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D I R E C T E D S T U D I E S P R O J E C T 2 0 1 2

CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE IN

BUSINESS ANALYTICS

Faculty Advisor: Tom Jopling

Sponsor: Karen Plesner Prepared By: Bea Badilla, Joe Zhang, April Zhang

May 14th, 2012

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TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .............................................................................................. 1 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND..................................................................... 2

INTRODUCTION TO THE MARKETING RESEARCH PROGRAM .................... 3 BACKGROUND.........................................................................................................................3 OBJECTIVES.............................................................................................................................3 PHASE ONE: SECONDARY RESEARCH ............................................................................3

OBJECTIVES ..........................................................................................................................3 SUB-OBJECTIVES.................................................................................................................4 METHODOLOGY ..................................................................................................................4 LIMITATIONS........................................................................................................................4 KEY FINDINGS......................................................................................................................4 CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE MODEL..................................................................................8 TRENDS ..................................................................................................................................9 CONCLUSION......................................................................................................................15

PHASE TWO: QUALITATIVE RESEARCH......................................................................16 OBJECTIVES ........................................................................................................................16 TOPICS..................................................................................................................................16 METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................................16 LIMITATIONS......................................................................................................................17 KEY FINDINGS....................................................................................................................17 CONCLUSION......................................................................................................................21

RECOMMENDATIONS .........................................................................................................21 TARGET MARKET....................................................................................................... 23 ORGANIZATION .......................................................................................................... 24

VISION......................................................................................................................................24 MISSION...................................................................................................................................24 STAKEHOLDERS...................................................................................................................24 COMMITMENTS TO THE STAKEHOLDERS..................................................................25 CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE ORGANIZATION ...............................................................25

ALLOCATION OF RESOURCES........................................................................................26 PROPOSED COURSES/ TOPICS ........................................................................................26

SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS ......................................................................................... 26

MARKETING STRATEGY.......................................................................................... 27 BRAND STRATEGY...............................................................................................................27 VISUAL IDENTITY ................................................................................................................28 CAMPAIGN THEME..............................................................................................................28 MARKETING CHALLENGE................................................................................................28

CAMPAIGN OBJECTIVES.......................................................................................... 29 MARKETING OBJECTIVES ...............................................................................................29 COMMUNICATION OBJECTIVES ....................................................................................29

MARKETING COMMUNICATION TOOLS......................................................................29 FUNDRAISING ....................................................................................................................29

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CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE WEBSITE.............................................................................29 SOCIAL MEDIA ...................................................................................................................30 SYMPOSIUM........................................................................................................................31 DIRECT MAIL MARKETING CAMPAIGN.......................................................................31 CONFERENCE AND TRADE SHOWS ..............................................................................31 WEBINARS...........................................................................................................................32 INFO SESSIONS...................................................................................................................32

IMPLEMENTATION AND BUDGET ..................................................................................33 Appendix.......................................................................................................................... 34

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A marketing strategy plan has been created for the Centre of Excellence in Business Analytics at the British Columbia Institute of Technology’s School of Business. The plan addresses the fact that the Centre of Excellence in Business Analytics is still at the concept stage and, as such, faces the significant challenges of raising awareness, establishing relationships with industry partners, and becoming financially self-sufficient. To address these issues, the marketing plan is broken down into two main sections: marketing research findings and marketing strategy. The marketing research section presents the results of research conducted to gather information to help guide the development of a a marketing strategy for the Centre. The Marketing Strategy itself contains a marketing campaign to raise awareness of the Centre of Excellence in Business Analytics and create a unique brand that is supported by BCIT’s and the School of Business’ core strengths. The marketing research process consisted of two phases: secondary research and qualitative research. Key findings from the secondary research showed that Business Analytics is an opportunity that schools and businesses alike are actively pursuing. Both the academic and business worlds are taking action to provide business analytics courses and organizations are now buying business analytics software companies to push and expand this high margin business. The second phase of the marketing research process was the qualitative research, which involved in-depth interviews conducted with key informants from within BCIT’s School of Business. The participants were chosen for their anticipated knowledge and unique perspectives on business analytics, course development, and program management. Conclusions from these interviews supported the findings from the secondary research, including recognition of the growing demand for business analytics education in today’s economy. Recommendations offered after a thorough analysis of all the information gathered in the marketing include:

• Initiating a fundraising program that will help raise awareness and financial resources to get the Centre up and running

• Creating a website for the Centre of Excellence in Business Analytics to provide more information about the program, courses, staff etc.

• Hosting a symposium to launch the Centre to the public, introducing the course and branding the program. Symposiums should be hosted annually.

• Attending conferences to help promote the Centre in professional associations such as IIBA and TDWI

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• Creating on-going marketing initiatives that will promote the Centre onwards such as info-sessions, direct mail marketing, social media, webinars etc.

• Proposing projects for students to keep interaction with the industries that have interest in business analytics

• Providing internship program for students to be able to apply their skills • Selling training programs for companies who are interested in learning

about Business Analytics The marketing strategy addresses the challenge of creating a unique brand image and value proposition to attract sponsors and prospective students. The plan proposes attracting a minimum of five industry sponsors by the end of year one, increasing to at least eight sponsors by the end of year two. Further, it proposes that the Centre offer a minimum of three to five courses that are fully subscribed in each term of year one. One of these courses should be a Fundamentals of Business Analytics course. By the end of year two, a minimum of five to seven courses should be offered each term. The communication objective is to create a unique image for the Centre of Excellence in Business Analytics as the place for students and industry professionals to be trained in Business Analytics contributing to their career advancement business success. The strategy that is envisioned for the Centre of Excellence in Business Analytics revolves around the Centre’s ability to deliver the highest return on the students’ and companies’ investments. It will emphasize BCIT’s proven track record of success in delivering the highest quality of learning experience. The campaign will position the Centre as hands-on, applied learning experience, consisting of faculty members with relevant industry experience and expertise and strong industry ties, which in the end will lead to a great career.

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND BCIT was founded in 1960 as the British Columbia Vocational School. BCIT was the very first provincial institution devoted to advanced technical education in BC. The school was established by the provincial government to support BC’s economic and social growth by combining education and applied learning. Today, BCIT is known for its high job placement rate, strong ties with various industries and is recognized as a leader in delivering applied learning. Currently, BCIT has five campuses located within the Metro Vancouver Region and offers a variety of credentials including certificates, diplomas, bachelor and master degrees that lead to rewarding careers. Currently, there are about 19,894 students enrolled full-time and 35,174 students enrolled part-time with an average growth of 2% per year.

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INTRODUCTION TO THE MARKETING RESEARCH PROGRAM

BACKGROUND The School of Business at the British Columbia Institute of Technology is currently considering the development of a virtual (online) Centre of Excellence in Business Analytics. The field of business analytics is growing at a rapid pace in response to the acquisition of large amounts of data by organizations in a wide variety of industries. Essentially, computing systems and other business tools have made it possible for organizations to collect data on their customers, competitors, and industries, and they require staff with the skills and knowledge necessary to work with that data to identify important trends and opportunities.

OBJECTIVES Gather information that will help the Centre of Excellence development team better understand the following:

• Current market offerings in business analytics courses and programs, • Identify and profile key competitors • Determine resources that will be necessary to develop and support the

Centre • Ways in which the Centre can be most effectively marketed to potential

clients.

Lastly, develop a detailed marketing strategy for the Centre based on the key findings of this research.

PHASE ONE: SECONDARY RESEARCH The first phase of the research plan consisted of an extensive online search of post-secondary institutions outside of British Columbia and the rest of Canada and the United States that currently offer courses and programs in business analytics.

OBJECTIVES The primary objectives of this research were to identify and profile competitors to BCIT’s proposed Centre of Excellence and to identify courses that are currently in demand in the marketplace. Also included in this research was the identification and profiling of Centres of Excellence outside Canada that are considered market leaders. These Centres were studied as examples upon which BCIT’s Centre can model itself.

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SUB-OBJECTIVES

• Identify trends in business analytics in both the academic and business worlds

• Identify trends in virtual or online education • Identify the skill sets that Canadian employers outside of British Columbia

require for positions related to business analytics, business intelligence, competitive intelligence, and marketing research

METHODOLOGY The key sources of information for this phase of the research plan were the websites of post-secondary institutions outside of British Columbia, the rest of Canada, and elsewhere that offer programs and courses in business analytics. Information regarding business analytics skills currently in demand were gathered from online job ads/descriptions posted on credible websites such as bcjobs.ca, workopolis.com, wowjobs.ca, monster.ca etc. Other research information such as trends of business analytics and virtual education was obtained from BCIT’s online databases and other credible websites.

LIMITATIONS The most obvious limitation for the secondary research is the number of schools that were studied. For this report, although a lot of schools outside BC and Canada have been researched, there might be still more schools with better match for the report objectives. By doing more research, more valuable information might be discovered, and which may help improve the research results. Different than primary research, secondary research is mainly done online, which indicates another limitation. Websites as the primary resources for the secondary research may not include all the information. Further information about the objective will need more work offline. There are also limitations for the trends. As trends are time sensitive, some trends might be outdated, especially business analytics is technology related.

KEY FINDINGS COMPETITOR PROFILE The following are the top competitors outside of BC and the rest of Canada and the United States: 1. York University- Schulich School of Business- Executive Education Centre The Schulich School of Business- Executive Education Centre of York University is considered to be one of our major competitors in Canada. The Executive

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Education Centre under the Schulich School of Business partners with University of Winnipeg, Saint Mary’s University, Memorial University, University of Saskatchewan, Carleton University, University of Prince Edward Island, University of New Brunswick, and Learning and Performance Institute offers a Masters Certificate in Business Analysis program. The Master’s Certificate in Business Analysis program targets business analysts from all industries, as well as business consultants, product managers, quality assurance professionals, project managers, business or IT professionals. There is no university level prerequisite to register this program. The duration of the program is 18 days over five months. The tuition of the program is $9,450 CAD. The Masters Certificate in Business Analysis program consists of 9 in class modules that are aligned with the latest version of the International Institute of Business Analysis. The program schedule is as follow: (Alternate Friday/ Saturday Sessions) Module 1 One Day

• Program Introduction and Business • Analysis Framework

Module 2 Two Days • Enterprise Analysis

Module 3 Two Days • Creativity and Critical Thinking

Module 4 Two Days • Planning, Validating and Managing • User Requirements

Module 5 Two Days • Communications Inputs: Questioning, Listening, Facilitating and Managing

Conflict Module 6 Two Days

• Eliciting User Requirements Module 7 Three Days

• Modeling the Business Problems and Solution Module 8 Two Days

• Communications Output: Planning, Writing and Presenting Module 9 Two Days

• Final Exam and Simulation Execution The Executive Education Centre at the Schulich School of Business also offers a three day Business Analyst’s Course on-campus or in-company. The total cost of the courses is $2,395. The content of the courses covers the essentials of business analysis, including key roles and responsibilities as well as understanding all of the steps in the business requirements process.

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Courses included in this program are: • The Role of the Business Analyst • The Business Requirements Process • Business Process and Data Modeling • Project Management Providers • Critical Thinking Skills • Maintain On-Going Customer Feedback and Involvement

2. McGill University McGill University in Montreal is another main competitor of BCIT Center of Excellence in Business Analytics. A Comprehensive Business Analysis program is offered under their School of Continuing Studies. The potential students of this program are business analysts, project managers, project team members, team leaders, consultants, process analysts, enterprise analysts, QA primes, subject matter experts, and working professionals who wish to enter the world of business analysis. The program is designed for working professionals, but there is no prerequisite to enroll in the program. The program is offered in class, and consists of 20 three hours sessions and 2 eight hours workshop sessions. The tuition of the program is $2,650 CAD. The credit of the program is worth of 8 Continuing Education Units. Topics covered include:

• Enterprise Analysis • Stakeholder Analysis • Business Analysis Planning • SMART Requirements& Attributes • Requirements in the Project Life Cycle • Requirements Elicitation Techniques • Interactive Communication for Success • Facilitating the Requirement Workshop • Introduction to Modeling • Business Process Modeling Techniques • Use Cases • Business Rules& Data Models • Requirements Verification& Validation • Solution Assessment& Transitioning to Deployment • Presenting Requirements • Lean 6 Sigma in the Business Analysis World • The Agile Business Analyst • Business Standards: IIBA, BABOK, CBAP, CCBA • Business Analysis Workshops- Case Study

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3. Stanford University One of our main competitors in the United States is Stanford University located in Stanford, California. The Stanford Center for Professional Education offers a data mining and applications program to industry and business professionals such as strategy managers, scientific researchers, medical researchers, social sciences researchers, data analysts and consultants, and advertising and marketing staffing. The successful applicants to this program must meet the requirements of a background in probability and matrix algebra (minimum of one course at the undergraduate level or above) and an undergraduate degree with minimum GPA of 3.5 or equivalent. Students will be given 3 years maximum to complete the program. The tuition is $10,080- $11,880 USD (9 units). The average completion length is 1 to 2 years. A graduate certificate is offered upon completion. Three courses are required to complete the program:

• Data Mining and Analysis (STAT 202) Elective Courses (Two from the following):

• Paradigms for Computing with Data (STAT 290) • Modern Applied Statistics: Learning (STAT 315A) • Modern Applied Statistics: Data Mining (STAT 315B)

Graduates gain the skills and knowledge of using statistical methods to extract meaning from large datasets; developing and using predictive models and analytics; and understanding and using strategic decision-making applications. 4. New York University- Stern School of Business Another important competitor in the United States is New York University (NYU) located in New York City. The Stern School of Business at NYU offers a Master of Science in Business Analytics program. The one-year program is designed for full-time working professionals. A wide range of industries could benefit from taking this program, such as, financial services, communications, consulting, health and pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, energy, nonprofit/NGO, education, IT by unlocking the potential of big data. To apply to the Master of Science in Business Analytics program, the applicants must have a Bachelor degree and strong GPA; demonstrated high aptitude for quantitative analysis and academic success as evidenced by undergraduate and graduate coursework as applicable. Moreover, the applicants must have at least five years’ work experience. The program is comprised of five modules with in-class sessions held between New York and Shanghai. Tuition of this program is $63,500 USD (includes course materials, some meals and official events.) Hotel

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and travel expenses are not included. Students need to spend approximately 20 hours per week on pre-and post-module tasks over 12 months. The modules and courses schedule is as follow: Module 1: New York

• Data Visualization • Operations Analytics • Decision Models • Managing for Quality • Data Mining for Business Analytics

Module 2: New York

• Data Driven Decision Making • Applied Stochastic Processes for Finance • Social and Digital Media Analytics

Module 3: Shanghai

• Prediction • Advanced Decision Models • Digital Marketing

Module 4: Shanghai

• Special Topics in Analytics: Revenue Management& Pricing • Business Metrics

Module 5: Closing- New York

• Strategic Capstone

CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE MODEL Villanova School of Business - Center for Business Analytics This school has six centers of excellence in total, with business analytics being one of them, and the other five including the center for global leadership, center for entrepreneurship, center for marketing and public policy research, center for the study of church management, and center for real estate. The School means to cover all the business categories by using different centers of excellence. The mission of the Center has two main focuses: education and business. For the education part, it is working to lead the development of the analytical capabilities of all the Villanova School of Business (VSB) students. While also help cross-disciplinary faculty and staff become recognized for excellence in analytics education, practice, and research. For the business part, the Center provides resources and a forum for member companies to address their business analytics needs. By using applications of

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information technology, the Center addresses the integration of the following areas

• Advanced Analytics (decision optimization, statistical models, predictive analytics, forecasting)

• Business Intelligence (alerts, queries, standard and reports) • Business Performance Management (KPIs, scorecards, dashboards) • Business Process Management (process and value stream mapping, lean,

six sigma) In addition, the Center addresses the introduction and acceptance of Business Analytics within the managerial team to drive fact-based information and analytics as the basis for how decisions are made. For the businesses, the Center also provides ways for the companies to interact with the center. The list below is the ways that companies can be involved with the Center:

• Join the Center of Business Analytics • Become a guest speaker of the Center • Request faculty participation in business partner analytics issues • Sponsor research projects • Request continuing education in analytics for professionals, managers,

and executives • Join the roundtable of the center, share best practices • Offer internships, opportunities for job placement for the students • Mentor an undergraduate • Host an information session at your company for the students • Host an information session at your company for the students

There are two people managing and organizing the activities inside and outside the Center:

• Director: Matthew Liberatore, PhD • Associate Director: Thomas Coghlan

TRENDS Rapid developments in computing technology are not only improving the operating speed of devices, but also changing the speed of data transmission. Under the high-speed growth pace, development of computing hardware is doubling year over year as stated by Moore’s law; however, the growing pace of the data capacity is even faster. According to “Big data is Scaling BI and Analytics”, recent IDC research on digital data indicates that in 2010, the amount of digital information in the world reached beyond a zettabyte in size. That’s one trillion gigabytes of information. In other words, a zettabyte is roughly the size of 125 billion 8GB iPods fully loaded1. 1 Rogers, S. (2011, October). Big data is scaling BI and Analytics. Information Management , 21 (5), pp. 14-18.

