# Business Analysis Planning Workshop Course

Canonical URL: <https://training.sdfm.org/courses/business-analysis-planning-workshop>

## Overview

Develop the skills used by business analysts to effectively plan and monitor a complete business analysis project, including shaping the business analysis approach and conducting stakeholder analysis.

## What you'll learn

- Determine which activities (tasks) are necessary to perform a business analysis.
- Select appropriate business analysis processes and techniques.
- Manage requirements and report on the progress of a business analysis.
- Identify, refine, and clarify business needs to create a solution scope.
- Conduct feasibility studies and develop business cases to ensure the solution scope will achieve the business need.
- Develop the business analyst’s underlying competencies—behaviors, characteristics, and personal qualities– that support the practice of business analysis.

## Prerequisites

Students should have prior experience in project management or analysis, familiarity with basic scheduling concepts and tools, and an understanding of work breakdown structures, dependencies, and stakeholder communication in a project context.

## Curriculum

#### Module 1: Business Analysis Planning and Monitoring

- Define the analysis approach, deliverables, and engagement model for the effort.
- Plan stakeholder engagement, roles, communication methods, and collaboration cadence.
- Establish processes for requirements governance, traceability, and change control.
- Determine metrics and monitoring techniques to track analysis progress and quality.

#### Module 2: Enterprise Analysis

- Assess business needs, root causes, and opportunities at the enterprise level.
- Develop solution visions, scope boundaries, and value propositions aligned to strategy.
- Build business cases with benefits, costs, risks, and feasibility considerations.
- Prioritize initiatives and recommend a roadmap for implementation.

## Instructors

### Bruce Gay — Instructor

Bruce is an engaging trainers and program manager who brings 25+ years practical experience to deliver effective and experiential training to students. Able to engage adult learners with a range of backgrounds and professional experiences. Successful at building effective stakeholder relationships and coordinating multi-disciplinary teams for solution delivery.

Bruce has over 25 years of project and program management experience across multiple industries. He has a Masters degree from The George Washington University and a B.A. from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. 

Bruce currently runs his own freelance training and consulting business, helping project managers and team leaders improve their business skills, become better leaders, and achieve professional greatness. 

Bruce is a well-received speaker in the areas of design thinking, project management, cross-team collaboration, and AI tools for projects, and has presented at regional and international conferences.

### Steve Pesklo — Instructor

Steve is an energetic trainer who focuses on applying technical concepts to everyday work practices. He is the founder and president of SoftLake Solutions, a company that specializes in providing data and AI applications to identify fraud for Internal Audit, Criminal Investigations, Forensic Accounting, Privacy, and Compliance.

Steve brings a large amount of experience across multiple industries and government agencies. He is an expert in implementing large data analysis projects across the world, including Inland Revenue in the UK and Argentina, New Zealand, Africa and across Europe. Previously, he was the manager of Data Architecture and Data Services for a large mortgage company. He is a frequent speaker on data analytics and project management topics and speaks fluent German. He has been teaching at the Graduate School for over 10 years.

Steve has an M.B.A. from the University of St. Thomas and a B.S. in Computer Science from California Lutheran University and the Universität Salzburg in Austria. He is certified as a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), Project Management Professional (PMP), and a Certified ScrumMaster (CSM).

### Joe Mlakar — Instructor

Joe has over 27 years of Federal Government and military service and has been a part-time instructor with Graduate School USA since 2023. He enjoys using his technical knowledge in Operations Research to teach his students to provide organization and structure to complex processes, and apply advanced analytical techniques to help leaders make better decisions. Joe is based in Fort Collins, Colorado.

## Pricing

**Tuition:** $1399