Course Overview

Projects can be complex endeavours. They typically have multiple moving parts that need to work together seamlessly. Therefore, the project analyst role has become a critical competency skill in project management. Today’s Project analyst enables change in businesses and organisations. This is done by carefully defining stakeholder needs, communicating with various stakeholders, and recommending solutions that deliver value to businesses.

What do project analysts do?

The Project Analyst role has become integral to an organisation’s Project team. The Analyst coordinates multiple tasks, and works closely with multiple stakeholders, including Product Owners and Project Managers, to ensure the successful delivery of projects. They are the traffic controller who ensures the requirements meet the current business needs, stakeholder expectations are aligned, analyses the budget and the timeline of a project, and provides status reports to management and stakeholders alike. And in addition, they offer business and data analytics, for improved decision making.

How do you become a project analyst?

This Zoe training course will empower you with strong fundamental concepts of Project Management, Agile principles, and a deep understanding of the project analysis aspects. By completing this course, you will be able to effectively and successfully handle the Project Analyst role today.

Participants will learn skills, knowledge, and tasks of the growing business analysis profession. You will build your skills in relevant areas including learning how to work in an Agile project environment, how to adapt your process efficiently, predicting potential issues and creating solutions, reviewing project goals, including the budget and timeline, and more. This course will enhance your technical skills, as well as, skills in communication, problem-solving, critical thinking, and collaboration. The course curriculum caters to various aspects from business analysis, and stakeholder management, to decision making and business leadership.

This course ensures to provide the expertise, knowledge, and skills, of certified experts that every organisation needs. Becoming certified as a Project Analyst, can make a difference in the business world and transform your career in a fresh direction.

Course Objectives

The objectives of this training course are to:

• Provide a detailed knowledge and understanding of the fundamental concepts of
  • Project Management
  • Agile principles & values
  • Underpinning philosophies principles, processes, and techniques, within the business/project analysis approach

• Understand how to execute a Project analysis plan aligned with agile development principles and manifest
• Develop the required skillset and capabilities to support successful business change programmes within your organisation
• Build the confidence and ability to measure, track, enhance efficiency and reliably delivery through Agility in Project Management, in turn demonstrating talent and potential
• Produce and evaluate the content of Project Analyst-produced products during an Agile project
• Understand the roles and responsibilities within a project and the different levels of empowerment concerning requirements and the business case
• Understand the various mechanisms for facilitation, mentoring, and coaching within a Project
• Understand how to estimate and evaluate the benefits realisation of a Project

Training Methodology

This collaborative Project Analyst Course will comprise the following training methods:

• Lectures
• Seminars & Presentations
• Group Discussions
• Assignments
• Case Studies & Functional Exercises

Like all our acclaimed courses, this Certified Training program also follows the ‘Do-Review-Learn-Apply’ model.

Organisational Benefits

The organisations will get a range of benefits from Project Analyst professionals as follows:

• Trained and experienced professionals can successfully manage the business analysis function of the organisation
• Project analysts who will provide a fresh perspective on projects, and how the goals and objectives fit in with the Business strategy
• Business resources are prioritised and used efficiently
• Professionals who manage projects effectively, enabling the organisation to resolve problems more quickly.
• Trained professionals who make sure projects stay on schedule, and keep costs and resources within budget
• Ensures the various needs of the project’s stakeholders are met and satisfied
• Better decision-making for the organisation based on key insights on data, information & analytics
• Better risk assessment and management, and timely mitigation of risks to avoid Projects from failing

Personal Benefits

Project Analyst Professionals have a lot to gain from this course. They will:

• Establish the foundational knowledge of the philosophy, the approach, and the methodology of Agility in Project Management
• Develop greater skills and understanding to effectively manage Projects, Stakeholder collaborations, and communications within the organisation
• Increase the experience and confidence to train other professionals and project team members, on industrial best practices
• Develop better skillsets and capabilities to introduce advanced processes and concepts, and to be able to successfully handle the role, with the least effort
• Augment their business analysis skills, and expertise to manage Change effectively with minimal-to-no impact on operations
• Enhance their perspective and foresight to effectively assess future risks
• Develop effective decision making and strategic skills to analyse data and information available, and then advise on the best-suited decisions
• Improve negotiation and communication skills to build rapport and facilitate a shift in mindset within the project teams
• Stay up-to-date on best practices and industry trends, and upcoming changes in the new-age

Who Should Attend?

