Strategic Business Analysis: Requirements, Value and Solution Evaluation Training Course

Programme Summary

Strategic business analysis is a five-day training course for heads of business analysis, transformation leaders and senior sponsors at strategic level, culminating in a business analysis approach and value case for a live change initiative. Many initiatives deliver features nobody needed because the underlying need was never defined or tested. The approach links need, stakeholders, requirements, solution options and measured value into one disciplined chain of reasoning. Mars Training Centre UK delivers this programme in strategic business analysis for change leaders.

The Business Case

Weak analysis is one of the most expensive failures in change: scope grows, rework multiplies late in delivery and sponsors discover after go-live that the solution does not solve the problem they had. Leaders who insist on clear needs, traceable requirements and evidence-based solution choices commit funds with more confidence and stop low-value work earlier.

• Rework and Scope Change: Fall as requirements are agreed, prioritised and traced to business needs before design begins.
• Investment Decision Quality: Improves as solution options are compared against defined value and risk criteria.
• Benefits Realised After Delivery: Increase as solution performance is evaluated against the original need.

Principles and Evidence Base

• BABOK Guide v3: Provides the six knowledge areas, from planning and monitoring to solution evaluation, that structure the sequence of Sessions 1 to 4.
• Business Analysis Core Concept Model (BACCM): Frames every initiative through change, need, solution, stakeholder, value and context, applied from Session 1.
• Strategy Analysis: Defines current state, future state, risks and change strategy in Session 2.
• BPMN Process Modelling: Supplies the notation used to model current and future processes in Session 3.

Intended Participants

• Leaders responsible for a business analysis function or practice across a portfolio of initiatives.
• Transformation and portfolio leaders who approve the scope and business case of change initiatives.
• Senior managers who sponsor system, process or organisational change and own its benefits.
• Experienced analysts moving into lead or principal roles on strategic initiatives.

The programme serves government entities, banking and financial services, energy and utilities, and telecommunications organisations.

Learning Outcomes

1. Participants will be able to diagnose a business need and frame it using the six core concepts of business analysis.
2. Participants will be able to construct a change strategy from an analysis of current and future states.
3. Participants will be able to design an elicitation and stakeholder collaboration plan for a complex initiative.
4. Participants will be able to prioritise and trace requirements from business need to solution component.
5. Participants will be able to evaluate solution options and delivered solutions against defined value measures.
6. Participants will be able to justify a governance and capability model for business analysis in their organisation.

Programme Structure

Day 1: Strategic Business Analysis Foundations

What problem is the organisation really trying to solve, and who has a stake in it?

• BACCM Core Concepts Applied to a Live Initiative
• Business Need Definition and Problem Statements
• Business Analysis Planning and Monitoring Approach
• Stakeholder Analysis and Responsibility Mapping
• Business Analysis Governance and Decision Rights

Day 2: Strategy Analysis and the Case for Change

Where is the organisation now, where must it go and how should it get there?

• Current State Analysis and Capability Mapping
• Future State Definition and Value Hypotheses
• Gap Analysis and Risk Assessment
• Change Strategy Options and Transition States
• Business Case Structure and Value Measures

Day 3: Elicitation, Requirements and Process Modelling

How are needs turned into clear, agreed and testable requirements?

• Elicitation Techniques: Interviews, Workshops and Observation
• BPMN Current and Future Process Models
• Requirements Management and Specification Quality
• Value-Based Requirements Prioritisation
• Requirements Traceability Matrix and Change Control

Day 4: Solution Options and Value Evaluation

Which solution delivers the most value, and is the delivered solution performing?

• Design Options and Solution Recommendation
• Options Appraisal Against Cost, Risk and Value
• Acceptance Criteria and Solution Performance Measures
• Solution Limitations and Enterprise Limitations
• Business Analysis Capability and Practice Maturity

Day 5: Applying Strategic Business Analysis

How are need, strategy, requirements and evaluation combined for one initiative?

• Need and Stakeholder Review of a Participant Initiative
• Change Strategy and Requirements Priorities
• Value Measures and Evaluation Plan
• Peer Challenge of Analysis Approaches
• Business Analysis Approach and Value Case Presentation

Methodology

The programme is built around case analysis and structured exercises. Participants work through a continuing case drawn from public service and commercial change initiatives, then apply each technique to an initiative from their own organisation.

• Suggested activity: Rewriting a solution-led request as a business need using the six core concepts.
• Suggested activity: Facilitating a requirements elicitation workshop with role-played stakeholders.
• Suggested activity: Scoring three solution options for a digital service against value and risk.

Capstone Output

Each participant completes a business analysis approach and value case for an initiative in their own organisation. It contains a need statement, stakeholder map, change strategy, prioritised and traced requirements, solution options with a recommendation and a value evaluation plan, ready to present to a sponsor or portfolio board.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is strategic business analysis suitable for senior managers who are not business analysts?

Yes. It suits sponsors and transformation leaders as well as experienced analysts. It assumes involvement in change initiatives but no formal business analysis training.

Which standards underpin strategic business analysis in this programme?

It draws on the BABOK Guide v3 knowledge areas, the Business Analysis Core Concept Model, strategy analysis practice and BPMN process modelling.

How is the strategic business analysis value case used at work?

You take back an analysis approach and value case that a sponsor or portfolio board can review, approve and use to track benefits after delivery.

How does strategic business analysis differ from project management programmes?

It concentrates on defining the right need, requirements and solution and on measuring value, whereas project management focuses on planning and controlling delivery.