Course Overview

The Oral Preparation Workshop is designed to help participants prepare for the BCS Oral examination, which they must pass before being awarded the Diploma.

The Oral exam consists of a 50-minute interview with two BCS (ISEB) oral examiners. The examiners' evaluate whether participants can put all of the techniques they have learned from the various Certificate modules into an overall context and verify that they have the required analytical and interpersonal skills to be awarded the Diploma.

During the Oral Preparation Workshop candidates have the opportunity to revise the various modules they have taken and are prepared for what they might expect from the examiners during the Oral exam.
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The context for business analysis

• The rationale for business analysis
• Sectors of the economy
• Business environment analysis
• Legal framework for business analysis
• SWOT analysis
• Business performance measurement
• Business change lifecycle

Business analysis techniques

• Investigating and documenting business situations
• Stakeholders and perspectives
• Business activity modelling
• Business events and business rules
• Gap analysis

Business case

• Rationale for making a business case
• Contents of a business case
• Options
• The financial case
• Investment appraisal techniques
• Risk / impact analysis
• Lifecycle for the business case

Requirements definition

• Rationale for requirements engineering
• Elicitation techniques and their relevance
• Rationale and approach for requirements analysis
• Rationale and approach for requirements negotiation
• Rationale and approach for requirements validation

Requirements management and documentation

• Rationale and approach for requirements management
• Traceability
• Change and version control
• Types of requirements
• Documenting requirements
• Rationale for modelling requirements
• Approach to modelling processing and data

Selected knowledge-based specialist module

• Relevance of specialist module to the business analyst
• Taking a holistic view
• Competencies of a BA
• Professionalism and business analysis
• Lifecycle relevant to the BA and the specialism

Selected practitioner specialism

• Relevance to role and responsibilities of the business analyst
• Description and application of techniques and / or approaches from specialist module
• Practice questions