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Trends in Business Analytics: Academic World Like business, higher education is using analytics to ensure organizational success at all levels. Natsu reported that analytics could help education leaders improve teaching and learning. She stated that the use of predictive analytics could range from “improving efficiencies to saving money to enhancing student achievement” and included examples such as planning courses, recruiting and retaining college students, optimizing the scheduling of classrooms, and maximizing alumni donations2. Analytics allows instructors to predict which students are in academic difficulty, so faculty and advisors can customize learning paths or provide instruction tailored to specific learning needs. Moreover, interpretation of a wide range of data produced by and gathered on behalf of students can help assess academic progress, predict future performance, and spot potential issues. At the school level, analytics can be used to examine test scores and other student indicators over time to help administrators determine the impact of policies. In educational data mining, analytics techniques often used to extracting an underlying pattern, which might be partly or nearly completely hidden by data that does not contribute to the pattern3 Business Analytics Trends in Online Education Online education is certainly not new, but what about classes with tens of thousands of students, participating from locations all over the world? That’s MOOC (Massive Online Open Education) – and it’s opening new doors for data analytics4. With MOOC and analytics tools, analyzing student answers on assignments and tests revealed patterns that would never have been noticed in conventional classes. Daphne Koller, a professor in the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, explains in a recent interview that “the availability of these really large amounts of data provides us with insights into how people learn, what they understand, what they don’t understand, what are the factors that cause some students to get it and others not that is unprecedented, I think, in the realm of education.” In turn, this information can be used to improve instruction at every level, in every class size5.

2 Angela, B, Kimberly, A & John, C. (2012, January), Analytics in Higher Education: Establishing a Common Language, from http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI3026.pdf 3 U.S. Department of Education. (2012, April 10), Enhancing Teaching and Learning through Educational Data Mining and Learning Analytics, Page 33, from http://evidenceframework.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/EDM-LA-Brief-Draft_4_10_12c.pdf 4 Tibco (2012, May), Big Data Goes to School, from http://spotfireblog.tibco.com/?p=11886#more-11886 5 Tibco (2012, May), Big Data Goes to School, from http://spotfireblog.tibco.com/?p=11886#more-11886

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MOOC is one of the hottest topics in higher education today – and it offers significant opportunities for big data management and analytics. Students interact extensively online, not only with the course material, but also with each other, using social network groups, microblogging, social bookmarking systems, and much more. So students produce a huge number of “data trails” that can yield invaluable information. Educators in high schools and colleges worldwide hold virtual office hours on Facebook and Twitter; post assignments on more education-oriented networks like Edmodo; and build dialogs and discussions through services like ePals and School Town. Trends in Business Analytics: Business World

In the business world, business intelligence and analytics are in high demand as organizations seek to use information assets to improve business outcomes, customer relationships, and operational efficiency. There are three main trends, flexibility, efficiency and predictability.

The notion of “big data” has recently hit the mainstream, but companies like Amazon, eBay, Google and Target have been using business analytics successfully for years to exploit the value locked in large volumes of data6. Big data refers to very large data sets, particularly those cannot fit into traditional data warehouse. Web browsing data, social media feeds and server logs, as well as data from supply chain, industrial, environmental and surveillance sensors all make business data more complex than it used to be7.

Flexibility

From the macro perspective, what is really changing business analytics are business dynamics. Non-technical users are exposed to business analytics tools that give them the capability to access, analyze and share data on their own. Users of business analytics are increasingly knowledgeable, and many are comfortable doing their own analysis as producer-consumers, instead of relying on other departments. As users across organization have varying degrees of experience with data, they need the flexibility to justify the tools for their own requirements. Today, data discovery technology is leading the way toward making it possible for users to determine their own business intelligence requirements by authoring reports, assembling their own dashboards, and so on. The new tools in the market are putting pressure on market-leading business intelligence systems to catch up. But the result is a positive trend for users toward greater self-service and more business intelligence agility without sacrificing analytical flexibility and depth8.

6 Mchenry, Diana, (2010, March), Chain Store Age; Mar2010, Vol. 86 Issue 3, p36-36, 1p 7 David F., C. (2012, March 23). 5 Business Analytics Tech Trends and How to Exploit Them, http://www.cio.com/article/702779/5_Business_Analytics_Tech_Trends_and_How_to_Exploit_Them?page=5&taxonomyId=3002 8 David, S (2011, November 9). Five Emerging Trends in Business Intelligence and Analytics, TDWI Research.

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Efficiency

In the world of big data, speed wins the competition; companies analyzing sales data in a warehouse are missing the opportunity to take into account the treasure trove of information that can be gleaned from data in motion. A recent Aberdeen Group study of 63 companies finds that the top performing companies have an 83% success rate for delivering information quickly enough to meet user demand. According to the same study, 35% of all active business data in these companies was immediately available for queries and analysis9. With the adoption of cloud computing and mobile devices, mobile computing is also affecting the businesses. In order to be quick and efficient in analyzing data, the number of people doing work off of iPads and other mobile devices is exploding. This trend will accelerate and change how the software companies interact with their computing resources in an enterprise10. The more integration happening between the technologies, the better efficiency will be in the future. Predictability With the explosion of Facebook, Twitter and other social media, it is the social media age. Customers are using social networks to influence others and express their shopping interests and experiences. The information exchanged by the customers on social networks can be rich with clues about the success or failure of certain products and services. More companies want to analyze the data those sites generate. Business intelligence technologies that uncover relationships and patterns within large volumes of data are highly used by the companies to predict behavior and events that will happen in the future. Rising interest in social media analysis is putting the spotlight on business analytics. Text analytics, which is the critical technology for understanding “sentiment” in social media, as well as customer reviews and other content sources, is becoming important. Like data mining, the text mining and analytics category stretches to include a range of techniques and software. New analytics applications have emerged to support statistical techniques such as natural language processing, sentiment analysis, and network analysis11. Noticing the importance of business analytics in the business world, International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) has started moving forward in this area. From the latest business news, “Update: IBM buys Varicent Software to boost business analytics”, IBM agreed to acquire Varicent Software Inc., which is a company provides software that analyze compensation and sales performance. By doing this, IBM is able to push to expand into complex, high-margin business-analytics 9 Mchenry, Diana, (2010, March), Chain Store Age; Mar2010, Vol. 86 Issue 3, p36-36, 1p 10 David F., C. (2012, March 23). 5 Business Analytics Tech Trends and How to Exploit Them, http://www.cio.com/article/702779/5_Business_Analytics_Tech_Trends_and_How_to_Exploit_Them?page=5&taxonomyId=3002 11 David F., C. (2012, March 23). 5 Business Analytics Tech Trends and How to Exploit Them, http://www.cio.com/article/702779/5_Business_Analytics_Tech_Trends_and_How_to_Exploit_Them?page=5&taxonomyId=3002

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business field. According to the same article, IBM is expecting revenue from its business-analytics segment to reach $16 billion by 2015, which will be happening in the near future12. By quoting Les Rechan, general manager of business analytics at IBM, which really indicating the trends of business analytics in business world. “For the thousands of sales organizations still relying on silos of data, spreadsheets and email to manage sales, there is an enormous opportunity to apply analytics to this vital area of business and uncover new, untapped growth opportunities.” JOB SKILL SETS Business analytics, business intelligence, competitive intelligence Roles:

Job titles for business analytics practitioners include business analyst (BA), business intelligence analyst, competitive intelligence analyst, and process analyst, all of whom play the roles of data scientists and strategists. They collect and analyze data to track business processes, provide suggestions on business decision-making, and define solutions to maximize the value delivered by the organization.

Because business analysts work across all levels of a company, they are required to master the skills of business development and abilities to use data, statistics, and modeling. Business analysts will be involved in tracking business performance, defining strategy, creating the enterprise solution, applying strategy to projects, and may at times take a leadership role by defining the requirements and goals for projects, as well as supporting continuous improvement in its technology and implement processes.

Based on job ads within Canada excluding BC in on variety of recruitment sites, business analyst related jobs require qualified candidates to have specific skills and qualifications as follow:

• Up-to-date knowledge of client/ server networking concepts • Up-to-date knowledge of developments in relational database and

client/server networking technology • Understand and have a desire to work at bringing consumer insights and

behaviors into fruition.

12 Jones, K. (2012, April 13). UPDATE: IBM Buys Varicent Software To Boost Business Analytics. From The Wall Street Journal: http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20120413-707954.html

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• Demonstrated capability in performance-based project management (Such as implementation of performance metrics or quality assurance programs)

• Ability in leading and developing project deliverables using formal/ structured methodology

• Skills in report design and dimensional modeling • Ability to work with business intelligence infrastructure • Ability of implementing and/ or using applications • Ability to prioritize and manage multiple tasks and effectively manage time • Skills of critical thinking • Ability of estimating the budget for projects • Developed communication skills (written and verbal)

Backgrounds of finance, marketing, IT, or technology would be considered as assets, but it all depends on what type of business a BA works with. Organizations demand at least 3 to 5 years’ related experience when they recruit a business analyst. The experience includes:

• Experience in supporting business intelligence or decision support solutions

• Experience in using analytic tools in certain areas • Experience in leading and developing projects • Experience in working with business intelligence infrastructure • Experience in working with business and end user communities • Experience in report design and modeling • Experience in developing solutions with business intelligence software

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Moreover, business analysts should acknowledge the use of business analysis software and tools to analyze data and develop solutions. The most used business analysis software and tools include Microsoft SQL Server, QlikView, OBIEE, SSAS, SSRS, SharePoints, and TSQL.

The education requirement for business analytics job positions is Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in engineering, finance, business, IT, or marketing related disciplines.

Marketing research Marketing research is a systematic process of gathering, recording, and analyzing of data relating to marketing products and services. The roles of marketing research staffing have been changed from just dealing with providing information to managerial decision making. Tasks of marketing researchers

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include creating surveys to understand the target market and applying the findings to gain competitive advantages as well as supporting sales and marketing team of an organization.

Based on the marketing research related job ads within Canada excluding BC, the skills and qualifications for marketing researchers include:

• Strong analytical and modeling skills • Skill in analyzing and interpreting data to identify patterns and solutions,

including surveys and focus group transcripts • Ability to use statistical software to manage and organize information • Ability to monitor the process of research projects • Skills in undertaking and conducting qualitative and quantitative

researches • Skills in managing budgets • Ability to advise clients/ senior management on how to best use research

findings • Skills in critical thinking • Ability to stay self-motivated • Developed communication skills (written and verbal)

The experience requirement of marketing research staffing is not as strict as business analysts. Organizations require marketing research candidates to have related experience in marketing research, analysis, and project development and management.

CONCLUSION Business analytics is an opportunity that schools and businesses are trying to seize currently. Famous universities such as McGill University, Stanford University, New York University are all providing business analytics programs or courses. Interestingly enough, many schools are cooperating with other schools, or even international partners in order to provide better curriculum and experiences for the students. After thorough assessments of the competitors’ profiles, the Centre would have a competitive edge by offering more applied learning experience, as the courses offered by most competitors are more on the theoretical side. Moreover, going beyond industry projects to interact with businesses by providing practicum opportunities and being proactive by attending conferences of professional associations, hosting symposiums annually, starting a social media initiative etc., will further strengthen the Centre’s industry ties and relationships. From the strategy point of view, creating synergies seems to be a popular trend. The competitors are combining complementary strengths, a win-win situation for the schools involved. This means that the Centre needs to convey BCIT and the School of Business’ core

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strengths to be able attract prospective students. On the other side, businesses are also paying close attention to business analytics field. Big companies are taking actions now, for example, IBM bought Varicent Software, a business analytics software company to push to expand this high margin business. As it comes to the job roles that related to the business analytics industry, skills are highly required by the companies, which in this case is the skills to use the business analytics software. Overall, business analytics is a hot topic that is getting even more popular.

PHASE TWO: QUALITATIVE RESEARCH In the second phase of the research plan, in-depth interviews were conducted with key informants from within BCIT’s School of Business. These individuals were chosen for their anticipated knowledge and unique perspectives on business analytics, course development, and program management.

OBJECTIVES The primary objective of this phase of the work plan was to identify resources internal to BCIT that can be used to develop and support the proposed Centre of Excellence and gather opinions from BCIT faculty and staff regarding the most appropriate structure for the Centre of Excellence to take.

TOPICS The topics in the in-depth interviews consisted of, but were not limited to the following:

• Determining the staff and faculty’s opinion about BCIT’s consideration of developing a Centre of Excellence in Business Analytics

• Assessing the potential demand for Business Analytics • Identifying resources internal to BCIT that can be used to develop and

support the proposed Centre of Excellence • Suggestions for an appropriate structure for the Centre of Excellence • Ways to best market the Centre to its intended target audiences

METHODOLOGY A questionnaire was developed by the student team and was approved by the team’s advisor, Tom Jopling before being submitted to our client, Karen Plesner, for final approval. The advisor and client will propose the names of the interviewees. The in-depth interviews were conducted in person at the School of Business at times most convenient to the interviewees’ schedules.

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LIMITATIONS Due to the differences in schedules, there was a very limited time spent with the interviewees. A few of the participants did not have enough time to spend answering the questions. As such, probing for specifics was a bit challenging and there was limited amount of information gathered during the process. In addition, a couple of participants were not fully aware about the School of Business’ plan of developing a virtual centre for Business Analytics. A couple of them also did not have any opinions on some of the questions in the questionnaire. Because the faculty members who were being interviewed did not have very much time to spare, a couple asked for the questionnaire to be sent via email.

KEY FINDINGS QUESTION 1: What is your first Impression of this idea? Answer: Excellent idea. All of the interviewees think that developing a Centre of Excellence in Business Analytics at BCIT is a great opportunity for the School of Business considering other schools in BC such as Simon Fraser University and University of British Columbia are already offering Business Analytics courses making the opportunity limited. Most of them thought, “if we do not take action, we will be missing a great opportunity.” There are an increasing number of industries that require new hires to have Business Analytics skills, another reason why the School of Business should jump on board. QUESTION 2: What sort of demand currently exists for Business Analytics courses in British Columbia? Answer: Moderate. Although there was a consensus from all the interviewees that the demand for Business Analytics is increasing, some participants mentioned that a number of people, usually those who have worked or are working in small to mid-size businesses do not fully understand the value proposition of it yet answering Q3 of the reason why the demand is less than very strong. But all the interviewees agreed that it is a growing field, one of them mentioned that with technology constantly evolving, Business Analytics might become a necessity for the survival of businesses. QUESTION 4: What types of companies and/or industries do you think would be most interested in having employees trained in business analytics? Put another way, what do you think is the strongest market for the Centre’s courses? Answer: Not limited to any type of industry or business. Most of the interviewees agreed that Business Analytics is a great tool for almost all businesses, especially companies dealing with large amounts of data that do not know what to do with it but have sufficient funding in place to analyze it. A few interviewees were a bit more specific. For example, someone mentioned that certain

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businesses i.e. warehouses to utilize it for inventory management, or operating management would be particularly interested. Also for retailers, Sales, Marketing and CRM Management will be the main reason using Business Analytics as well as accounting or financial companies. QUESTION 5: Which of the following types of courses do you believe should be offered through the Center? CHECK ALL THAT APPLY. (Course list from interviewees and who they have in mind to take these courses) Answer: ALL. QUESTION 6: Courses offered by the Centre could be run online only, primarily online with some in-class instruction, or in-class only. Which of these methods do you believe would work best for students? Answer: Primarily online with some in-class instruction. Most of the interviewees agreed that courses offered by the Centre should be run primarily online with some in-class instruction. The reason behind it is that if courses are only offered online, students might be too theoretical, such as university students when they get hired, they cannot do the actual work. That being said, courses offered in-class are really important in order to let students be more practical and ready for work. QUESTION 7: Which of the following types of certifications do you believe the Centre should offer? Answer: Certificates. The interviewees all agreed that the Centre should start small and offer 5 courses, just to test the waters. Then maybe offer diplomas, post diploma and post degree. If BCIT can offer masters, it will be good as well but probably not PhD. QUESTION 8: What types of qualifications do you think it would be necessary for instructors to have if teaching courses through the Centre? Answer: Master’s Degree with industry experience. The instructors should have business experiences and technical background. They also must have a master’s degree to teach at BCIT, PhD may be too theoretical. The interviewees thought that the qualification of instructors should be considered at first and then be able to teach after although they all agree it would be really hard to test qualifications. QUESTION 9: What do you think is an appropriate maximum number of students for each class if they were only offered online? Answer: 20 – 25.

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QUESTION 10: What do you think is an appropriate maximum number of students for each class if they were only offered in-class? Answer: 20 – 25. They believed this number was appropriate because of computer classroom capacity. QUESTION 11: At what times of the year do you think the Centre should offer its courses? CHECK ALL THAT APPLY. Answer: All year. This would allow for more convenience and flexibility for students. Part-time studies will consist of smaller module that can be finished in a shorter period of time i.e. one week. There can be a difference in delivery. One of the interviewees mentioned that in-class courses should be offered the same time as the other programs, in the fall and spring term. QUESTION 12: In your opinion, under whose leadership should the Centre be operated? Answer: A dedicated Centre manager. Most of the interviewees did not have an opinion of who should run the Centre although a few mentioned the Dean of the School of Business or a director determined by faculties, and the Business Analytics department within the School of Business. QUESTION 13: In your opinion, should students be able to take courses from the Centre through Part-times Studies only, Full-time Studies only, or through either these? Answer: Full-time and Part-time. There was a consensus that courses should be offered both Full-time and Part-time, depends on the student. QUESTION 14: Should international students be given access to business analytics courses offered by the Centre? Answer: Yes. International students should be given access to the Business Analytics courses. But if the students were not in BC then the access would depend on the software company, and also the country policy. There are some countries where people do not have access to certain software. It will also depend on BCIT’s policy. QUESTION 15: How do you think BCIT should promote the Centre of Excellence in Business Analytics once it has been established? Answer: BCIT must have the website for Business Analytics right away. The School of Business should host a symposium. The Business Analytics program should be also included in the course calendar. People should be active in professional associations such as IIBA and TDWI to promote and build

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awareness for the program. There can be promotional videos about the Centre, showcasing it to the professionals. The School of Business should commit enough resources to manage the Centre. SEO should also be considered when the people are searching business analytics courses. QUESTION 16: Do you have any other suggestions to offer regarding the establishment and management of the Centre? Answer: BCIT needs to come up with a compelling story of why the Centre of Excellence in Business Analytics should be put down the road and what Business Analytics is to attract sponsors and raise money. There must be enough resources to actually let the world know. After BCIT successfully raises funds for the Centre, the School of Business should make it running as soon as possible so BCIT will not miss a major opportunity as the other school are already doing it. QUESTION 17: How do you envision the Centre to do the projects? Answer: The Business Analytics Centre should do projects for small and medium business, teaching them how to use the right tools. BCIT should bring all the technologies together so there will be better performance for the projects, which will include the media center and the computer science engineering departments. QUESTION 18: How do you envision the Centre to interact with industries? Answer: It will be mainly about consulting, and education system. The school can also set up internship and hopefully the companies will hire students from BCIT. Students’ projects for Directed Studies can be more technical in IT including sales and marketing in marketing management program. BCIT can also host more networking events i.e. industry minglers. The Centre should promote faculty projects and let industries pay for them. But this will require BCIT to hire someone to teach because other instructors have to do projects for the companies. BCIT can also target industries by teaching corporate courses. The school can also sell training programs for the company. QUESTION 19: Suggested topics for the symposium. Answer:

• Introduction of BA • What do we teach in BCIT of BA • Why BA is in demand • How well will it make your business more profitable: feature success

stories for example one of the interviewees mentioned that a company

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who was in the verge of losing a big account but implemented Business Analytics and ended up saving $900,000 worth of business.

QUESTION 20: If you were attending the symposium, what would you expect to learn? Answer:

• Gain a better understanding of what BA can do for business • Gain a clear understanding of what courses that we should deliver, and

why • Gain a clear idea whether or not we should deliver a program • What does industry want from BCIT

CONCLUSION Most of the interviewees seem to agree that there is an increasing demand of Business Analytics although a lot of small to medium size business do not know its full potential. Business Analytics is a great tool for all businesses especially companies dealing with large data and do not know what to do with it and with sufficient funding. A few interviewees were a bit more specific. For example, someone mention that certain businesses i.e. warehouses to utilize it for inventory management, or operating management. Also for retailers, Sales, Marketing and CRM Management will be the main reason using Business Analytics as well as accounting or financial companies. There are no industries untouched by it. With technology constantly evolving, Business Analytics might become a necessity for the survival of businesses. That being said, the Centre of Excellence in Business Analytics is a wonderful opportunity for BCIT to raise its competitive edge. The establishment of the Centre is feasible if there are financial resources coming from sponsors and prospective students who want to have the right skill sets and learn Business Analytics. There is no argument that it is a growing field and it is just a matter of having to right strategy to attract sponsors in order to have the resources to get the Centre up and running. With BCIT’s indisputable reputation and strong industry ties, there is no doubt that the Centre will do extremely well.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Based on the analysis of the results of secondary research and qualitative research, the recommendations on overcoming the current issue, promoting the Centre and interacting with the industries are as follows: Fundraising Program

Since a lack of financing is one of the key challenges in the establishment of the Centre, a fundraising program is needed to help the Centre start up. Fundraising

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could be conducted through events and direct fundraising. The respondents of the in-depth interviews through direct fundraising could be an effective way to get financial resources. The person in charge of the Centre should contact the potential sponsors with interest in and have already used Business Analytics. Another benefit the fundraising program could bring to the Centre is increasing the awareness of the BCIT’s Centre of Excellence in Business Analytics program. Website Establishment

Majority of the respondents of in-depth interviews pointed that website would be the most effective way to promote the Centre and reach the potential students and financial sponsors. It’s important to list the strengths of the Centre and the instruction of the Business Analytics program on the home page. The link of the website of the Centre should be embedded in the website of BCIT. A detailed course brochure should be added onto the website. The IT department of BCIT will be responsible for creating the website of the Centre. Social media buttons of Linkedin, Twitter, and Google+ will be integrated on the website of the Centre to encourage the visitors clicking on and participating our social media communities. Because the Centre of Excellence will target working professionals, the selection of the social media channels are more credible and professional. Paid online advertising, like Google Adword and Adsense should be used to optimize the traffic to the website and increase the Centres online presence. Symposium & Conference

With technology constantly changing, a symposium should be held annually. This will also help increase awareness of the Centre. The symposium is an effective method to promote the Centre, its programs and new courses being offered. Attendees will get an opportunity to further understand the Centre and what it can offer. In addition, attending conferences has similar impact on the Centre, as it can also be used to create awareness and build relationships with professionals in various industries. It is a very good opportunity for the Centre to build its network. With a large industry network, it will increase the probability of getting sponsors and funding for the Centre. Furthermore, by attending the professional conferences, the Centre of business analytics can also build its credibility and maintain a positive brand image. On-going Marketing Initiatives

On-going marketing initiatives will keep the Centre sustainable. By using tools such direct mail, social media, the center is able to get feedback from students and industry professionals immediately, while also helps build sustainable relationship between the center and the customers.

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Industry Projects and Practicum

By providing industry projects for students, the Centre is able to build relationships with industries that have interest in business analytics. In addition, practicum opportunities will also help strengthen these relationships. Practicum and industry projects will give students opportunities to apply their skills and ensure they are job ready. Training Program For companies who want to implement business analytics, selling training programs is a great way for the Centre to generate revenue. Providing onsite training programs to companies is a way for the Centre to promote its program and help raise awareness.

TARGET MARKET The Centre of Excellence in Business Analytics will target three different market segments: SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS. The Centre will target people who create, develop, and program Business Analytics software who work in various industries such as healthcare, finance and accounting, human resource, customer support or transportation, etc. The courses offered by center will help them keep up with trends in business analytics and enhance their skills and ability in developing Business Analytics software that will provide optimizing solutions for companies that help propel businesses forward. USERS. The second target audience is the users of Business Analytics. Senior management and high-level executives who deal with large database and have to analyze the data collected to make strategic decisions and implement it would need the right skills provided by the Centre to make smart business decisions leading to success. BUSINESSES. Businesses that are looking to implement Business Analytics into their organization but do not have the know-how can also benefit from the courses offered by the Centre. This is not limited to large organizations but includes small to medium size businesses that do not know the full potential of Business Analytics and how it can take their business to new heights. The program will equip these businesses with the right skill set in order to successfully analyze data, predict and succeed.

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ORGANIZATION The Centre of Excellence in Business Analytics is a virtual learning Centre created with the purpose of educating individuals to become experts in analyzing data and making smart, strategic business decisions. Therefore, transforming the company’s overall business. The Centre will offer experienced instructors who will help students meet the challenge of staying on top of the rapidly changing needs and demands of today’s consumers.

VISION To be recognized by companies and students as BC’s leading Centre for world-class education in Business Analytics.

MISSION The mission of the Centre of Excellence in Business Analytics is to deliver world-class educational opportunities in business analytics. Delivered by industry professionals using the latest tools and technologies, the Centre will guide students to succeed in this fast-paced industry.

STAKEHOLDERS

• Faculty and Staff • School of Business

o Broadcast and Media Communications o Business Administration o Financial Management o Marketing Management o Operations Management o Venture Development Centre

• School of Computing • Students • Industry partners

o Bell Canada o Oracle o Microsoft DreamSpark/Great plains o Chartered Accountants/Certified General Accountants Association of Canada o SAP o IBM

• Potential customers such as Government Department and Ministries, large corporations, small and medium enterprises, and so on

• Businesses involved in BCIT Business Consulting Projects

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COMMITMENTS TO THE STAKEHOLDERS The Centre of Excellence in Business Analytics is committed to:

• Providing a high quality professional education that will help students to advance and succeed in their careers.

• Delivering success to employers by educating, training and preparing students to excel in their respective roles and responsibilities, therefore, offering the highest return on their investments

• Employing exceedingly qualified faculty and staff members with relevant industry experience and expertise

• Being receptive and adaptive to the changing needs and demands of the economy

CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE ORGANIZATION The Centre will have three main administrative personnel who will be committed to helping students advance their careers. There will be a Director to facilitate and manage the Centre and two administrative assistants to help manage student applications, inquiries, and so on. The instructors are going to be hired in a contractual basis after qualification test. CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE MANAGER One dedicated faculty or staff member. This individual will be chosen for his or her anticipated knowledge and unique perspectives on business analytics, course development, and program management. MANAGER’S ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES The roles and responsibilities of the Centre Manager are but not limited to the following:

• Connecting and networking with industry • Participating in industry sponsored events and conferences. • Communicate success stories relevant to Business Analytics to different

industries • Face to face interaction with potential clients • Head fundraising initiative to help raise funds for the Centre

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ALLOCATION OF RESOURCES Type of resource Estimated Cost Website development $3,500 – $5,000 Website maintenance $150 - $500 Social Media Initiative (twitter, linkedin, google+) free Faculty and Staff (contract) $4,000 per course Centre Manager $90,000 - $100,000 Administrative assistant (two) $40,000 - $45,000 Equipment $25,000 Software programs $25,000 Software licensing fees $25,000 per year

PROPOSED COURSES/ TOPICS

• Visualization and digitalization of information • Budget benchmarking • Data management (extracting, transforming and loading) • Three sides of business analytics (top user, business side and technical side) • Information lineage • Presentation Skills (how to use data in presentations) • Data governance • Tool and Technology training • Legalities regarding data ownership and privacy • Designing of business metrics • Creation and understanding of different reports (i.e. Sales or online) • Use of data in adverting (to make a difference in your strategy) • Business math and statistics • Basic set theory and basic game theory

SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS Developing a virtual Centre of Excellence in Business Analytics is a great opportunity for the School of Business to expand its current offerings, but first it must succeed in securing funding for its development and operational support. The development of the Centre is the School’s way of responding to the growing demand of skill sets in Business Analytics in various companies and industries. Although the Centre presents a great opportunity and will give BCIT a competitive edge, the School of Business has yet to surmount its biggest obstacle, which is the lack of sponsors and funding.

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Because the Centre is still at the concept stage, there is no awareness of it among the target market and potential sponsors. Creating a unique brand image that will attract potential students will be challenging. The School of Business will need to capitalize on its proven track record of accelerating students’ success, giving real experience and real results, and BCIT’s indisputable reputation for providing the highest quality of learning experience. The School will need to translate that image to the Centre of Excellence in Business Analytics for the Centre to be attractive.

