Online Business Analysis Foundation - The Reviews

We recently launched our online Business Analysis Foundation course (BA Foundation) and wanted to get our students’ thoughts on the content and format and to find out how useful taking formal, accredited BA training was to them.

We found three volunteers who agreed to take the course and let us have their feedback.

Our reviewers were:

Jon Morley, Head of Service with a large multi-channel retailer

Ethan White, a Project Manager with a UK government agency

Manny Varela, a Lean/Agile/DevOps Consultant-Advisor-Advocate

Firstly, we asked them about their online learning experience and whether they enjoyed the BA Foundation course.

Manny says, “In business, a wasted minute is a wasted opportunity.  Those of us in IT (and other fast-paced sectors) who travel and/or have little downtime, eLearning provides us with the prospect of keeping ahead of the crowd as it pertains to our industry skills.  One can literally, from anywhere in the globe (almost), study at their leisure between tasks, meetings, meals, and sleep.  As well, an eLearner can, within the time allotted, re-visit study videos, lessons and materials.

I found the BA Foundation course to be extensive and intense, but indeed an enjoyable experience.  I especially liked the format by which the lessons included exercises related to the subject matter, references to the study materials, and a session-end quiz to audit your comprehension of the material.”

Ethan agrees, “e-Learning provides enhanced benefits to classroom learning as it allows the freedom to structure your own time & learning plan. This was particularly helpful in my circumstance as I was able to balance my learning against my day job & carry out lessons in the office whenever I had free time, without having to take time off work.

I enjoyed the course. It provided a great foundation into the role of a Business Analyst, a role that previously I had only experienced second hand through observing the Business Analyst in my team. The exercises were well thought out & put to good use the learning from the lesson. The quizzes were a nice recap of the sessions but not too overbearing. The Study Guide was clear, thorough & worked effectively to supplement the online lessons.”

Jon, a little more succinctly, tells us that the online Business Analysis Foundation course allowed him to study at his own time and pace and says, “The videos, quizzes and downloads were all excellent, concise and easy to follow.”

So, our “guinea pigs” all agreed that the online environment for the delivery of the course gave flexibility and freedom over the times that were used for study. All ITSM Zone certification courses are delivered in this way – the flexible delivery is a key feature. Even virtual courses often require a commitment to being online and ready to study at a fixed time.

Next, we asked Manny, Ethan and Jon about the subject matter, specifically asking how the BA course related to their current role and what they felt were the most useful takeaways from the course.

Jon says, “I now have enhanced requirements generation and workshop facilitation skills and a real appreciation for what a BA does! With my role, I need to turn my hand to Design, Build and Run activities, so this course was very useful.

The majority of the BA course was insightful, and I’ve increased my respect and admiration for people working as BAs”

Ethan says, “I am a Project Manager leading on the implementation of new Government IT systems. As I work in an Agile environment I frequently come into contact with Business Analysts & they form a key role in my project teams.

I found the BA course insightful as whilst I’m used to Agile Delivery, until now I had viewed it solely through the lens of a PM. It has been helpful for me to learn about the best practices & responsibilities of a BA, so that I can better understand the role & collaborate with my projects BA’s more effectively going forwards. Also, as PM I’m sometimes required to step in & carry out BA responsibilities/tasks on occasion, so it was good to be introduced to various methodologies & models.

I most enjoyed learning about the various methodologies & models that can be used to break down tasks/activities. Also, I particularly enjoyed the learning on how best to gather & define requirements & the means to effectively elicit these from service/business users.”

Manny told us, “As I embark on a new journey, I believe that BA Foundation, well as future certifications (I plan to also take BRM and VeriSM), will assist me with my client advisory efforts.  I have a much deeper understanding of the tools, methodologies, requirements and responsibilities associated with the BA role.

I found that learning around Investigation Techniques, and Stakeholder Analysis was the most beneficial to me.  In particular, Protocol Analysis, Workshop Techniques, Prototyping in an Agile Environment, Spaghetti maps and Fishbone diagrams, and analyzing stakeholders and perspectives. I consider Improving Business Processes, lessons 10/11 of the Study Guide, a most important and informing section of the BA course.

My favorite sections of the course were Modeling Business Practices and Defining the Solution.  Those were areas that I was lacking in knowledge and experience, and I am now better equipped and informed.”

Tell us about the ITSM Zone Support

Finally, we asked our three students if they accessed the support available to them during their online training session. Unfortunately, there’s not much feedback to provide, as none of the students needed to access either the technical or tutor support that is provided. As with all of the accredited training courses that ITSM Zone offers, the Business Analysis Foundation is provided with 24/7 support from our helpdesk and tutor support is provided by our experienced, qualified team.

Ethan felt that the study guide ensured that the tutors weren’t disturbed, “I didn’t access support outside of the Study Guide. The Study Guide was clear, thorough & worked effectively to supplement the online lessons.” Manny added that he didn’t use any of the support either as everything worked perfectly!

To learn more about our Business Analysis Foundation students, you can connect with them on LinkedIn-

Jon Morley

Ethan White

Manny Varela

We’ve provided a free overview of the Business Analysis Overview to give you the opportunity to see if it’s the right course for you. Or if you want to ask us anything about the BA course, including whether you could take advantage of a team training discount, then please get in touch.