Introduction to Business Analysis:

• The Role of the Business Analyst
• The business analyst’s scope of work 
• Business analysts as internal consultants
• Active data gathering
• Overview of problem-solving approaches
• Generating creative solutions 
• Intelligence versus creativity
• Effective decision-making
• Choosing between alternatives 

Strategic Thinking in Business Analytics

• An overview of strategic thinking
• The three big strategic questions
• Key elements of a successful strategy
• Strategy and the quest for competitive advantage
• The importance of strategy
• The 5 Cs of strategic analysis
• Porter's 5 forces impact Potential Industry Earnings (PIE)
• Creating and capturing value
• Conducting SWOT analysis
• Fundamentals of PEDESTL framework 

Effective Structuring of Problems

• The importance of structuring problems 
• Defining the right issue 
• Using the issue statement 
• Dividing issues into manageable parts 
• The use of logic trees in problem-solving 
• Prioritizing and planning
• The importance of prioritizing work
• Eliminating non-essential issues
• Using the 80:20 rule
• Prioritization methodologies 
• Using the prioritization matrix
• Developing practical project plan
• Building an effective work plan 

Getting into Business: Conducting Analyses

• Getting the right data 
• Types of research
• Primary research development
• Secondary research development
• Using pivot tables for analysis 
• Introduction to pivoting tables
• Creating pivot tables
• Customizing pivot tables
• Performing calculations within pivot tables
• Creating calculated fields
• Creating calculated items
• Using cell references and name ranges 
• Managing pivot table calculations 

Communicating and Presenting Your Findings

•  Turning data into findings
• Building effective arguments
• Communicating findings by telling a 'story' 
• Storytelling elements 
• Designing powerful presentations
• Presenting to senior management