MARKETING STRATEGY The School of Business’ overall strategy is to increase awareness of the Centre of Excellence in Business Analytics by creating a unique brand image and value proposition for the Centre, a focused differentiation strategy to attract potential sponsors and prospective students. The marketing strategy will emphasize the strengths of the School of Business’ ability to accelerate students’ success and BCIT’s indisputable reputation of providing the highest quality of learning experience and translating this image to the Centre. The campaign will aspire to give the sponsors and prospective students a unique perception about the Centre of Excellence in Business Analytics, setting the Centre apart from its competitors. This will be accomplished by creating a unique brand image and value propositioning of the Centre as the place for students and industry professional to advance and succeed in their current and future careers. The Centre will be promoted as a part of the School of Business, which has the ability to uniquely provide hands-on, applied learning experience, consisting of faculty members with relevant industry experience and expertise and strong industry ties, which in the end will lead to a great career.

BRAND STRATEGY Secondary research shows that BCIT has made a substantive contribution to British Columbia’s economy. For over 40 years, the Institute has developed a very desirable reputation, built on its core strengths of quality learning experience for students and on-the-job-performance of its alumni. BCIT provides a high quality professional education that makes its graduate the first choice for employers. These competitive strengths will continue to be the main reason as to why the Centre of Excellence in Business Analytics will be the first choice for prospective students. The brand image will focus on BCIT’s core strengths and the Centre’s marketing positioning of providing students and employers optimal return on their investments. The key message of the Centre of Excellence in Business Analytics will deliver to its target market is that the Centre is the leader providing the right tools for students to succeed in their careers and for companies to take advantage of BCIT’s training in business analytics to propel

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their business to new heights. This message will help differentiate the Centre of Excellence from its competitors.

VISUAL IDENTITY The visual logo will be the brand image and identifier of the Centre of Excellence in Business Analytics. Having a logo that is an extension of the BCIT logo will position the Centre as part of the Institute, will further enhance the brand because of BCIT’s undisputable reputation of providing quality learning experience. “Analyze. Predict. Succeed.” was chosen as the Centre’s main tagline as it showcases the steps students will take when taking the program. The program will help student be able to analyze data then be given the skill to predict what is likely to happen and succeed by optimizing your opportunities by making the right decisions at the right time.

CAMPAIGN THEME The theme of the campaign is “Evolve your thinking with Business Analytics.” The theme basically invites prospective students to heighten their way of thinking through Business Analytics. The campaign will also convey the message of providing quality learning experience and accelerating students’ success thereby delivering the highest return on the students and companies’ investments. The theme will be focused on attracting the Centre’s target audience and potential sponsors. The content of each marketing communication tool will explain how the Centre will equip students with the right tools to help them succeed and for companies to transform their businesses through Business Analytics. Because we have identified three target market segment, the campaign tagline will be personalized to each of the segments. There will also be a campaign theme targeting potential sponsors for the Centre. Please refer to the marketing communication tools section for more information.

MARKETING CHALLENGE The marketing initiatives will need to convey a unique brand image and value proposition of the Centre of Excellence in Business Analytics. It will also need to

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describe how the Centre can help prospective students to advance and succeed in their careers. The major challenge will be creating a unique brand image and value proposition to attract sponsors and prospective students.

CAMPAIGN OBJECTIVES

MARKETING OBJECTIVES Attract a minimum of five industry sponsors by the end of year one, increasing to at least eight sponsors by the end of year two. Further, the Centre should seek to offer a between three and five courses that are fully subscribed in each term of year one. One of these courses should be a Fundamentals of Business Analytics course. By the end of year two, a between five and seven courses should be offered each term.

COMMUNICATION OBJECTIVES Create a unique image of the Centre of Excellence in Business Analytics as the place for students and industry professionals to learn more about Business Analytics to help them advance and succeed in their careers.

MARKETING COMMUNICATION TOOLS

FUNDRAISING The School of Business will initiate a fundraising program to help raise funds for the Centre of Excellence in Business Analytics. The faculty and staff members with the help of marketing students will go to prospective sponsors to help fund the Centre. It will be an ongoing program until the Centre has achieved financial sustainability. The program will go hand-in-hand with other marketing communication tools directed specifically to attract potential sponsors. The fundraising program will be a one on one interaction with the potential sponsors instead of a big event. It will allow for a personalized presentation and more time to answer questions.

CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE WEBSITE The Centre’s website will be one of the most important tools with which to market itself. Individual pages for the Centre should be launched under the main BCIT website, and it should have a short URL so that people can easily remember itThe website will serve as the hub for disseminating information about the

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Centre and its programs and courses. Keywords such as business analytics will be used frequently on the webpages, and taglines will be created for each section. The whole purpose is making the webpage better ranking on Google once people search business analytics. Program benefits will be placed on the main page to help gain attention. Then further descriptions and details about the Centre will also be available in a clear manner, so that people can easily find the information they want. The website will also integrate social media buttons as stated above, Twitter, Linkedin and Google + to encourage interactions withthe target audience. Furthermore, links to professional communities will be included to demonstrate the Centre’s credibility. Links to the webpage should also be advertised through communities such as the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA), to help the Centre generate qualified traffics.

SOCIAL MEDIA The following social media platforms will be used to help raise awareness and to give current and relevant information about the Centre of Excellence in Business Analytics. TWITTER Businesses have been using Twitter as part of their marketing tools in the social media landscape. The Centre of Excellence in Business Analytics can use Twitter to attract and influence its target audience. The Centre can post information about its programs and new courses being offered. The Centre can also post relevant information that will showcase the benefits of Business Analytics and success stories of organizations that have used Business Analytics and have been able to transform their businesses. LINKEDIN LinkedIn has grown beyond its initial purpose of connecting professionals with potential clients and employers. Not only is it used for building valuable business connections, but LinkedIn has also become an excellent business-to-business marketing tool. It is a great way for the Centre to promote itself and its program offerings to different industries by having valuable content such as special events, and content relevant to Business Analytics that will attract businesses. In addition, it is likely that recommendations on the Centre’s LinkedIn page will be taken into consideration for search engine rankings in the future, similar to how Tweets and Google +1s are today. GOOGLE+ The Centre of Excellence in Business Analytics can use Google+ as a marketing tool to share important content relevant to the different target audiences and raise awareness by promoting the Centre by giving people the option to put the

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+1 button to recommend the Centre to their friends, family, coworkers etc. The +1’s will also help with search engine rankings, showcasing the Centre on top of the search page when people search for relevant keywords. Using the search option, the Centre can also get a better understanding of what people are saying about its brand and even go as far as answering questions and inquiries.

SYMPOSIUM With technology constantly changing, a symposium should be held annually. This will also help increase awareness of the Centre. The symposium is an effective method to promote the Centre, its program and new courses being offered. Attendees will get an opportunity to further understand the Centre and what it can do to help propel businesses forward.

DIRECT MAIL MARKETING CAMPAIGN The Centre of Excellence in Business Analytics will send out personalized direct mail campaigns to the different target audiences. The direct mail will have a call to action to scan a QR code directed to a promotional video that will showcase the benefits of Business Analytics and why the School of Business’ Centre of Excellence in Business Analytics is the right choice for students and companies. It will also help direct the targeted individuals to the Centre’s website to find out more information about the program. Because we have identified three categories of our target market, the campaign tagline will be personalized to each of the categories. Below are the taglines for each target market category: Developers: “Create. Build. Business solutions that works” Users: “Make smart business decisions. Optimize opportunities.” Businesses: “Be the Business. Be one step ahead.” Feature success stories: “ My company saved $900,000 worth of business because of Business Analytics”

CONFERENCE AND TRADE SHOWS Conference and trade shows will be mainly used to build awareness among the businesses. By attending conferences and trade shows of professional associations such as The Data Warehousing Institute and International Institute of Business Analysis, the Centre can promote the BA program. By taking a pro-

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active role in meeting professionals who have interest in business analytics, the Centre will build real relationships and reinforce credibility. The more conferences attended by the center, the bigger the network will be created between the Centre and professionals in an array of industries. It also helps the center to get a feel for the current trends current in the field, so projects can be adjusted to better fit industry needs. The Centre will also give presentations during the conferences to introduce the center, and provide information for the potential customers.

WEBINARS As business leaders continue to suffer from jam-packed schedules and limited time, the use of online seminars has become a valuable way to get in front of potential customers and promote new business opportunities. Webinars would be a good communication tool for the Centre to promote the Business Analytics program, and to make presentations about BA and how it can take businesses to new heights. The Centre can provide means for participants to pre-register in order to have a contact list to follow up. This can be done through the Centre’s website through an email opt-in option or give clients the option to call and pre-register. The Centre should do a follow up notification to registered attendees one week before the event and the day prior to the event. The event should not last more than one hour including questions and answers.

INFO SESSIONS TAKE THE EXTRA STEP. ADVANCE YOUR CAREER. Students and/or industry professionals who want to advance/enhance their careers can now attend information sessions about the Centre of Excellence in Business Analytics to help them further succeed in their current and future careers. WHAT WILL YOU LEARN?

• Learn more about the program and the courses offered • Find out more about Business Analytics and why it will help you advance

your career • Hear great success stories about people who used Business Analytics to

succeed • Get answers to any other questions you may have

FORMAT There will be a one-hour information session that will be scheduled six times per year in the evening at 6pm in the Burnaby campus.

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REGISTER To reserve a seat for an upcoming information session, students can register online in the Centre of Excellence in Business Analytics website. For students who want to speak to someone in person about the program, they can call to schedule an appointment with the program advisor.

IMPLEMENTATION AND BUDGET The complete finished website of center of business analytics must be the first step towards launching the marketing campaign. Design of the website should be done a few months prior to the campaign launch to ensure the functionality of the objectives. The estimated price for the website design will be $4,000, which will be developed by BCIT’s very own IT department with the help of a marketing communications student(s). Social media will be used as a supporting tool to direct audiences to the website, and providing valuable contents for the target market. All the special events or promotion that occurs at the center of business analytics will also be updated in social media. The social media initiatives will be maintained by one or two designated faculty members, which are going to be the Administrative Assistant(s) of the Centre. In order to host webinars, the Centre can use software such as WebEx, Gotomeetings etc. companies that provide on-demand collaboration, online meeting, web conferencing and videoconferencing applications. Having this kind of software would be the most cost effective way for the Centre to host unlimited meetings for one flat rate per month costing about $40 - $50. For conferences, trade shows and info session, all the costs will be mainly related to preparing and setting up the actual event, such as printing brochures and information cards, renting equipment. Especially for the info session, which will be held six times per year at Burnaby campus, there will be a lot more work involved. The total estimated costs for conferences, trade shows and info session would be $30,000.

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Appendix Courses Description of Competitors Schools in United States 1, Stanford University Data Mining and Analysis STATS202 Description In the Information Age, there is an unprecedented amount of data being collected and stored — by banks, supermarkets, internet retailers, security services, etc. So, now that we have all this data, what do we with it? The discipline of data mining and analysis provides crunchers with the tools and framework to discover meaningful patterns in data sets of any size and scale. It allows us to turn all this data into valuable, actionable information. In this course, learn how to explore, analyze, and leverage data. Topics Include Decision trees Neural networks Association rules Clustering Case-based methods Data visualization Assignments & Grading Grades based on 3 components: 6 weekly homework assignments, a midterm, and a comprehensive final. Technology Requirements For the midterm and final, you will need a basic calculator which has logarithm functionality. To complete homework assignments you will need Internet access, excel and the R statistical package (free download). This course has limited enrollment. Paradigms for Computing with Data STATS290 Description This course provides a practical introduction to modern techniques for computing with data, teaching advanced use of the R system and exploring connections to other environments such as C, python, Java, and databases. Students learn and practice the use of R for serious applications.

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The examples in this course are motivated by actual problems in the field. Therefore, students gain knowledge of many different tools that can be combined to solve real problems. Topics Include

• Hands-on practice with all the paradigms, including parallel, cluster and map/reduce style computations

• Balasubramanian Narasimhan's experience in Bioinformatics • Important modern approaches to large-scale data analysis from such fields as genomics

and Internet systems Assignments & Grading Assignments will be given during the course, roughly every 1-2 weeks.These will normally involve programming or otherwise applying the course material. The final project will be to create an R package on a topic you propose and we approve. Students are encouraged to choose a topic of interest to their own work or research. An early assignment will be to submit a short outline of the proposed project. The project should show that the student can plan and execute some nontrivial software. It is less important to complete all details than to show a good design and some working pieces of the implementation. There will be no final exam. The final grade will be assessed based on the assignments and the final project. Modern Applied Statistics: Learning STATS315A Description The meteoric rise in computing power has been accompanied by a rapid growth in the areas of statistical modeling and data analysis. New techniques have emerged for both predictive and descriptive learning that were not possible ten years ago, using ideas that bridge the gap between statistics, computer science and artificial intelligence. In this two-part series we cover many of these new methods, with emphasis on the statistical aspects of their application and their integration with more standard statistical methodology. Predictive learning refers to estimating models from data with the specific goal of predicting future outcomes, in particular regression and classification models. Regression topics include linear regression with recent advances to deal with large numbers of variables, smoothing techniques, additive models, and local regression. Classification topics include discriminant analysis, logistic regression, support vector machines, generalized additive models, naive Bayes, mixture models and nearest neighbor methods. Objectives

• To learn some of the traditional as well as the more recent tools for classification and regression

• To understand these concepts from within a statistical decision theoretic framework • To learn some of the statistical inference tools for model selection and inference • To get hands-on experience in using some of these techniques, through the homework

assignments Topics Include

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• Linear regression and related models • Model selection, least angle regression, lasso and stepwise methods • Classification • Linear discriminant analysis • Logistic regression • Support Vector Machines (SVMs) • Basis expansions, splines, and regularization • Kernel methods and Kernel smoothing • Generalized additive models • Gaussian mixtures and the EM algorithm • Crossvalidation and the bootstrap • Pathwise coordinate descent • Sparse graphical models

Modern Applied Statistics: Data Mining STATS315B Description Second course in two-part sequence. This course covers new techniques for predictive and descriptive learning using ideas that bridge gaps among statistics, computer science, and artificial intelligence. Emphasis is on statistical aspects of their application and integration with more standard statistical methodology. Predictive learning refers to estimating models from data with the goal of predicting future outcomes, in particular, regression and classification models. Descriptive learning is used to discover general patterns and relationships in data without a predictive goal, viewed from a statistical perspective as computer automated exploratory analysis of large complex data sets. Instructors Jerome Friedman, Professor Emeritus, Statistics 2, University of California San Diego Introduction to Statistics Gain a comprehensive introduction to the concepts and techniques of elementary statistics as applied to a wide variety of disciplines. This course emphasizes problem solving, statistical thinking, and result interpretation. Topics include: descriptive statistics, basic probability, probability distributions, sampling distributions, confidence intervals, one and two sample hypothesis testing, categorical data analysis, correlation, and regression. Data Mining I: Basic Methods and Techniques Large databases of information create great opportunities for the application of data mining methods. This course provides students with a foundation in basic data mining, data analysis, and pattern recognition concepts and algorithms. It will begin with an overview of the data mining process and approaches. Practical exercises include various data analysis and machine learning techniques for model and knowledge creation through a process of inference, model fitting, or learning from examples. Note: "Introduction to Statistics" or knowledge of basic probability theory and basic linear algebra assumed. Highly recommended: "Predictive Analytics", "Intro to Data Warehousing" or "Into to SQL programming concepts" or equivalent knowledge.

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Data Preparation for Data Mining An essential, yet often under-emphasized step in the data mining process is data preparation. Habitually, people are more inclined to focus on knowledge discovery, but without sufficient preparation of your data, return on effort is certain to be limited. This class offers in-depth coverage of data preparation techniques and a step-by-step approach through a variety of tools while providing practical illustrations using real data sets. Your projects are sure to demonstrate improved evaluation and performance and more beneficial results. Note: "Data Mining I" or equivalent knowledge required. Data Mining II: Advanced Methods and Applications Examine advanced data mining, data analysis, and pattern recognition concepts and algorithms. Course content builds upon Data Mining I and includes input/output models, machine learning algorithms, advanced methods, and applications. Coursework will include learning from massive datasets, including methods like neural networks and support vector machines. Note: "Introduction to Statistics" or knowledge of probability theory, linear algebra and "Data Mining I" required. Highly recommended: "Intro to Programming" or one of the following: SAS, R, Matlab, Octave, or Java. Data Mining III Data Mining III combines and builds upon Data Mining I, Data Prep for Data Mining, and Data Mining II. This class is designed to give students in-depth knowledge of practical data mining and predictive modeling, provided they have acquired the necessary theoretical knowledge of data mining and machine learning techniques, as well as data preparation techniques. Students will go through several data mining projects, planning and executing each of the data preparation steps: analysis, learning and modeling, and identifying the predictive/descriptive model that produces the best evaluation scores at the end. This is a challenging class that will ensure preparedness for complex real-life data mining tasks. Note: Prerequisite, Data Mining I, Data Prep for Data Mining required. Data Mining II recommended. Data Mining for Scientific Applications A large volume of scientific data has been stored and is continually collected daily. This class is a shorter, less in-depth version of the Data Mining I class custom-made for the world of science. Get an overview of the basic methods, techniques and the process of data mining, with the emphasis on the scientific applications. Explore a variety of scientific case studies and successful applications of the data mining techniques in mining various scientific data. Learn how data mining could be applied to successfully mine and make meaningful conclusions, predictions and classification of your data. Hands-on exercises included. Note: "Biostatistics" or equivalent knowledge is required. This course is application-focused and does not require prior programming experience. Introduction to Programming Statistical computing is employed within a diverse range of industries. In recent years, an open source project, R, has emerged as the preeminent statistical computing platform. With its unsurpassed library of freely available packages, R is capable of addressing almost every

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statistical inference problem. In this course, you will learn to create R programs that access data from multiple sources, including flat files, spreadsheets, and relational databases. Also covered is the complete foundational skill set for R programming, including matrix operations, conditional and repetitive execution, functions, and graphical output. Lastly, a sampling of statistical problems and their implementations in R will be introduced. Predictive Analytics As an increasing volume of customer, product, and industry data is being collected by businesses, leading companies are apply intelligent methods to convert the large information repositories into effective decision making. This course covers the basics of predictive analytics and data mining methods for business applications, gives an overview of the basic tools and techniques, and includes case studies and exercises. You will learn what data mining can do to enable business intelligence and how to build analytical capabilities. Explore examples of the applications of predictive analytics, including a variety of successful real-life projects that focus on the analysis, prediction, marketing, investments, and business practices that enable educated decision-making to drive revenues, reduce costs, and provide competitive advantage. SAS Programming SAS is widely used in business, government, and academia to manage and analyze data. This course provides the tools necessary to write SAS programs to perform elementary data management, analysis, and reporting all while stressing good programming practices. The primary objectives are to provide the skills necessary to create and document data sets, manage and reshape data, write simple reports, and compute basic statistics on data set variables. A secondary objective is to provide the basis for more advanced work, including data analysis, advanced programming techniques for data management, and interactive applications development. Note: Students will be required to download and install an application (not available on a Mac) which will provide free access to the SAS software. Instructor will provide details during the course. Text Mining With experts claiming that unstructured data comprises more than 80% of the stored business information (primarily as text), text mining has emerged as a critical leading-edge technology. This course will describe practical techniques for text extraction and text mining in a data mining context, including document clustering and classification, information retrieval, and the enhancement of structured data. An emphasis on practical use of text mining in a business context will be evident throughout. In addition, basic concepts of textual information such as tokenization, part-of-speech tagging, and disambiguation will be covered. Note: Open source text mining software will be used for in-class demonstrations and homework assignments. 3, Central Connecticut State University (No Detail Available) Required Courses (12 Credits) Stat 521 Introduction to Data Mining (4 credits) Stat 522 Data Mining Methods and Models (4 credits) Stat 523 Applied Data Mining (4 credits) Elective Courses (6 Credits) Choose two of:

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Stat 525 Web Mining Stat 526 Data Mining for Genomics and Proteomics Stat 527 Text Mining Stat 529 Current Issues in Data Mining Some other graduate-level data mining or statistics course, with approval of program coordinator. 4, New York University Stern School of Business Module I: New York Data Visualization This course is an introduction to the principles and techniques for data visualization. Visualizations are graphical depictions of data that can improve comprehension, communication and decision-making. In this course, students will learn visual representation methods and techniques that increase the understanding of complex data and models. Emphasis will be placed on identification of patterns, trends and differences from data sets across categories, space and time. The ways that humans process and encode visual and textual information will be discussed in relation to selecting the appropriate method for the display of quantitative and qualitative data. Graphical methods for specialized data types (times series, categorical, etc.) are presented. Topics include tables, graphics, semi-graphics, effective presentations, multimedia content and animation, etc. Examples and cases will be used from dozens of industries. Throughout the course, several questions will drive the design of data visualizations some of which include: Who’s the audience? What’s the data? What’s the task? Operations Analytics This course serves as an introduction to operations, viewed from the perspective of the general manager, rather than the operations specialist. The coverage is very selective; the course concentrates on a small number of themes from the areas of operations management and information technology that have emerged as the central building blocks of world-class operations. It also presents a sample of key tools and techniques that have proven extremely useful. The topics covered are equally relevant to the manufacturing and service sectors. Decision Models This course trains students to turn real-world problems into mathematical and spreadsheet models and to use such models to make better managerial decisions. This is a hands-on course that focuses on modeling business problems, turning them into Excel spreadsheet models and using tools like Solver and Crystal Ball to obtain solutions to these managerial problems. The course focuses on two classes of models: optimization and simulation. The application areas are diverse and they originate from problems in finance, marketing and operations. We cover problems such as how to optimize a supply chain, how to price products when faced with demand uncertainty and how to price exotic financial options using Monte Carlo simulation. Managing for Quality This course introduces the basic principles and techniques of managing for quality. Students learn the most important principles and tools with which organizations create value for their customers, including quality measurement and assessment, quality planning, quality control, quality improvement and quality strategy.

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Data Mining for Business Analytics This course will change the way you think about data and its role in business. Businesses, governments, and individuals create massive collections of data as a byproduct of their activity. Increasingly, decision-makers and systems rely on intelligent technology to analyze data systematically to improve decision-making. In many cases automating analytical and decision-making processes is necessary because of the volume of data and the speed with which new data are generated. We will examine how data analysis technologies can be used to improve decision making. We will study the fundamental principles and techniques of data mining, and we will examine real-world examples and cases to place data-mining techniques in context, to develop data-analytic thinking, and to illustrate that proper application is as much an art as it is a science. In addition, we will work “hands-on” with data mining software. Module 2: New York Data Driven Decision Making "Every two days we now create as much information as we did from the dawn of civilization up until 2003." -Eric Schmidt (CEO Google) "Data are widely available; what is scarce is the ability to extract wisdom from them." -Hal Varian (UC Berkeley and Chief Economist, Google) The two quotes above summarize the main theme of this course. In every aspect of our daily lives, from the way we work, shop, communicate, or socialize; we are both consuming and creating vast amounts of information. More often than not, these daily activities create a trail of digitized data that is being stored, mined, and analyzed by firms hoping to create valuable business intelligence. With technological advances and developments in customer databases, firms have access to vast amounts of high-quality data which allows them to understand customer behavior, and customize business tactics to increasingly fine segments or even segments of one. However, much of the promise of such data-driven policies has failed to materialize because managers find it difficult to translate customer data into actionable policies. The general objective of this course is to fill this gap by providing students with tools and techniques that can be utilized for making business decisions. Note that this is not a statistics or mathematics course. The emphasis of the class will be on applications and interpretation of the results for making real life business decisions. Applied Stochastic Processes for Finance The subject matter of this class is various stochastic models for the financial markets in a discrete and continuous time setting. We shall discuss the concepts of arbitrage, martingales and risk-neutral probability measures, and derive the general pricing formula for contingent claims based on arbitrage pricing. We shall study the binomial model and derive the price of a European call option under this model. We study put options using the put-call parity. We shall study the continuous time Black-Scholes formula and compare it to the corresponding binomial formula. We shall analyze the Black-Scholes formula via the “Greeks,” quantities measuring the sensitivity of the option price to the change of the various parameters. We shall also look at exotic options such as the lookback and the knockout options. The analysis of American options, forward and future contracts and fixed income models will be included as well. Social and Digital Media Analytics The emergence of the Internet has drastically changed marketing. Some traditional marketing strategies are now completely outdated, others have been deeply transformed, and new digital marketing strategies are continuously emerging based on the unprecedented access to vast

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amounts of information about products, firms, and consumer behavior. The Internet is now encroaching core business activities such as new product design, advertising, marketing and sales, creation of word-of-mouth, new start-up funding, and customer service. Our goal in this class is to discuss the new business models in electronic commerce that have been enabled by Internet-based social media and advertising technologies, and to analyze the impact these technologies and business models have on industries, firms and people. We will inform our discussions with insights from data and metrics that can guide us for measurement. To recognize how businesses can successfully leverage these technologies, we will therefore go beyond the technology itself and investigate some key questions. Module 3: Shanghai Prediction As financial markets become more electronic and more liquid, a higher degree of knowledge about systems and analytics is required in order to compete. This course teaches students how to use the information emanating from the markets for decision making and building and implementing systematic computer-based models for trading. The course begins with a description of the financial markets- specifically, equity, currency, fixed income, commodities and the systems that enable them. We consider exchanges, ECNs and other dealer markets and the information that emanates from them. This provides the backdrop for the bulk of the course, which covers the design, evaluation and execution of trading strategies that are commonly used by professionals in the various markets. There is increasing interest, in particular, on systematic trading strategies and execution systems because of their scalability and transparency. Advanced Decision Models Students will learn more advanced modeling tools including: static stochastic optimization, two-stage stochastic optimization with recourse, chance-constrained stochastic optimization and dynamic programming. We explore their applications in various business domains, such as marketing, finance, inventory management, revenue management, supply chain management and project management, among others. Students will learn how these models can be solved using Risk Solver Platform for Excel, a powerful tool for risk analysis, simulation, and optimization. The emphasis throughout the course will be model formulation, solution methods and managerial interpretation of the results, rather than on the mathematical algorithms used to solve models. Digital Marketing This course addresses a fundamental business question of the digital age: how to increase shareholder value through digital media. This is a question that all firms are currently struggling to answer in an era where they can, for the first time, engage in rapid two way conversations with potential and current customers. If firms ask themselves “How do we attract and retain customers?” the answer to this looks very different than a decade ago when the Internet was in its infancy. Today, reputations can be affected within minutes, presenting great opportunity as well as a high degree of risk. The focus of the course is on how to make firms more intelligent in how they conduct business in the digital age. This requires a fundamental understanding of the technologies and platforms that form the backbone of electronic commerce; the ability to govern and leverage large amounts of data that are generated as a by-product of electronic interactions; and sociological norms and

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individual preferences. Measurement plays a big role in this space. As W. Edwards Deming reportedly said, “In God we trust, everyone else please bring data.” Module 4: Shanghai Special Topics in Analytics: Revenue Management & Pricing Pricing and revenue management (PRM) focuses on how firms should manage their pricing and product availability policies across different selling channels in order to maximize performance and profitability. One of the best-known applications of PRM is yield management whereby airlines, hotels and other companies seek to maximize operating contribution by dynamically managing capacity over time. Building on a combination of lectures and case studies the course develops a set of methodologies that students can use to identify and develop opportunities for revenue optimization in different business contexts, including the transportation and hospitality industries, retail, media and entertainment, financial services, health care and manufacturing, among others. The course places particular emphasis on discussing quantitative models needed to tackle a number of important business problems including capacity allocation, markdown management, dynamic pricing for e-commerce, customized pricing, and demand forecasts under market uncertainty, to name a few. Business Metrics Most companies do not have a systematic way to analyze data. Understanding the capabilities of data can secure competitive advantages and increase shareholder value. Building models and understanding forecasting limitations can help companies systematize the collection and analysis of data. Evidence-based decision-making is critical for corporations in all industries. Imposing metrics can help companies track the successes and failures of new projects, products and initiatives. This course examines concepts of data, metrics, models and feedback loops and explores how they can be used to support decisions and improve processes. We also examine the limitations of data and models. Module 5: Closing - New York Strategic Capstone The Business Analytics Strategic Capstone presented at the culmination of the program gives students an opportunity to review and interpret data through statistical and operational analysis with the use of predictive models and the application of optimization techniques. The result is a unified and practical case presentation on a topic of the student's choosing. Format: The integrative projects should not take the form of formal dissertations or narrative papers. Rather, they should take the form of “reports to management,” emphasizing substance over length and the forest over the trees. Where possible, they should be action-oriented and framed in terms of business policy and competitive strategy. Given this format, they should be easily convertible into PowerPoint presentations. 5, University of Louisville Required courses

• Database Design

• Data Mining

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• Linear Statistical Models

• Methods of Classification

Two elective courses:

▪ Computer algorithms

▪ Web mining

▪ Data warehousing

▪ Introduction to Data Analysis

▪ Artificial Intelligence

▪ Experimental Design

▪ Advanced Databases and Data Warehousing

▪ Advanced Artificial Intelligence

▪ Nonparametric Statistics

Sampling Theory 6, University of Denver: Daniels College of Business Schools in Canada outside of British Columbia 1, University of Toronto 2379 The Foundations of Business Analysis Course Details A Business Analyst (BA) identifies business needs and finds solutions to business problems. The discipline's professional guidelines are contained in the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABoK), a best-practices outline of the standardized tools and techniques that BAs use day-to-day. Using valuable templates to support the learning process, this course will explore BABoK and unravel each of the main knowledge areas: developing business cases; analyzing enterprises; eliciting, documenting and managing business requirements; assessing solutions; and evaluating results. We'll also look at the underlying competencies and technical capabilities expected of today's BA in delivering value to an organization. This course qualifies for 36 professional development units (PDUs) and 36 continuing development units (CDUs). Learner Outcomes

• Thorough review of BABoK • Analysis of the key areas of responsibility for the Business Analyst • Discussion of the competencies and capabilities needed to deliver value to a client • Familiarity with important templates used in business analysis

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Prerequisites There are no prerequisites for this course. This course may be applied towards the SCS Certificate(s) in Business Analysis 2383 Business Analysis Tools and Techniques Course Details This course focuses on the tools, techniques and skills used by a Business Analyst (BA), including: data gathering, data-analysis processes, business-rules analysis, and business-use cases; prototyping, user stories and interface analysis; decision analysis, data modeling and business-analysis software; and concepts for improving processes, re-engineering and streamlining to deliver faster results, improved quality and reduced costs of operation. This course qualifies for 36 professional development units (PDUs) and 36 continuing development units (CDUs). Learner Outcomes

• Awareness of business analysis essentials • Understanding of the BA's primary tools and techniques, and their application • Methods for eliciting essential information about an organization • Methodologies for analyzing data • Techniques for communicating results to clients

Prerequisites SCS 2379 Foundations of Business Analysis This course may be applied towards the SCS Certificate(s) in Business Analysis 2382 Leadership in Business Analysis Course Details With so much riding on the complete and accurate gathering of business requirements, it is important that a Business Analyst (BA) possesses effective interpersonal skills. In the role of bridge between business objectives and operations, the BA must balance the needs of these diverse and competing functions, and mobilize resources from different areas of the organization to ensure a project succeeds. This course focuses on enhancing the BA's "soft skills," those abilities to understand and manage stakeholder needs and expectations; elicit information from a group; manage communications; and write effectively. You will also learn management techniques: leadership, coaching, negotiation and stakeholder conflict management, all of which will be enhanced through real-life situations. This course qualifies for 36 professional development units (PDUs) and 36 continuing development units (CDUs). Learner Outcomes

• Interpersonal skills for fulfilling requirements of a business analysis • Techniques for balancing disconnected resources within an operation • Ability to negotiate and manage and resolve stakeholder conflicts

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• Experience using practical simulations Prerequisites SCS 2379 Foundations of Business Analysis This course may be applied towards the SCS Certificate(s) in Business Analysis 2589 Passing the CBAP Certification Exam Course Details Prepare for your certification as a Business Analyst (BA). This course teaches the skills, tools and techniques that will help you pass the exams for the Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP) and the Certification of Competency in Business Analysis (CCBA) designations. By addressing all the skills, tools and techniques outlined in the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABoK), this course prepares students with the professional BA knowledge needed to perform tasks throughout a complete project life cycle: business-case development, enterprise analysis, requirements management, requirements elicitation, business-requirements documentation, solution assessment and results evaluation. In addition, students will have ample opportunities to answer sample questions from BABoK. This course qualifies for 36 professional development units (PDUs). Available in Fall 2012. Learner Outcomes

• Preparation for the CBAP and CCBA exams • Learn skills, tools and techniques in BABoK • Acquire knowledge about all BA tasks contained in project life cycle

Prerequisites There are no prerequisites for this course. 2458 Foundations of Business Analysis (Day Seminar) Course Details Course Details Build the foundation for success! As a Business Analyst (BA), you are a vital member of a project-management team. You are the facilitator between an organization's business objectives and its technical resources, analyzing competing requirements and implementing projects that meet objectives. In this six-day course, you will build a solid foundation of essential skills to drive solutions in today's fast-paced business environment. The course covers the complete BA life cycle, from project-team planning and the elicitation of requirements, documentation and communication through the allocation of requirements to solution validation. Aligned with the BABoK (Business Analysis Body of Knowledge), this course serves as the basis for attaining the Certified Business Analysis ProfessionalTM (CBAP™) and Certification of Competency in Business AnalysisTM (CCBA™) designations. What sets Foundations of Business Analysis apart from other courses is its focus on the business aspects of business analysis. This course includes clear communication of measurable requirements that support good business decisions, and it reinforces the value of a skilled BA in a knowledge-intensive economy.

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Through hands-on, practical learning, you will understand how to apply each BA concept we explore in class through discussions of student experiences and BA best practices. Who should attend?

• Analysts with an IT or business background and an interest in BA • Project team members who want to learn the formal methodology for identifying

effective business requirements • Business-to-business account managers who are responsible for customer requirements • Anyone wanting a competitive skill set for today's job market.

This course qualifies for 42 professional development units (PDUs) and 36 continuiing development units (CDUs) Learner Outcomes

• Learn foundation skills to be a Business Analyst • Knowledge of complete BA life cycle • Basics for attaining Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP ) and Certification

of Competency in Business Analysis (CCBA ) designations Notes The Foundations of Business Analysis course is aligned with the BABoK (Business Analysis Body of Knowledge) which is defined by the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA). It serves as the basis for attaining the internationally recognized Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP) designation. Prerequisites There are no prerequisites for this course. 2457 Business Analysis Tools and Techniques (Day Seminar) Course Details To be effective, the Business Analyst (BA) needs to understand and appreciate all the principles and practices that can streamline an operation and deliver better, faster results at a reduced cost. Learn the tools, techniques and associated skills you need to communicate business requirements to members of a project team. In this course, you will learn about data gathering, data analysis, business-rules analysis and business-use cases. We will also address prototyping, interface analysis, decision analysis, data modelling and the use of business-analysis software and process improvement. This course qualifies for 42 professional development units (PDUs) and 36 continuing development units (CDUs). Learner Outcomes

• Acquire tools and techniques of a BA • Learn how to deliver a project on time and on budget • Prepare for next level of BA certification

Prerequisites

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SCS 2458 Foundations of Business Analysis This course may be applied towards the SCS Certificate(s) in Business Analysis 2459 Leadership in Business Analysis (Day Seminar) Course Details As part of an organization, the Business Analyst (BA) serves as a bridge between the company's objectives and its operations. This course focuses on the important interpersonal, or "soft," skills, that the BA needs in order to understand and manage stakeholder expectations and to successfully gather business requirements. For each project to succeed, the BA must balance the needs of diverse and competing functions and have the skill to mobilize resources from different areas of the organization. Practical examples of real-life situations will help you hone the essential BA skills: communications management, group-elicitation techniques, leadership, negotiation, conflict management and effective writing skills. The course also examines organizational and interpersonal skills for leadership, coaching and stakeholder management. This course qualifies for 42 professional development units (PDUs) and 36 continuing devlopment units (CDUs) Learner Outcomes

• Build interpersonal skills needed to be a successful BA • Use real-life, in-class role-playing to develop skills needed for communications

management, requirements elicitation, negotiation, conflict management and writing • Develop organizational and management skills

Prerequisites SCS 2458 Foundations of Business Analysis This course may be applied towards the SCS Certificate(s) in Business Analysis 2, University of Alberta EXBA 5687 Introduction to Business Analysis Introduction to Business Analysis builds a broad foundation for the role and practice of business analysis. This module will explore the relationship between the business analyst and the organization at the enterprise level. It investigates ways and means of setting strategic direction for the organization and methods of evaluating, prioritizing and selecting projects. The initial phase of project development is examined (Initiation) by presenting business case documentation, business model processes and project scoping. EXBA 5688 Understanding and Gathering Requirement A successful project development identifies the project's needs and requirements as part of the analysis process. This module focuses on methods and techniques of gathering requirements including means of documenting and validating the requirements. Effective facilitation, interviewing and validation will result in better defined projects and in turn increase the success of projects.

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EXBA 5689 Analyzing the Information, Process and Workflow Analyze and document the business requirements utilizing a variety of analysis tools and modeling techniques will enable the correct solution to be built. UML models including use case diagrams, activity diagrams, state chart diagrams and class diagrams will illustrate communication and move the requirements through the building phase. Diagramming methodologies are supplemented with usage scenarios, business rule definition and data dictionaries to completely define the requirements of the project. EXBA 5690 Communication Success Factors Communication is a key skill set that successful Business Analysts must posses. This module will address various modes of communication such as presentations, meetings, business documentation and technical writing. It will investigate differing communication styles, interviewing and facilitation skills as well as offering tips and techniques for effective technical writing. In addition, two other areas of facilitating processes are discussed: risk and change management. EXBA 5691 Solution, Design and Testing This course will investigate the components necessary for turning requirements into solutions. Effective user interface design will be discussed including the methodology of creating a data model of the solution. Testing methodology will be introduced and details of planning testing strategies, determining the types of test to be conducted, conducting test cases and reporting the results of test scenarios are all topics contained in the module. In the final topic, you will explore how to conduct user acceptance testing and the means of gaining user acceptance of the product. EXBA 5692 Implementation: Deployment, Training and Closure This course looks at the factors critical to successfully deploying and implementing solutions. It will investigate ways of transitioning the system into a production environment including conducting pilot projects, how to address defects, and differing means of deploying the solution such as rolling wave and big bang. You will learn processes are needed to complete the close-out phase of the project and final activities to finalize the solution. 3, York University Module 1 Program introduction and Business Analysis Framework On the opening day, we build the foundation of the certificate program and discuss the role and responsibilities of the Business Analyst. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:

• Understand the project/product life cycle and the role of the Business Analyst • Learn the competencies of the Business Analyst • Determine the project team and team members’ roles • Review the knowledge areas of the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA)

Module 2 Enterprise Analysis Learn enterprise analysis skills to identify and evaluate business initiatives and support your solutions with effective analysis methods.

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WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:

• Learn how to see the “big picture” and help your executive stakeholders make the right decisions

• Evaluate proposed business initiatives for viability and organizational advantage • Apply an enterprise analysis framework in a business case study • Identify the organizational opportunities and risks within proposed initiatives • Conduct a feasibility analysis and strategic fit assessment • Define initial scope for a potential solution using multiple visual techniques • Prepare a business case employing qualitative and quantitative analysis methods

Module 3 Creativity and Critical thinking Learn to think “outside of the box” and apply critical thinking, creativity and innovation to your business analysis practices and solutions. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:

• Learn proven techniques to enhance your personal creativity and strategic thinking skills • Determine root causes • Draft a problem statement that clearly defines your challenge

Module 4 Planning, Validating and Managing user Requirements Develop a plan that includes determining and estimating the requirements activities a BA typically performs and how to control and manage changes to the deliverables. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:

• Identify and analyze all relevant stakeholders • Develop a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) that is requirements driven, focusing on

planning, testing and managing responsibilities • Develop a risk plan and a high-level test plan • Learn strategies for managing change in the requirements

Module 5 Communications input: Questioning, listening, Facilitating and Managing Conflict Effectively elicit requirements, recommend the business solution and achieve commitment by communicating and negotiating with all stakeholders, from user groups to technical teams. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:

• Ask the right questions from the start • Apply effective listening and clarifying techniques • Facilitate a group requirements session • Learn to manage conflict and build consensus

Module 6

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Eliciting user Requirements Equip yourself with the ability to gather, document and identify user requirements. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:

• Capture, clarify and confirm requirements • Write clear, complete and unambiguous requirements • Identify high-risk requirements and what to do about them • Manage the change control process and requirements sign-off

Module 7 Modeling the Business Problem and Solution Learn the key analysis models BAs use to analyze, formalize and validate business and system requirements, along with their purposes, strengths and when to apply them. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:

• Techniques to document analyze and redesign processes • How to build a logical data model to represent an organization’s information

requirements and business rules • How to develop a Use Case Model, considered to be industry best practice in

representing functional requirements Module 8 Communications output: Planning, Writing and Presenting Write effective, readable documents and present clear requirements and solutions by defining your objectives and your audience. Develop a communications plan to get buy-in from stakeholders. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:

• Write clear and concise requirements • Assemble a requirements package, complete with executive summary and a plan for how

requirements will be communicated • Present requirements to different types of audiences and ensure that the contents are

understood • Create a communication plan detailing stakeholders, the information needed by each, and

forms of communication Module 9 Final exam and Simulation execution The final exam consists of multiple-choice questions and covers all the course material presented in the program. In Project Simulation, all participants in assigned teams present their completed real-world case study, applying the knowledge and skills learned throughout the modules. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:

• Gain insight into different approaches to the case study • Relate concepts taught in the course to the case study • Produce and present the deliverables needed to complete the project successfully

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4, McMaster University Module 1 – Business Analysis Essentials 2 days – September 7 & 8, 2012 (9 AM - 5 PM) In this introductory course, you will discuss the role and responsibilities of the business analyst, and the techniques for ensuring project success – from identifying and analyzing potential projects to making sure that the final project product meets the requirements you identified. Through hands-on exercises, you will learn to define the scope of work and master requirements-gathering techniques that will work for a variety of projects and audiences; and you will consider the unique needs of customers, stakeholders, and the IT department as you work toward building, documenting, communicating, and managing requirements. Module 2 – Requirements Development, Documentation & Management 4 days – September 14, 15, 28 & 29, 2012 (9 AM - 5 PM) Numerous studies have concluded that failure to effectively develop and document project requirements is directly related to project failure. By following the logical methodology for the requirements process presented in this course, you will learn to develop and write effective requirements, including business objectives as well as business, stakeholder, and solution requirements. By working through the requirements process using various elicitation techniques, you will discover the importance of and types of requirements, best practices for writing requirements, steps for sign-off, and management of the requirements baseline. Module 3 – Use Case Modeling 3 days – October 11, 12 & 13, 2012 (9 AM - 5 PM) As a business analyst, and as part of identifying and documenting requirements, you must be able to explain how individuals will interact with a new or updated system. Use case modeling is a modern approach for describing system requirements by focusing on "actors" to describe that interaction. In this course, you will learn the theory and practice of creating use case models and use case flows, including diagrams and descriptions, to communicate functional requirements. You will learn how use cases can enhance your skills as a business analyst, and help technical staff to clearly understand the requirements of the business. Module 4 – Business Process Analysis 4 days – October 26, 27, November 9 & 10, 2012 (9 AM - 5 PM) In this course, you will learn to model business processes as they are currently enacted, assess the quality of those business processes (to determine a business system’s health), identify processes that could become more streamlined, and collaborate with the stakeholders to identify improvements. Once a new process is defined, you'll learn how to convey those process changes to others, gain organizational support for making the changes, and plan for a successful change project. Module 5 – Data Modeling 3 days – November 22, 23 & 24, 2012 (9 AM - 5 PM) Since a business analyst needs to accurately elicit, define and document user requirements, understanding the users' needs is key to an analyst's success. By using logical data modeling, a business analyst can convey requirements in a way that can easily be validated, and doing so allows stakeholders to understand the requirements, business rules, and data management methods for any given project. In this class, you will gain hands-on experience modeling requirements through entity relationship diagrams, supertypes and subtypes, and attributive and

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associative entities. You will learn to use logical data modeling to work directly with business users to accurately define requirements. Module 6 – Effective Facilitation for Business Analysts 2 days – December 7 & 8, 2012 (9 AM - 5 PM) In this highly interactive two-day course, you will gain the skills to be an effective facilitator - one who can help stakeholders define their needs and form quantifiable requirements. You will learn tested techniques for meeting planning and preparation, brainstorming, analysis, and decision-making; and you will have the opportunity to practice these techniques in a safe environment with a trained facilitator who will give you relevant, timely feedback. Advanced topics will also be covered, including virtual facilitation, conflict management, and root cause analysis. You will leave class with the confidence to facilitate a meeting from the planning stages, motivating group participation, building consensus, maintaining session focus, and evaluating results for lessons learned. 5, Carleton University Module 1 Program introduction and Business Analysis Framework On the opening day, we build the foundation of the certificate program and discuss the role and responsibilities of the Business Analyst. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:

• Understand the project/product life cycle and the role of the Business Analyst • Learn the competencies of the Business Analyst • Determine the project team and team members’ roles • Review the knowledge areas of the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA)

Module 2 Enterprise Analysis Learn enterprise analysis skills to identify and evaluate business initiatives and support your solutions with effective analysis methods. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:

• Learn how to see the “big picture” and help your executive stakeholders make the right decisions

• Evaluate proposed business initiatives for viability and organizational advantage • Apply an enterprise analysis framework in a business case study • Identify the organizational opportunities and risks within proposed initiatives • Conduct a feasibility analysis and strategic fit assessment • Define initial scope for a potential solution using multiple visual techniques • Prepare a business case employing qualitative and quantitative analysis methods

Module 3 Creativity and Critical thinking Learn to think “outside of the box” and apply critical thinking, creativity and innovation to your business analysis practices and solutions. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:

• Learn proven techniques to enhance your personal creativity and strategic thinking skills

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• Determine root causes • Draft a problem statement that clearly defines your challenge

Module 4 Planning, Validating and Managing user Requirements Develop a plan that includes determining and estimating the requirements activities a BA typically performs and how to control and manage changes to the deliverables. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:

• Identify and analyze all relevant stakeholders • Develop a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) that is requirements driven, focusing on

planning, testing and managing responsibilities • Develop a risk plan and a high-level test plan • Learn strategies for managing change in the requirements

Module 5 Communications input: Questioning, listening, Facilitating and Managing Conflict Effectively elicit requirements, recommend the business solution and achieve commitment by communicating and negotiating with all stakeholders, from user groups to technical teams. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:

• Ask the right questions from the start • Apply effective listening and clarifying techniques • Facilitate a group requirements session • Learn to manage conflict and build consensus

Module 6 Eliciting user Requirements Equip yourself with the ability to gather, document and identify user requirements. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:

• Capture, clarify and confirm requirements • Write clear, complete and unambiguous requirements • Identify high-risk requirements and what to do about them • Manage the change control process and requirements sign-off

Module 7 Modeling the Business Problem and Solution Learn the key analysis models BAs use to analyze, formalize and validate business and system requirements, along with their purposes, strengths and when to apply them. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:

• Techniques to document analyze and redesign processes • How to build a logical data model to represent an organization’s information

requirements and business rules • How to develop a Use Case Model, considered to be industry best practice in

representing functional requirements Module 8 Communications output: Planning, Writing and Presenting

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Write effective, readable documents and present clear requirements and solutions by defining your objectives and your audience. Develop a communications plan to get buy-in from stakeholders. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:

• Write clear and concise requirements • Assemble a requirements package, complete with executive summary and a plan for how

requirements will be communicated • Present requirements to different types of audiences and ensure that the contents are

understood • Create a communication plan detailing stakeholders, the information needed by each, and

forms of communication Module 9 Final exam and Simulation execution The final exam consists of multiple-choice questions and covers all the course material presented in the program. In Project Simulation, all participants in assigned teams present their completed real-world case study, applying the knowledge and skills learned throughout the modules. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:

• Gain insight into different approaches to the case study • Relate concepts taught in the course to the case study • Produce and present the deliverables needed to complete the project successfully

6, University of Saskatchewan Key Learning Objectives:

• This highly participative session includes: • Role and responsibilities of a Business Analyst • The Business Requirements Process • Gathering and documenting customer requirements • Analyzing process management issues • Fundamentals of Project Management • Applying critical thinking skills • Implementing a customer feedback system • Applying Creative Thinking techniques to requirements/specifications that could be

passed on to technical teams. The Role of the Business Analyst

• The key roles and responsibilities of a business analyst • Interfacing with the project manager and project team • Working with stakeholders • Business analyst competencies • Challenges in managing ongoing requirements

The Business Requirements Process

• Identifying and determining customer requirements • Analyzing customer requirements • Documenting customer requirements • Developing the business requirements document

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• Implementing customer feedback Business Process and Data Modeling

• The principles, processes and methodology of business process and data modeling • How to review the scope of the business processes and measure their impact on the

project • How to identify and maintain the customer requirements through process and data

modeling • How to use and apply various analytical tools including: analysis; process flowcharting;

data flow diagram; swimlane diagrams; decision trees and decision tables; use-case diagrams; criteria evaluation

• How to define business requirements through building data models • How to cross-reference data models and process models to ensure the completeness of

the analysis process • How to decompose the different process models

Project Management Providers

• Determining the different methods of project management and the project life cycle • Managing an entire project from beginning to end • Developing the project scope statement • Developing the work breakdown structures • Developing the time lines (applying duration to each project task) and scheduling

(allocating resources to each project task) • Identifying project task dependencies • Identifying project milestones • Implementing the entire project

Critical Thinking Skills

• Understanding the problem or opportunity • Determining root causes of the problems or opportunities • Identifying approaches for possible solutions or options • Determining the best solution or option • Measuring the impact of going with the final decision or not

Maintaining On-Going Customer Feedback and Involvement

• Developing a customer feedback system • Ensuring customer involvement throughout the project • Organizing testing with the customer • Managing on-going issues • Gaining final customer approval • Link theory to practice with a hands-on, action-based learning curriculum • Enjoy immediate ROI through application of your learning right away • Network among graduating colleagues to develop lasting business friendships

7, Memorial University of Newfoundland Module 1 Program introduction and Business Analysis Framework On the opening day, we build the foundation of the certificate program and discuss the role and responsibilities of the Business Analyst.

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WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:

• Understand the project/product life cycle and the role of the Business Analyst • Learn the competencies of the Business Analyst • Determine the project team and team members’ roles • Review the knowledge areas of the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA)

Module 2 Enterprise Analysis Learn enterprise analysis skills to identify and evaluate business initiatives and support your solutions with effective analysis methods. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:

• Learn how to see the “big picture” and help your executive stakeholders make the right decisions

• Evaluate proposed business initiatives for viability and organizational advantage • Apply an enterprise analysis framework in a business case study • Identify the organizational opportunities and risks within proposed initiatives • Conduct a feasibility analysis and strategic fit assessment • Define initial scope for a potential solution using multiple visual techniques • Prepare a business case employing qualitative and quantitative analysis methods

Module 3 Creativity and Critical thinking Learn to think “outside of the box” and apply critical thinking, creativity and innovation to your business analysis practices and solutions. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:

• Learn proven techniques to enhance your personal creativity and strategic thinking skills • Determine root causes • Draft a problem statement that clearly defines your challenge

Module 4 • Planning, Validating and Managing user Requirements

Develop a plan that includes determining and estimating the requirements activities a BA typically performs and how to control and manage changes to the deliverables. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:

• Identify and analyze all relevant stakeholders • Develop a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) that is requirements driven, focusing on

planning, testing and managing responsibilities • Develop a risk plan and a high-level test plan • Learn strategies for managing change in the requirements

Module 5 Communications input: Questioning, listening, Facilitating and Managing Conflict Effectively elicit requirements, recommend the business solution and achieve commitment by communicating and negotiating with all stakeholders, from user groups to technical teams. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:

• Ask the right questions from the start • Apply effective listening and clarifying techniques • Facilitate a group requirements session • Learn to manage conflict and build consensus

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Module 6 Eliciting user Requirements Equip yourself with the ability to gather, document and identify user requirements. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:

• Capture, clarify and confirm requirements • Write clear, complete and unambiguous requirements • Identify high-risk requirements and what to do about them • Manage the change control process and requirements sign-off

Module 7 Modeling the Business Problem and Solution Learn the key analysis models BAs use to analyze, formalize and validate business and system requirements, along with their purposes, strengths and when to apply them. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:

• Techniques to document analyze and redesign processes • How to build a logical data model to represent an organization’s information

requirements and business rules • How to develop a Use Case Model, considered to be industry best practice in

representing functional requirements Module 8 Communications output: Planning, Writing and Presenting Write effective, readable documents and present clear requirements and solutions by defining your objectives and your audience. Develop a communications plan to get buy-in from stakeholders. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:

• Write clear and concise requirements • Assemble a requirements package, complete with executive summary and a plan for how

requirements will be communicated • Present requirements to different types of audiences and ensure that the contents are

understood • Create a communication plan detailing stakeholders, the information needed by each, and

forms of communication Module 9 Final exam and Simulation execution The final exam consists of multiple-choice questions and covers all the course material presented in the program. In Project Simulation, all participants in assigned teams present their completed real-world case study, applying the knowledge and skills learned throughout the modules. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:

• Gain insight into different approaches to the case study • Relate concepts taught in the course to the case study • Produce and present the deliverables needed to complete the project successfully

8, University of New Brunswick Module 1: Course: Creativity and Critical Thinking

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Duration: 2 days Date: February 10-11, 2011 Fee: $898.00 (No HST) Think “outside of the box” and put creativity and innovation into your everyday business analysis practices and solutions. What you will learn:

• Learn proven techniques to enhance your personal creativity and strategic thinking skills • Determine root causes Draft a problem statement that clearly defines your challenge • Apply innovative thinking techniques to generate business systems solutions • Identify the best solutions and create successful action plans

Module 2: Course: Planning, Validating & Managing User Requirements Duration: 2 days Date: April 5-6, 2011 Fee: $898.00 (No HST) Develop a plan that includes determining and estimating the requirements activities a BA will perform on a particular project and how you will control and manage changes to the deliverables. Develop a high-level test plan to verify and validate your user requirements and achieve quality performance. What you will learn:

• Understand the importance of the planning and managing aspect in the role of the Business Analyst

• Identify and analyze stakeholders • Determine product scope • Determine planning considerations • Develop a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) that is requirements driven, focusing on

planning, testing and managing responsibilities • Select and estimate requirements activities in all phases of the project • Develop a risk plan that is based on the WBS and the stakeholders • Discuss the importance of testing and testing strategies • Develop a high level test plan • Identify, analyze, and manage requirements change

Module 3: Course: Communications Input - Questioning. Listening. Facilitating. Managing Conflict Duration: 2 days Date: June 7-8, 2011 Fee: $898.00 (No HST) Elicit user requirements, recommend the business solution and achieve commitment by effectively communicating and negotiating with all stakeholders, from user groups to technical teams. What you will learn:

• Work effectively with all communication styles • Ask the right questions from the start • Apply effective listening and clarifying skills • Facilitate a group requirements session • Learn to manage conflict and build consensus

Module 4: Course: Eliciting User Requirements Duration: 2 days Date: September 20-12, 2011 Fee: $898.00 (No HST) Equip yourself with the ability to gather, document and identify user requirements.

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What you will learn:

• The roles and responsibilities of the Business Analyst in the requirements gathering process

• Types of requirements • Requirements gathering techniques • Capture, clarify, confirm and prototype requirements • Create excellent requirements Write clear, complete, and unambiguous requirements • Identify high-risk requirements and what to do about them • Prioritize requirements • Obtain requirements signoff

Module 5: Course: Modeling the Business Problem and Solution Duration: 3 days Date: November 22-24, 2011 Fee: $1347.00 (No HST) Learn the key analysis models BAs should have in their toolkits, their purpose and strengths, and when to use each of them. These techniques will help you to analyze, formalize and validate business and system requirements. What you will learn:

• Techniques to document, analyze and redesign business processes • How to build a logical data model to represent an organization’s information

requirements and business rules • How to develop a Use Case Model, considered to be ‘industry best practice’ in

representing functional requirements • Fundamental business rules concepts and the interrelationships between Business Rules,

Business Processes, Logical Data Models and Use Case Models Module 6: Course: Communications Output: Planning, Writing, Presenting Duration: 2 days Date: January 26-27, 2012 Fee: $898.00 (No HST) Write readable documents and present clear requirements and solutions by defining your objectives and your audience. Develop a communications plan to get buy-in from stakeholders. What you will learn:

• Write clear and concise requirements • Assemble a requirements package, complete with executive summary and a plan for how

requirements will be communicated • Present requirements to different types of audiences and ensure that the contents are

understood • Create a communication plan detailing stakeholders, the information needed by each, and

forms of communication Module 7: Course: Filling in the Gaps Duration: 2 days Date: April 17-18, 2012 Fee: $898.00 (No HST) This module is a full review of the material presented in the program. look at the Enterprise Analysis sections of the IIBA Body of Knowledge. It equips potential candidates to sit for the IIBA CBAP exam. What you will learn:

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• Review of course material mapped to the IIBA Body of Knowledge • Enterprise analysis activities and the BA role in Enterprise analysis • A review of the CBAP exam process

Module 8: Course: Simulation Duration: 3 days Date: January 5-7, 2012 Fee: $1347.00 (No HST) In this module, we introduce a real-world case study and establish teams for the case study . The teams develop the deliverables and present the completed case study, applying the knowledge and skills learned throughout the modules - planning, critical thinking, communicating, eliciting, and analyzing. What you will learn:

• Gain insight into different approaches to the case study • Relate concepts taught in the course to the case study • Produce and present the deliverables needed to complete the project successfully

9, University of Winnipeg Module 1 Program introduction and Business Analysis Framework On the opening day, we build the foundation of the certificate program and discuss the role and responsibilities of the Business Analyst. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:

• Understand the project/product life cycle and the role of the Business Analyst • Learn the competencies of the Business Analyst • Determine the project team and team members’ roles • Review the knowledge areas of the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA)

Module 2 Enterprise Analysis Learn enterprise analysis skills to identify and evaluate business initiatives and support your solutions with effective analysis methods. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:

• Learn how to see the “big picture” and help your executive stakeholders make the right decisions

• Evaluate proposed business initiatives for viability and organizational advantage • Apply an enterprise analysis framework in a business case study • Identify the organizational opportunities and risks within proposed initiatives • Conduct a feasibility analysis and strategic fit assessment • Define initial scope for a potential solution using multiple visual techniques • Prepare a business case employing qualitative and quantitative analysis methods

Module 3 Creativity and Critical thinking Learn to think “outside of the box” and apply critical thinking, creativity and innovation to your business analysis practices and solutions.

