Certificate Program in Business Analysis
Business analysts serve a critical function in helping organizations improve operational efficiency and profitability. Responding to the rising need for well-trained analysts in the public and private sector, UC Davis Extension is proud to announce a new Certificate Program in Business Analysis.
Learn to identify needs and create solutions that move your organizations forward. Acquire the skills to elicit, analyze, communicate and validate requirements for developing structures that really work. Understand how to translate functional requirements into technical specifications. Develop strategies for gaining stakeholder support.
The curriculum is endorsed by the International Institute of Business Analysis, an international association whose vision has led to the development of standards for the practice of business analysis and the certification of practitioners (see www.theiiba.org for more details).
Program Details
Program benefits
- Explore the fundamental concepts and theory of business analysis
- Learn to identify business opportunities and design solutions
- Achieve optimum results from your project investments
- Develop strategies used for gaining stakeholder approval when designing and implementing business solutions
- Learn to assess your business solutions
- Prepare for the Certified Business Analysis Professional Certification examination
Who should attend
This program is designed for business analysts, government analysts, quality assurance analysts, systems analysts, business system planners, project managers, product marketers and other engaged in the improvement of products and processes.
Certificate requirements
Courses may be taken individually or as part of a certificate program. Participants will be awarded a Certificate in Business Analysis upon the successful completion of 6 required courses (14 units) plus any two courses (each 1.5 units or more) in the Business and Management program area and submission of the application form and fee. Any approved course in Business and Management may be used to fulfill the elective course requirements. It is possible to complete this program in a year or less. Please call (530) 757-8895 for more information.
Tuition for the entire Business Analysis Certificate Program is $5,150 to $5,500, depending on when you enroll. The certificate application fee ($45) and textbooks are not included in the tuition fee.
| UNITS | F | W | SP | SU | ||
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| REQUIRED COURSES | Fundamentals of Business Analysis | 2.5 | 
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| Enterprise Analysis | 2 |
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| Requirements Elicitation | 2 |
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| Requirements Planning and Management | 2.5 |
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| Requirements Analysis, Documentation and Communications | 3 |
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| Solution Assessment and Validation | 2 |
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| ELECTIVE COURSES | Effective Negotiation Strategies | 3 | 
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| Introduction to Project Management | 1.5 | 
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| Project Integration and Scope Management | 2 |
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| Systems Design, Implementation and Support for Today's Business Systems | 3 |
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Classroom format
Distance Learning format
Classroom and Distance Learning formats |
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Electives: Any two courses (each 1.5 units or more) in the Business & Management program area may apply.
Required Courses
Fundamentals of Business Analysis
2.5 quarter units academic credit, X433.1. 25 PDU Hours.
Develop the knowledge and skills of a business analyst as well as your ability to create solutions to business problems. Explore the fundamentals of business analysis using the International Institute of Business Analysis's (IIBA) Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK).
Learn the techniques, methodologies and core competencies required of effective business analysts. Explore best practices, strategies, needs and opportunities, system requirements, and the implementation and operational support of business solutions.
Sections of this course open for enrollment:
- Fundamentals of Business Analysis
starts September 15 - Fundamentals of Business Analysis starts January 5, 2009
Enterprise Analysis
2 quarter units academic credit, X433.2. .
Before developing solutions to business problems, business analysts must fully understand the context of a project and how it will function within the entire enterprise. Examine the pre-project and early project activities necessary to develop effective solutions.
Specifically, learn how to conduct an investigative feasibility
study; create and maintain a project’s architecture;
determine the scope of a
project and design business opportunities; prepare a business case;
conduct an
initial risk assessment; and prepare a decision package.
Prerequisites:
Fundamentals of Business Analysis.
Sections of this course open for enrollment:
- Enterprise Analysis starts September 15
Requirements Elicitation
2 quarter units academic credit, X433.4. .
Choosing the appropriate technique for extracting necessary information is critical to successful business analysis. Explore the most effective techniques for figuring out, or eliciting, project requirements and the steps involved with each technique.
Examine the most worthwhile techniques such as brainstorming, document analysis, focus groups, interviewing, observation, prototyping, workshops, reverse engineering, and the best uses of surveys and questionnaires.
Prerequisites:
Fundamentals of Business Analysis, or equivalent experience.
This course is not currently scheduled.
Requirements Planning and Management
2.5 quarter units academic credit, X433.3. .
Throughout the requirements definition process, it is critical to examine the resources and tasks associated with planning and management. Learn to define the resources and tasks associated with the planning and management of the requirements gathering activities throughout the requirements process.
