IAB204 Business Requirements Analysis


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Unit Outline: Semester 1 2024, Gardens Point, Internal

Unit code:IAB204
Credit points:12
Pre-requisite:IAB201 or ITD122 or PUB102
Equivalent:INB220
Coordinator:Rehan Syed | r.syed@qut.edu.au
Disclaimer - Offer of some units is subject to viability, and information in these Unit Outlines is subject to change prior to commencement of the teaching period.

Overview

This unit introduces you to the role, knowledge, skills and techniques required of a business analyst. The unit focuses on the tools and methods used by a business analyst, as well as the soft skills such as creativity and communication, all of which are critical to successful business requirements analysis.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:

  1. Analyse an organisational context to determine users and stakeholders' needs and diagnose organisational problem/s and to identify opportunities.
    Relates to: ACS CBOK: 2, 4, 4.1, 4.3
  2. Elicit organisational, user and stakeholder requirements to identify a critical business problem or opportunity in an organisational context.
    Relates to: ACS CBOK: 2, 4, 4.1, 4.3
  3. Develop abstract representations of organisational processes, systems and data using established business analysis techniques.
    Relates to: ACS CBOK: 2, 4, 4.3
  4. Ideate and critically evaluate a range of possible solutions and make well-justified recommendations to decision makers.
    Relates to: ACS CBOK: 4, 4.3
  5. Demonstrate well-developed written and visual communication skills to gather requirements, present solutions and create implementation plans.
    Relates to: ACS CBOK: 1, 1.4
  6. Collaborate in a team environment to produce a cohesive outcome to meet organisational needs.
    Relates to: ACS CBOK: 1, 1.4

Content

The topics covered in this unit include:

  • The Business Analysis process & its importance.
  • IT, business and strategic alignment.
  • Defining critical success factors, key performance indicators, and scope of analysis.
  • Techniques for identifying, gathering, analysing, prioritising and presenting needs and requirements.
  • IT enabled organisational enterprise solution design
  • Management and analytical techniques.
  • Effective communication skills for developing business cases.

Learning Approaches

This unit is available for you to study in either on-campus or online mode. You can expect to spend 10 hours per week involved in preparing for and attending scheduled classes, preparing and completing assessment tasks as well as independent study and consolidation of your learning.

This unit comprises of a weekly pre-recorded lecture, which introduces the concepts methods and techniques as well as case studies of their application and a weekly tutorials that focuses on applying the concepts learned in the pre-recorded lecture each week.

Participation in weekly tutorial cases and scenarios will give you practical experience in the skills and techniques required by Business Analysts in industry. You will apply concepts and methods learned in the lecture through discussion of questions related to business cases or role-playing exercises in groups. This experience will be directly applicable to the assessment outcomes.

In addition, you will have the opportunity to conduct relevant research beyond that covered in the pre-recorded lecture to support your own business analysis recommendations.

Feedback on Learning and Assessment

You may obtain feedback on your progress throughout the unit in the following ways:

  • teaching staff will be available for advice and assistance during lectures and tutorial sessions
  • feedback will be given by teaching staff during the weekly tutorial exercises
  • assessment items will be returned to you promptly with comments on your progress
  • teaching staff will be available for private consultation outside the lecture and practical sessions.

Assessment

Overview

The assessment items in this unit are designed so that you may develop a practical understanding of the techniques used by Business Analysts to effectively gather, prioritise, analyse, document and present business requirements, and to propose potential solutions based on those requirements.

You will work with a small team to develop, based on a real business problem and using a variety of data gathering techniques, a business analysis report detailing the business need, the scope of analysis, the current business context, and the relevant set of requirements (Part A), followed by developing a solution approach, scope, assessment, and transition management based on the business problem and requirements (Part B). 

Unit Grading Scheme

7- point scale

Assessment Tasks

Assessment: Report -Part A

Analysis of Business Needs, Requirements & Potential Solutions: Based on a real business problem, either sourced by you or provided to you, and through various data gathering techniques, you will be required to develop a business requirements report detailing the scope of analysis, the current business situation, and stakeholder needs within the established scope through various data gathering techniques.

This is an assignment for the purposes of an extension.

Weight: 50
Length: 7 weeks
Individual/Group: Individual and group
Due (indicative): Week 7
Related Unit learning outcomes: 1, 2, 3, 5, 6

Assessment: Report Part B

Part B (50%) will require your build upon Part A to develop a solution proposal, detailing, evaluating and justifying how the business requirements identified can be most effectively addressed 

This is an assignment for the purposes of an extension.

Weight: 50
Individual/Group: Individual and group
Due (indicative): Week 13
Related Unit learning outcomes: 3, 4, 5, 6

Academic Integrity

Students are expected to engage in learning and assessment at QUT with honesty, transparency and fairness. Maintaining academic integrity means upholding these principles and demonstrating valuable professional capabilities based on ethical foundations.

Failure to maintain academic integrity can take many forms. It includes cheating in examinations, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, and submitting an assessment item completed by another person (e.g. contract cheating). It can also include providing your assessment to another entity, such as to a person or website.

You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.

Further details of QUT’s approach to academic integrity are outlined in the Academic integrity policy and the Student Code of Conduct. Breaching QUT’s Academic integrity policy is regarded as student misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.

Resources




Resource Materials

Prescribed text(s)

PMI (2015) Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, Project Management Institute. ISBN: 978-1628250695

Recommended text(s)

IIBA (2015) A Guide to the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK Guide) 3rd Edition, International Institute of Business Analysis, ISBN: 978-1927584026

Paul, Cadle, and Yeates (2014) Business Analysis, BCS Learning & Development Limited. ISBN: 978-1780172774

Risk Assessment Statement

There are no out of the ordinary risks associated with this unit.

Standards/Competencies

This unit is designed to support your development of the following standards\competencies.

Australian Computer Society Core Body of Knowledge

1: ICT Professional Knowledge

  1. Interpersonal communication
    Relates to: ULO5, ULO6

2: ICT Problem Solving

Relates to: ULO1, ULO2, ULO3

4: Technology Building

  1. Human factors
    Relates to: ULO1, ULO2
  2. Systems development and acquisition
    Relates to: ULO1, ULO2, ULO3, ULO4

Course Learning Outcomes

This unit is designed to support your development of the following course/study area learning outcomes.

IN01 Bachelor of Information Technology

  1. Employ appropriate IT Methods
    Relates to: ULO1, ULO3
  2. Critically apply design and problem solving skills
    Relates to: ULO2
  3. Work independently and within effective teams
    Relates to: ULO6
  4. Communicate effectively in professional contexts
    Relates to: ULO5
  5. Create considered and relevant IT solutions
    Relates to: ULO4

PU51 Bachelor of Health Information Management

  1. Critically evaluate and apply theoretical and technical perspectives on health information management (HIM), applicable to professional practice to solve routine and emergent problems. [Knowledge, Practice]
    Relates to: Report -Part A, Report Part B
  2. Initiate effective approaches for engaging in critical thinking, decision making and problem solving that reflect diverse perspectives and culturally safe and responsive practice, encompassing evidence-based HIM solutions. [Practice, Values/Disposition
    Relates to: Report -Part A, Report Part B
  3. Exercise judgement in the context of HIM, informed by sustainable, legal, ethical, and professional perspectives that promote social inclusivity, multidisciplinary collaboration and reflective practice. [Values/Disposition, Knowledge, Practice]
    Relates to: Report -Part A, Report Part B
  4. Reflect critically on performance and feedback to identify self improvements and action learning opportunities, while building productive professional relationships across diverse stakeholders. [Practice, Values/Disposition]
    Relates to: Report -Part A, Report Part B