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WHAT YOU WILL LEARN: • Learn proven techniques to enhance your personal creativity and strategic thinking skills • Determine root causes • Draft a problem statement that clearly defines your challenge

Module 4 Planning, Validating and Managing user Requirements Develop a plan that includes determining and estimating the requirements activities a BA typically performs and how to control and manage changes to the deliverables. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:

• Identify and analyze all relevant stakeholders • Develop a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) that is requirements driven, focusing on

planning, testing and managing responsibilities • Develop a risk plan and a high-level test plan • Learn strategies for managing change in the requirements

Module 5 Communications input: Questioning, listening, Facilitating and Managing Conflict Effectively elicit requirements, recommend the business solution and achieve commitment by communicating and negotiating with all stakeholders, from user groups to technical teams. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:

• Ask the right questions from the start • Apply effective listening and clarifying techniques • Facilitate a group requirements session • Learn to manage conflict and build consensus

Module 6 Eliciting user Requirements Equip yourself with the ability to gather, document and identify user requirements. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:

• Capture, clarify and confirm requirements • Write clear, complete and unambiguous requirements • Identify high-risk requirements and what to do about them • Manage the change control process and requirements sign-off

Module 7 Modeling the Business Problem and Solution Learn the key analysis models BAs use to analyze, formalize and validate business and system requirements, along with their purposes, strengths and when to apply them. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:

• Techniques to document analyze and redesign processes • How to build a logical data model to represent an organization’s information

requirements and business rules • How to develop a Use Case Model, considered to be industry best practice in

representing functional requirements Module 8

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Communications output: Planning, Writing and Presenting Write effective, readable documents and present clear requirements and solutions by defining your objectives and your audience. Develop a communications plan to get buy-in from stakeholders. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:

• Write clear and concise requirements • Assemble a requirements package, complete with executive summary and a plan for how

requirements will be communicated • Present requirements to different types of audiences and ensure that the contents are

understood • Create a communication plan detailing stakeholders, the information needed by each, and

forms of communication Module 9 Final exam and Simulation execution The final exam consists of multiple-choice questions and covers all the course material presented in the program. In Project Simulation, all participants in assigned teams present their completed real-world case study, applying the knowledge and skills learned throughout the modules. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:

• Gain insight into different approaches to the case study • Relate concepts taught in the course to the case study • Produce and present the deliverables needed to complete the project successfully

10, Mount Royal University Business Analysis: An Overview Position yourself for success in one of today’s most in-demand careers. Organizations seek qualified business analysts to help accurately define business needs, capture requirements and deliver solutions that will achieve business objectives. Be introduced to the role and responsibilities of today’s business analyst, including industry-recognized skills, tasks and knowledge areas. Gathering and Documenting Requirements Business analysts need to be able to gather the right information, understand the business needs, document accurate requirements and make recommendations to help business area experts solve problems. Using real-life examples, explore communication and interviewing skills, reaching consensus and documentation models such as Use Cases, facilitation techniques and more. Process and Workflow Modeling People, processes, systems and structures can be captured in present state through diagrams that show how things work and what changes need to be made. Some of the many tools covered in this course are process mapping, process leveling, cross functional and process decomposition diagrams, Use Case diagrams, deployment and more. Enterprise Risk Management

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Explore how to identify risk, learn what constitutes risk management, and determine how to assess the impacts and probabilities of risk. Once this knowledge is attained, develop an enterprise risk framework, score and rank risks, and gain insight into the cultural aspects of risk. Solution Analysis (Formerly Data Analysis for Decision Making) Business analysts play a key role in ensuring that proposed solutions meet the business needs and deliver maximum benefits to justify implementation. Discover how to evaluate solution options and solution performance, including techniques for identifying capability gaps, managing solution scope and assessing solutions through performance metrics and reporting. Building a Business Case and Opportunity Evaluation NEWLY REVISED! (Formerly Financial Analysis and Opportunity Evaluation) Business analysts must engage in strategic enterprise analysis to help organizations identify, understand, evaluate and prioritize potential opportunities, solutions and strategies for success. Discover key components and considerations in developing and effective business case. Be introduced to various techniques for evaluating opportunities and making a business case, including SWOT analysis, cost-benefit analysis, impact analysis and communicating ROI. Solution Validation and Assessment (Formerly Quality and Testing Management) Business analysts determine how a solution is performing once implemented, and help to identify solution gaps or defects. This course examines the BA role in the context of solution validation, quality assurance and continuous improvement. Techniques such as test plans, root cause analysis, lessons learned practice and problem tracking are explored. Project Management: An Overview Project Management: An Overview is the only required Project Management course for the Business Analysis Certificate. Also note that the Project Management: An Overview course can be taken in class or online. BA Review and Preparation for the Final Assessment Paper NEWLY REVISED! (Formerly Life Cycle and Business Case) Review the BA role, core competencies and specific knowledge areas of the BABOK® Guide. Re-examine various tools and techniques learned in the previous Business Analysis courses. Discuss and evaluate real-world examples and scenarios to prepare for the Final Assessment Paper. Business Analysis: Final Assessment Paper NEWLY REVISED! Complete a case analysis paper (written feasibility report) to be critiqued and graded by qualified instructors. Your grade is based on your ability to incorporate the business analysis concepts, practices and principles acquired in the previous nine courses. Guidelines are provided to assist in your case report preparation. 11, McGill University Course Description This course addresses the fundamental principles of business analysis and the tools & techniques at the disposal of business analysts to help projects achieve their goals. It provides an understanding of the roles of the business analyst, skills and competencies

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used by the business analyst and demonstrates techniques to plan, manage, analyze, document and communicate requirements at all levels. The Comprehensive Business Analysis Program is aligned with the industry standard Business Analysis Body of Knowledge® Guide (BABOK®), published by the worldwide International Institute of Business Analysis ® (IIBA®). This program also reflects best business analysis practices in the different business domains. Topics covered include the essential Business Analysis skills and topics such as: • Enterprise analysis • Stakeholder analysis • Business analysis planning • SMART requirements & attributes • Requirement management & monitoring • Requirements in the project life cycle • Requirements elicitation techniques • Interactive communication for success • Facilitating the requirement workshop • Introduction to modeling • Business process modeling techniques • Use cases • Business rules & data models • Requirements verification & validation • Solution assessment & transitioning to deployment • Presenting requirements • Lean 6 Sigma in the BA world • The agile business analyst • Business standards: IIBA®, BABOK®, CBAP®,CCBA™ • Business analysis Workshops- Case study 12, University of Calgary Comprehensive Business Analysis Seminar — Part 1 In this course you will gain insight into the business analyst profession, the role business analysts play within an organization, the necessary skills required, and valuable applicable tools, techniques and methodologies for immediate use back on the job. You will learn how to develop thorough requirements elicitation and management processes, identify and analyze project deliverables within the project lifecycle and practice effective oral and written communication, documentation and facilitation skills. Comprehensive Business Analysis Seminar — Part 2 Prerequisite: Comprehensive Business Analysis Seminar—Part 1(or equivalent) Major challenges facing business analysts are extracting and documenting business requirements in plain business language, translating those business requirements into technical specifications, and creating and implementing business processes. This course builds on the concepts covered in Comprehensive Business Analysis Seminar—Part 1 by examining specific tools in detail. You will learn effective writing skills, documentation, developing metrics to complete your analysis, facilitation and methodology definition. Enterprise and Strategic Analysis Prerequisites: Comprehensive Business Analysis Seminar—Part 1 (or equivalent) and Comprehensive Business Analysis Seminar—Part 2 (or equivalent)

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This course is designed to provide business analysts with the skills required for involvement in strategy development, pre-project activities, and developing and managing enterprise architecture. You will learn the tasks and techniques outlined in the Enterprise Analysis Knowledge area within the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge® (BABOK®) v2. You will practise analyzing competitive data, benchmarking studies, business problems and opportunities, developing business strategies and documenting a business case. 13, University of Waterloo Business Analysis for the Project Manager A Business Analysis course for project managers? Absolutely! While the Business Analyst position is still rather new to many organizations, their primary role of defining and documenting user requirements and bridging the gap between the client and the solution team has always been an essential ingredient for achieving project success. On small to medium-sized projects, the role of business analysis often falls on the shoulders of the project manager or other core team members. On larger projects, the role of business analysis is usually more defined and it is important that both project managers and business analysts understand the value that each of their roles will bring to the project. Taught through a series of discussions, examples, and real world hands-on exercises drawn from IT projects, this two-day course will teach participants the tools they can apply immediately to accurately translate client requirements into successful project deliverables. Comprehensive Business Analysis - Part 1 During this course you will gain insight into the Business Analysis profession, the role Business Analysts play within an organization, the necessary skills required, and valuable applicable tools, techniques and methodologies for immediate use back on the job. This course focuses extensively on how to develop thorough requirements elicitation and management processes while providing you the opportunity to practice effective oral and written communication, documentation and facilitation skills. You will identify and analyze BA project deliverables within the project lifecycle. In-class exercises will enable you to assimilate learning objectives. This 4-day course covers the underlying competencies, Business Analysis Planning and Monitoring and Requirements Communication and Management knowledge areas from the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge® (BABOK®). It is based on the Guide to the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge® version 2.0. Learn to:

• evaluate business analysis underlying competencies to gain an appreciation of how Business Analysts add value to an organization.

• distinguish between business analysis and project management. • examine the profession, global standards, the professional organization, and trends in the

industry. • illustrate an effective requirements management process. • integrate effective writing practices into business analysis communication and

documentation. • list the different requirement types. • describe the steps required to complete a thorough stakeholder analysis.

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• produce the elements of a good Requirements Management Plan. • prepare documents such as functional decomposition diagram, risk analysis plan, and

communication plan. • interpret how the business analysis activities contribute to the overall product/solution.

Comprehensive Business Analysis - Part 2 You will learn specific business analysis tools and techniques in this 4-day course. The use of templates will help you quickly grasp the concepts. You will also learn how to write more effectively, which leads to well-defined, clear business documents. This course also focuses extensively on how to identify and develop metrics to complete your analysis and also covers some general business analysis skills such as documentation, facilitation, and methodology definition. For those preparing for the Certified Business Analysis Professional™ (CBAP®) designation this will help to prepare you for the CBAP® exam. This course is based on the Guide to the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge version 2.0. Learn to:

• identify advantages and disadvantages of different elicitation techniques • elicit requirements using 8 different techniques. • design and develop 7 types of process models using appropriate notation symbols. • identify advantages and disadvantages of different documentation techniques. • document requirements using 11 documentation techniques. • recognize and utilize 6 different modeling techniques. • organize and prioritize requirements. • create and present a requirement package.

Enterprise and Strategic Analysis This 3-day course is designed to provide Business Analysts with the skills required for involvement in strategy development, pre-project activities, as well as developing and managing enterprise architecture. This course is appropriate for experienced Business Analysts and junior Business Analysts who are looking to formalize their experience through education. During this course you will learn the tasks and techniques outlined in the Enterprise Analysis Knowledge area within the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge® (BABOK®) v2. Through discussion, examples and hands-on exercises, you will practice analyzing competitive data, benchmarking studies, business problems and opportunities. You will also practice developing business strategies and documenting a business case. Learn to:

• discuss enterprise analysis tasks and techniques. • analyze and document a business problem. • devise a business case. • contrast viable solutions against developed decision criteria. • list possible solutions approaches. • evaluate causes through the application of problem analysis techniques. • isolate major causes of business problems and where to focus resources.

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• list types of gap analyses. • assess limitations through the creation of a gap analysis. • recall the phases of the project life cycle. • conduct a Strength Weakness Opportunity Threat (SWOT) analysis. • appraise a benchmarking study. • build on previously learned techniques to develop high level requirements for the

business case. • defend business case recommendations.

Pre-requisites Business Analysis for the Project Manager This course is designed for participants who already work in a project management environment that manages project scope, cost, time, quality, etc., OR have taken an introductory project management course such as Project Management Applied Tools and Techniques. This course conforms to the internationally recognized standards of the Project Management Institute (PMI®). You will receive 14 Professional Development Units (PDUs) upon completion and a complete course binder that parallels the course content and serves as an excellent project management resource tool after the course. Comprehensive Business Analysis - Part 2 Comprehensive Business Analysis - Part 1 Enterprise and Strategic Analysis Comprehensive Business Analysis - Part 2 14, Queen’s University Program Description Queen's Strategic Analytics Program will show you how to deploy analytics in new and powerful ways. The program provides hands-on experience with the concepts, tools, and techniques that can help your organization to effectively implement strategic objectives at all levels. Online databases and powerful analytical tools have made complex analysis both economically feasible and timely. Learn from experts how to apply them yourself. Become better at making informed decisions Recognizing Opportunities Understanding when and how to use analytical approaches Knowing what tools and skills your organization needs Explore best practices with analytics in service businesses, manufacturing, financial services, and the public sector Getting the Right Data and Getting the Data Right Working with information systems Surveys, sampling and data-mining Correcting data "censorship" Choosing levels of aggregation and assessing likelihoods Tools and Techniques Get value from the data you collect Structuring decision processes in uncertain times

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Extracting critical information from complex data sources Visualizing relationships among key decision factors Making it Happen Put an analytical approach into action while avoiding "analysis paralysis" Systems and technology recommendations and requirements When to use specialists or consultants, and when to do it yourself Resources and support as your projects unfold 15, Wilfrid Laurier University Course Description The course introduces systematic approaches to management decision making under conditions of certainty and uncertainty. Applications of all approaches to functional areas of business will be considered through the use of case studies and computer software. Other Courses Offered by the Program Strategic Management An examination of the key processes involved in managing the total enterprise from the point of view of the general manager. These include strategy formulation, implementation and change. The course seeks both to integrate material from other more specialized required courses and to familiarize students with the basic concepts, theories, tools and methods in the field of strategic management. Marketing An overview of marketing management with an emphasis on understanding and applying theories and concepts in marketing. An analytical foundation for creating, communicating and implementing integrated marketing plans is developed and reinforced through application. The course also introduces the unique contexts of marketing and illustrates the need to integrate marketing with the other functional areas of business. Financial Management An introduction to the fundamentals of corporate finance, including securities valuation and interest rates, risk and return tradeoff involved in corporate investment decisions, capital budgeting and sources of long-term financing, capital structure decisions and how they affect corporate value, dividend policy and corporate restructuring, and sources of short-term financing and working capital management. Organizational Behaviour An introduction to the human side of managing organizations in today's environment, including links between the organization's strategy, its human resources, the internal systems and processes, and the outcomes achieved. Creating, managing and responding to change is a major focus. Operations Management An overview of important concepts and methods used in managing business operations. Topics include: product and process design, facility location and layout, capacity planning, quality assurance, materials management and scheduling. Essential ideas and techniques from probability, statistics, management science and information systems are also covered. Economics An introduction to the principles of resource allocation, and to the tools necessary to look at the economy as part of the environment in which business decisions are made. Topics include an

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examination of micro and macro policies, including the impact of taxation, monetary policy, regulation, interest rates and exchange values on business in general as well as on the individual firm. Accounting An introduction to the fundamental accounting skills required by managers, including the analysis of financial statements, the use of accounting information in both short-run and long-run decisions, and an understanding of the impact of management control systems on the organization. Applied Business Research This course is designed to expose students to advanced management topics and issues in an integrated manner, and is team taught. A field study portion challenges students to develop their research and implementation skills through an applied business research project, and a not-for-profit organization practicum component. The project reports are submitted and presented to a panel of faculty. Research Project The design of an applied business research project, including defining a research problem, completing the research and providing a solution to the problem. Equivalent to three one-term elective courses. 16, Ryerson University CZSA 100 Business Systems and Strategy Duration: 36 Hours Fee: $1155* (Payment in full is required at time of enrollment; HST Included.) This course provides a foundation of knowledge for business systems analysts in the areas of information systems, business architecture, enterprise analysis and business strategy. Students will learn how information technology is used to rapidly deploy business systems that support or enhance business strategy for competitive advantage. This course will provide students with an understanding of the goals, purpose and value of the business systems analysis project, in the context of the overall business enterprise. Available in Spring and Summer in 2012 CZSA 200 Business Systems Analysis and Design Prerequisite(s): CZSA 100 Duration: 36 Hours Fee: $1155* (Payment in full is required at time of enrollment; HST Included.) Business system analysts play a critical role in harvesting benefits from IT investments. This course introduces major techniques of business system analysis, with an emphasis on using current methods and tools to investigate information system problems, identify system requirements, evaluate alternatives, and select the best solution. Case studies are utilized where students, as team members, analyze business problems and recommend information system solutions. Effective verbal and written communication skills are important elements of this course. Available in Spring and Summer in 2012 CZSA 300 Business Process Analysis and Design Prerequisite(s): CZSA 100 Duration: 36 Hours Fee: $1155* (Payment in full is required at time of enrollment; HST Included.)

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This course introduces the principles of business process analysis and design. Concepts about the role of processes in the delivery of the organization's value proposition, measuring process performance and the steps required to analyze, design and implement process changes will be used to allow students to acquire skills in process mapping, diagnosing process weakness, and identifying opportunities for improvement. Objectives of the course are to explain how process orientation enhances the efficiency and effectiveness of organizations and to teach the methods for analyzing, designing, and implementing processes. Available in Spring and Summer in 2012 Pre-requisites Eligible applicants must have one of the following: a minimum of three years of related work experience, or a college diploma, or an undergraduate degree in a related area of study CZSA 100 Business Systems and Strategy is the prerequisite for CZSA 200 Business Systems Analysis and Design and CZSA 300 Business Process Analysis and Design.