom Up • Next Steps • Data and Data Flows • Bottom Up Aggregation • Data Stores • Top Down Decomposition • Sources/Sinks • Leveling • Annotations • Balancing

Detailed Syllabus Days 6, 7, 8

Module 4: Facilitating Process Modeling: “As-Is”

Overview: Business process modeling is a powerful technique for working with individuals and small groups to define expectations and discover and assess current business processes. Effective facilitation multiplies the power of process modeling by enabling Business Analysts to lead groups through a structured session that enables the participants to resolve differing and conflicting perspectives of how the business works.

While modeling and facilitation are two closely related skills, they are best learned independently. While business process modeling classes teach how to discover and document current processes, the facilitation course focuses on: • How to optimize the use of the participants’ time in a facilitated session. • How to better utilize existing process modeling skills to lead groups of people in a structured meeting/session to discover current processes. • How to use a structured approach to enable agreement from diverse, conflicting, and political perspectives. • How to ensure the sessions speak the language of business and are seen as valuable by all participants. • How to resolve differing and conflicting perspectives into understanding and agreement.

Outcomes: Students of this course will return to work with the skills necessary to plan, prepare and facilitate moderately complex group “As-Is” process modeling sessions to document current business processes.

Module 4 Outline: 1. Foundations 2. Participant Responsibilities 3. Planning the Session • Components for success: • Sponsors • Goals process modeling, process • Subject Matter Experts • Focus analysis, and project definition • The Facilitator • Known Risks • Pros and cons of group sessions • The Coach • Blank Slate vs. Iterating • Can the session be successful • The Recording Analysts Existing Work and the results sustainable? • Provocateurs and Guest Experts • Function Follows Purpose 4. Preparing the Session 5. Logistics 6. The First Thirty Minutes • Determining the Participants • Scheduling the Activities • Sponsor Kick-Off • Analyzing the Participants • Staffing the Event • The Higher Calling • Intellectual vs. Emotional • Planning the Facility, Resources, • What are we Optimizing to? Activities and Equipment • Focus and Agenda • Structuring the Activities 7. Conducting Process Modeling 8. Wrapping the Events 9. Creating Deliverables and TADs Sessions • Importance of Closure • Recording Analyst Assignments • Focus Statement • Identifying Next Steps and Responsibilites • Starting the Modeling • Options in Presenting the • How to Record the Session • Real-time Modeling Models- the Medium is the • Sample Document Templates • Exercises Message • Executive Summaries • Case Study • Importance of Debriefing

Detailed Syllabus Days 9, 10

Module 5: Business Process Analysis: Optimizing the “To-Be”

Overview: Business Process Analysis is a technique for assessing “As-Is” business process models and reaching consensus on the desired “To-Be” world. Business processes are often a complicated web of: • Folklore – habits and activities that were inserted or deleted over time to address unique situations or individual preferences and may not be best practices for all cases. • Miscommunications – duplicate work or wasted effort due to misunderstandings in handoffs. • Policy constraints – activities based on policies and mandates that are no longer appropriate. • Physical constraints – activities that were inserted or deleted due to past and now outdated technology constraints.

Therefore, a structured and intellectually manageable approach to process analysis is required to ensure that new processes appropriately leverage the past, capitalize on new opportunities and are optimized for the desired business results.

This course’s staged approach to process analysis utilizes the following steps: 1. The business users’ views of their current processes are documented. 2. Unnecessary and redundant activities are removed. 3. The mechanics of “how” the processes are performed are stripped away. 4. Inappropriate historical features and policy constraints are eliminated. 5. New essential business processes are added. 6. Policies are examined and reapplied. 7. Optimized mechanisms for performing the processes are determined.

Outcomes: Students of Business Process Analysis will return to work ready to implement a structured approach for reaching agreement on optimized “To-Be” models for how business processes should operate.

Module 5 Outline: 1. Review of Process Modeling 2. Stages of Process Analysis 3. Stages of Development • Why Start with the “As-Is”? • Discovery • Current Physiological • Data Flow Diagram Components • Assessment • Current Logical • What is Business Process Analysis? • Specification • Current Essential • What a Model Represents • Beyond Analysis • New Essential • Physical/Logical/Essential Models • New Logical 4. Stages Revisited 5. After Analysis 6. Case Study • Two Approaches to Building • What’s Next • Diagramming A Current Models • New Physiological Physiological Model • Transforming to a New Logical Model • Joint Development Approach

Detailed Syllabus Days 11, 12

Module 6: Facilitating Process Modeling: “To-Be”

Overview: This two-day course will have you on your feet facilitating real-time process solutions. Students will rotate roles of facilitator, subject matter expert and recording analyst in several mini sessions that simulate business improvement process analysis. You will return to work with the skills to: • Plan, prepare and facilitate moderately complex process analysis sessions. • Use a structured approach to optimize the use of participants’ time. • Ensure that sessions speak the language of business. • Achieve buy-in from diverse, conflicting and political perspectives. • Discover and model the business users’ view of desired future processes in real time.