Gain a better understanding
of team and individual roles in managing a requirements definition
project; how
to develop an initial risk profile; and how to identify planning
options and
considerations. Learn to select a requirements strategy and estimate
costs and
benefits; manage a project’s scope (including change
management); and measure
and report on activities.
Prerequisites:
Fundamentals of Business Analysis, or equivalent experience.
Sections of this course open for enrollment:
- Requirements Planning and Management starts September 15
Requirements Analysis, Documentation and Communications
3 quarter units academic credit, X433.5. .
The
increasing need to properly analyze and document stakeholder
requirements and
find solutions to identified business needs and opportunities has given
rise to
improved processes and communication strategies.Explore
current best practices
for analyzing, documenting and communicating business requirements
through
modeling techniques.
Prerequisites:
Fundamentals of Business Analysis, Enterprise Analysis, Requirements Planning and Management, Requirements Elicitation.
Sections of this course open for enrollment:
- Requirements Analysis, Documentation and Communications starts September 15
Solution Assessment and Validation
2 quarter units academic credit, X433.6. .
Business analysts are accountable for solutions that meet defined needs. They must also have the ability to assess projects after implementation. This course will help you develop solutions that meet stakeholder objectives and take into consideration such factors as quality assurance, user acceptance, defect reporting and resolution.
You will also learn to assist your technology team with their deliverables and help to build usability into application software. In the case of purchased solutions, you will learn to assist with customization and interface decisions. Topics covered include:
- facilitating the selection of a solution
- developing alternate solutions
- ensuring the usability of the solution
- supporting the quality assurance process and the implementation of the solution
- evaluating technology options
- solution assessment and validation
- communicating impacts
- post implementation review and assessment
Prerequisites:
Fundamentals of Business Analysis, Enterprise Analysis, Requirements Planning and Management, Requirements Elicitation.
This course is not currently scheduled.
Elective Courses
Effective Negotiation Strategies
3 quarter units academic credit, X422.10. .
You will examine the principles that won President Jimmy Carter his Nobel Prize for Peace with the Camp David Accords and that create successful labor/management negotiations and enable complex multi-party decision making situations to be successful. This course also provides the knowledge to address the different values, priorities and goals of each party. Discover how to create effective strategies and achieve win-win solutions.
This course is not currently scheduled.
Introduction to Project Management
1.5 quarter units academic credit, X455.23. 15 PDU Hours.
Being
an effective project leader
requires a clear understanding of the essential elements of project
management
framework and processes. Using the Project Management
Institute’s A
Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK®
Guide),
learn the basic characteristics of
projects and project management, with emphasis on the five
PMBOK®
Guide project
process groups of initiating, planning, executing, controlling and
closing.
Sections of this course open for enrollment:
- Introduction to Project Management starts September 15
- Introduction to Project Management starts September 16
Project Integration and Scope Management
2 quarter units academic credit, X455.24. 20 PDU Hours.
Successful project outcomes depend on an effective project management plan, development and execution, and adherence to a scope management process. They also need to begin with the proper integration of related project elements across project process groups and knowledge areas.
Building on your knowledge of the project management framework and
processes,
explore in depth the processes and activities required to define and
coordinate
the projects within the project process groups, particularly where
individual
processes interact, and when competing objectives and alternatives
require
trade-offs. Examine the processes that ensure all the work, and only
the work,
required for successful project completion, is included within the
scope of
your projects.
Prerequisites:
Introduction to Project Management.
Sections of this course open for enrollment:
- Project Integration and Scope Management starts September 15
- Project Integration and Scope Management starts October 21
Systems Design, Implementation and Support for Today's Business Systems
3 quarter units academic credit, X491.19. PDU Hours.
The design and implementation of modern business information systems are more challenging that ever. Rapid advances in information technology, the greatly expanded scope of interactive net-centric business systems, and the complexities of merging commercially-available software products with in-house developed code require an unprecedented breadth of knowledge from the systems designer.
This course builds upon the foundation of the Systems Analysis for Today's Business Systems course and presents the methods, tools and techniques needed for the detailed design, implementation and maintenance of contemporary business information systems.
In this course, you will learn:
- the design considerations and issues in designing client-server architectures for net-centric systems
- to design databases for implementation in commercial DBMS products
- to design effective user interfaces with the systems that include graphical user interfaces (GUI), as well as output forms and reports using a variety of hardware/software devices
- to implement the system through the process of assembly, testing and installation
- the considerations and issues for systems maintenance and support
Prerequisites:
Systems Analysis for Today's Business Systems.
This course is not currently scheduled.
For More Information
Download a Business Analysis Certificate Program brochure for a list of current quarter courses and enrollment information. 
(337 KB)
This program is approved by:
