Help Me Pick Good IT Training for 2013

December 28, 2012 4:22 AM

Training for Senior Business Analyst - looking for recommendations.

I am a senior business/requirements analyst with 14 years of experience, with 7 years in the federal healthcare IT space (as a contractor) for both the VA and the DOD. For the first time in years, I have the opportunity to take advantage of training paid for by my employer.

So, can you recommend some training courses for me? Given my preference, I would select courses that give practical skills/capabilities over resume-stuffers.

posted by Irontom to Education (6 answers total)

"Senior Business Analyst" is sort of a vague title. Can you give some more detail about what your job entails?

Do you have P&L responsibility? Do you need to be apprised of developments in certain technologies? Do you need to learn programming? Budget forecasting? Financial analysis? Statistical analysis?

All of the above, and more, can fall under the title "Senior Business Analyst" depending, in part, on the industry and nature of the job.
posted by dfriedman at 4:37 AM on December 28, 2012

I had training from Systemation through work 4 or 5 years ago and thought they were decent. I took the Practitioner Level classes; you may be interested in the Advanced Level classes.

Have you looked at the IIBA endorsed training list? According to the website, it covers "commercial trainers, universities and corporations" and may be a good way of finding other possibilities.
posted by bluesapphires at 5:08 AM on December 28, 2012

Details about my job:

I am currently the Requirements Manager for a Project Management Office supporting a major VA IT project. It's sort of new kind of gig for me, because I am not directly doing requirements elicitation or analysis. My biggest responsibility right now is trying to be the facilitator between the business requirements team(s) (which are under a different contract than my own) and the development teams (which are under a 3rd contract).

I do not have any P&L responsibilities. I do not need to learn any programming (I used to be a ColdFusion developer, way back when) and I don't currently do any statistical analysis or budgetary stuff.
posted by Irontom at 5:17 AM on December 28, 2012

Lucky you! I manage of group of BSA's (healthcare setting) and agree with snickerdoodle's Agile recommendation. Even if you don't work in an Agile shop, it will expose you to some useful techniques that you can try to integrate into whatever SLDC your organization uses. Look at local universities that offer BSA courses as part of IIBA certification program. Also, some BSA's are interested in adding project management skills to their repertoire. If that is the case, look for the foundation courses that are offered as part of the PMP certification. Rita Mulcahy is a great resource for PM training. If you have focussed on one functional area in healthcare, perhaps it's time to get exposure to another? There are some great courses you can take from the Academy of Healthcare Management at AHIP that will expose you to different aspects of the business. Hope this helps...
posted by shw at 5:18 AM on December 28, 2012

Based on what you've described, I agree that learning about agile software development is probably a good idea.
posted by dfriedman at 5:21 AM on December 28, 2012

In having a think about this - and having worked as a BA - I'd do a course in Enterprise Architecture and get familiar with the various frameworks. I can't really see - though I am an Agile proponent - that agile can offer you much as a business analyst. I doubt that you would even need to touch Agile in your day-to-day. However getting a good understanding of EA, and what drives the strategy, governance and resourcing would be beneficial to a senior BA. This course looks interesting. Although it's in Australia, I'm sure there are equivalents.
posted by the noob at 4:03 PM on December 29, 2012