SYLLABUS Q's

Question 1

Why is Business Analysis important?

Answer 1

A Business Analyst acts as a bridge between business ideas and business capabilities; creating and scoping valuable changes and optimizations to business processes. Typically driven by conducting ‘performance capability assessments’, or ‘feasibility studies’, the Business Analyst regularly appraises business performance. Such reviews appraise capabilities ranging from those visible to the customer through to those embedded deep in the manufacturing process.

Also the bridge between the business users and technical teams (development resource).

Failed projects:

Question 2

Explain possible sectors of an economy

Answer 2

A division of a country’s population based upon the economic area in which that population is employed. Many economists recognize the following five economic sectors; the primary sector which includes agriculture, mining and other natural resource industries; the secondary sector covering manufacturing, engineering and construction; a tertiary sector for the service industries, the quaternary sector for intellectual activities involving education and research and the quinary sector reserved for high level decision makers in government and industry.

 Public/Government sector
 Private/Commercial sector
 Not-for-profit sector
 Drivers for each sector
 Sources of finance for organisations
 Relevance to business analysts of understanding of sectors and sources of
finance

Question 3

Explain the possible sources of finance for a business?

Answer 3

Sources of finance for business are equity, debt, debentures, retained earnings, term loans, working capital loans, letter of credit, euro issue, venture funding etc. These sources of funds are used in different situations. They are classified based on time period, ownership and control, and their source of generation. It is ideal to evaluate each source of capital before opting for it.

Question 4

A technique to analyse the influences from the external business environment.

Answer 4

PESTLE and Porters 5 Forces

Question 5

A technique to analyse the capability of the internal business environment.

Answer 5

Resource Audit / Balanced Business Scorecard / POPIT

Question 6

The legal and regulatory framework for business analysis…

Answer 6

Data protection for personal data
- Data protection is the process of safeguarding important information from corruption, compromise or loss.

Disability access provisions
- An inclusive environment is one that can be used by everyone, regardless of age,
gender or disability.

Business compliance
- Regulatory compliance describes the goal that organizations aspire to achieve in their efforts to ensure that they are aware of and take steps to comply with relevant laws, policies, and regulations.

Also consider the link between the legal framework and requirements

Question 7

Links to the internal business environment analysis (strengths and weaknesses).

Answer 7

Strengths
Strengths are those features of the business which allow you to operate more effectively than your competitors. For example, a strength could be your specialist technical knowledge. You need to consider your strengths from your own point of view and from that of your customers’ and clients’. You must be realistic and honest.

Try answering the following questions:
What is it that you do well?
What advantages do you have over your competitors?
What makes you different from your competitors?
Weaknesses

Weaknesses are areas capable of improvement. Are you lacking skills or new products? Do you have a higher cost base or lower productivity than your competitors? You must face any unpleasant truths about your business and be realistic.
Can you do anything better?
Do you do anything badly?
What should be avoided?
What causes problems or complaints?

Question 8

Links to the external business environment analysis (opportunities and threats).

Answer 8

Opportunities
Can you identify any new opportunities for your business? Are there any interesting trends which you can take advantage of?

Examples of opportunities include:
Changes in technology and markets, eg the Internet
Changes in government policy or regulations / legislation
Local and global events
Potential new uses of products and / or services
Use of marketing or promotional techniques to boost the business
Social factors, eg population fluctuation, lifestyle changes, etc.

Threats
Threats can be external or internal, and are anything which can adversely affect your business. External threats could be inflation, new legislation, or a new competitor in your market. Internal threats could include a skill or staff shortage within your organisation.

Try answering the following questions:
What obstacles face your business?
What are your competitors doing?
Are there any changes in products, services or technology which could threaten your business?
Do you have any financial problems such as bad debt or cash-flow difficulties?

Question 9

What is the Balanced Business Scorecard?

Answer 9

The scorecard produces a balance between:

Four key business perspectives: financial, customer, internal processes and innovation.
How the organisation sees itself and how others see it.
The short run and the long run
The situation at a moment in time and change over time
Main benefits of using the balanced scorecard

Helps companies focus on what has to be done in order to create a breakthrough performance
Acts as an integrating device for a variety of corporate programmes
Makes strategy operational by translating it into performance measures and targets
Helps break down corporate level measures so that local managers and employees can see what they need to do well if they want to improve organisational effectiveness
Provides a comprehensive view that overturns the traditional idea of the organisation as a collection of isolated, independent functions and departments.