• Business Leaders, Senior management, and Managers who wish to understand the fundamentals of Project Management, and Agile Principles, whilst developing knowledge on how to track and measure performance, and learn the industry trends and best practices
• Practising Project Analysts, and Business Process Analysts who work in Project or agile environments and want to enhance their knowledge, and skills
• Project Managers, Product Managers, and Product owners wishing to understand business analysis fundamentals, and aspects of the role
• Agile/Scrum team members who wish to pursue a career in Agile Project or Business Analysis
• Scrum Masters, Kanban Leads, who wish to develop a better understanding of the Project Analyst role, the analytics techniques, and the industry trends and best practices
• Project team members, who manage requirements or product development, and currently perform business analysis without any proper education and qualification.
• Any Individual/professional wishing to pursue the Project Analyst Practitioner certificate.

Course Outline

This course will range through the following topics:

Module 1: Project Analysis Fundamentals

• BA’s historical and contemporary contexts
• Project / Business Analysis overview
• Project Analyst roles and responsibilities
• Introduction to Business analysis concepts, methodologies, techniques, and tools.
• Fundamental skills and competencies required to effectively perform BA tasks

Module 2: Planning and Monitoring

• Business Analysis (BA) practices related to planning and monitoring
• Developing budgets and financial analyses
• Effective stakeholder communication
• Useful strategies for resource allocation
• Defining deliverables – how to approach, trace, and prioritize requirements; and adopting metrics for monitoring and assessment.

Module 3: Project Management

Overview of project management life cycle and organisation including

• Project definition
• Cost-benefit analysis
• Planning
• Scheduling
• Group dynamics
• Controls
• Project completion

Module 4: Agile Business Analysis

• Agile – The emergence and Methodolgy
• Agile Fundamentals
• The Key Roles in Agile
  • Product Owner/Manager
  • Scrum Master
  • Agile/Scrum Team Member
• Role of Business Analyst in Agile Project Management
• How to adapt from Waterfall Project Management to Agile Project Management
• Emerging trends and technologies

Module 5: Requirements Management within the Project Life Cycle Management

• Business, Stakeholder, and Solution requirements – collection and management
• How requirements emerge and ways to effectively manage throughout the lifecycle
• Explore how to respond to unanticipated factors like new information, changing priorities, market fluctuations, and governmental regulations, impact Solution design

Module 6: Elicitation and Collaboration

• Obtaining information from stakeholders, and managing Stakeholder collaborations
• Elicitation Techniques, and collaboration activities
• Overcoming challenges in real-world business situations
• Elicitation testing and verification methods and techniques

Module 7: Excellence in Communication

• Communicate convincingly, efficiently, and effectively
• Key organisational communication strategies and styles

Module 8: Strategy and Enterprise Analysis

• Mobilizing the resources effectively
• Capabilities required of an enterprise to succeed in a desired goals and objectives
• How to spot problems and locate solutions
• Advancing from the current ‘As Is’ state to a future ‘To be’ state

Module 9: Solution Assessment and Validation

• Assessing and validating the performance and the value of the recommended solution
• Removal of barriers or roadblocks, that prevent the complete realization of a solution’s value
• Measure the performance of a solution, and recommends concrete actions to upscale its value
• Processes of business analysis validation, both generally and about solution evaluation

 Module 10: Leading Organisational Change

• Personal qualities and skills critical to modelling an effective and efficient leadership
• Authentic Leadership through influence & credibility
• How values and purposes are consistently enacted and embodied within the workplace
• Practices to Develop self-mastery

Module 11: Business Case Development Exercise

• Students analyse real-life business problems, develop effective recommendations and solutions, and present them a business case