A structured and intellectually manageable approach to process analysis is required to ensure that new processes appropriately leverage the past, capitalize on new opportunities, and are optimized for the desired business results. This course’s staged approach to process analysis utilizes the following steps: 1. The business users’ views of their current processes are documented. 2. Unnecessary and redundant activities are removed. 3. The mechanics of “how” the processes are performed are stripped away. 4. If appropriate, historical features and policy constraints are eliminated. 5. New essential business processes are added. 6. Policies are examined and reapplied. 7. The buiness users and other subject matter experts provide input to achieve optimization of the processes. 8. The analyst updates the model with new processes and required data to reflect the business users’ input. 9. A facilitated review of the new model, with candidate optimized processes, is conducted; the process is iterated until reaching a desired future state.

Outcomes: Students will return to work with the faciltation skills to lead brainstorming and validation sessions using a structured approach for reaching agreement on optimized “To-Be” models for how business processes should operate.

Module 6 Outline: 1. Foundations of Business Analysis 2. JDA Basics 3. Planning the Session • Stages of Process Analysis • Components of a Successful • Intentions for Event • Stages of Development JDA • Selecting Participants • Pros/Cons of Group Sessions • Structuring Activities • Focus Statements • Developing an Agenda • Staffing the Event 4. Introduce Case Study 5. Case Study Exercises 6. Wrapping the Session • Staged Approach to Process Analysis • Conduct Facilitated Review of • Identifying Next Steps • Revisit Exercises from the Facilitating “As-Is” Essential Model • Making the Output Useful As-Is Course • Capture and Categorize • Ensuring Traceability • Demo Case Study Opportunities for Improvement • Draft “To-Be” Model • Conduct Facilitated Review of “To-Be” Model

Detailed Syllabus Days 13, 14

Module 7: Business Use Cases and Transitioning to Design

Overview: During initial system design it is important to have a robust and business-driven method to ensure that functional requirements are met in a planned technical solution. A use case defines a set of steps or actions that will be performed by the user or other stakeholder in the use of an anticipated application.

Use cases are documented in the form of use case diagrams and textual flows of events called use case scenarios. The use case diagrams depict the interaction between the users (actors), external systems (actors) and process transactions (use cases) in the proposed system.

There are two stages in use case development: business use cases and technical use cases. A business use case shows a business transaction that will be followed by the business staff. It emphasizes business functionality rather than technology. A technical use case then adds technical detail to the business use case. In this course the emphasis is on the business use case – and, specifically, how functional requirements captured in a business process model are then transformed into a set of well- designed business use cases.

Business use cases are valuable for: • Showing how business requirements will be met in a business transaction design. • Verifying the business transaction design with the business staff. • Transitioning work effectively from: o Business requirements (analysis) to solution requirements (design). o The Business Analyst (business) to the Developer (IT). • Stating functional requirements in an RFP. • Serving as completion criteria when the solution is ready for system testing.

Outcomes: Students of the Business Use Cases and Transitioning to Design course will return to work with a process for transforming business process models (particularly in the form of data flow diagrams) into business use case models.

Module 7 Outline: 1. Introduction 2. Transitioning to Design 3. Use Case Basics • Course Overview and Objectives • How Responsibilities Shift • Business Use Cases & Technical • Review of The Business Analysis • Business Design vs. Technical Use Cases Approach Design • The Parts of a Use Case • Business Aspects and Models • The BA’s Role in Design • Creating a Use Case • What is a Use Case? • Basic Design Flow • Use Case Diagrams • Relating Use Cases 4. Architectural Design and Business 5. Transforming Business Process 6. Taking it Forward Transactions Models • Other Design Models • Design Criteria • Case Study: Step-by-Step • Transforming Business Use • Architectural Design Overview Exercise in Transforming Process Cases into Technical Use Cases • Business Transactions (Use Cases) Models into Use Cases • Next Steps • Demo: Transforming a Business Process • Conclusions Model into a Set of Business Use Cases

Detailed Syllabus Day 15

Module: Applications of Process Models

Overview: Process Models may be used in a variety of ways, as well as in a variety of businesses and industries. In order to gain the most value from the Business Process Analysis curriculum, and bring the most value to the organization, the process modeling practitioner should be familiar with a variety of uses.

Process Models May Be Used For: • Identifying obstacles and opportunities for improvement. • Enhancing communication within the business. • Analyzing both high-level functions and detailed activities. • Ensuring business operations align with strategy and technology aligns with business. • Capturing knowledge and work activities of experienced employees. • Implementing most efficient and effective processes. • Educating new, or newly promoted, employees.

Outcomes: Students of Applications of Business Process Models will return to work: 1. Recognizing the variety of uses for Business Process Models. 2. Able to identify when different situations may benefit from the use of a Business Process Model. 3. Able to use Business Process Models effectively when the occasion arises.

Module 8 Outline: 1. Foundations 2. Process Models as Input 3. Process in Measurement and • Historical Uses of Process • Business Use Cases Quality Management Models • Requirements for RFPs • Metrics and Quality Assessment • Review of Terms • Organization Design – Processes to • Business Process Management • Business Process Improvement Work Units • Balanced Scorecard • Development of Information • Activity Based Costing • Total Quality Management Systems • Conceptual Business Architecture • Work Flow Design 4. New Uses for Process Models 5. Process Representation Types 6. Conclusion • Project Planning • Process Map w/Swim Lanes • Next Steps • Capturing Employee Experience • Data Flow Diagrams • Reducing Risk to the Organization • Activity Diagrams • Transformation Planning Functional Decomposition • Education • Communication