BCS Business Analysis Foundation
Terms with Complete Definitions
Core Responsibilities of a Business Analyst ✔✔ Investigate business systems, evaluate actions to
improve the operation of said systems, document the business requirements, elaborate
requirements (page 12)
The definition of strategy (Johnson, Scholes and Whittington 2008) ✔✔ Strategy is the direction
and scope of an organisation over the long term, which achieves advantage in a changing
environment through its configuration of resources and competences with the aim of fulfilling
stakeholder expectations (page 40)
Soft Systems Methodology ✔✔ A way of understanding stakeholder perspectives and complex
real-world situations; five main stages:
1. Situation identified
2. Stakeholder perspectives gathered
3. Conceptual models on each perspective
4. Comparison of models with real-world situation --> consensus model generated
5. Define actions needed to improve situation (page 116)
CATWOE Tool ✔✔ Technique used to explore stakeholder perspectives; should be done in
following order:
1. Worldview
2. Transformation
3. Customers
4. Actor
5. Owner
6. Environment (page 117)
, Business Activity Model (BAM) ✔✔ Conceptual model of what we would expect to see to fulfil a
particular stakeholder perspective: what the organisation should be doing (not business process
model that shows how should be doing), includes Plan, Enable, Do, Monitor, Control (page 118)
Alternative View of an Organisation ✔✔ Paul Harmon developed to represent internal processes
and an external world, first external factors that influence org are considered and then internal
business process is analysed; consists of The Processes (center), External Environment (top),
Competition (bottom), Suppliers (left), Customers (right) (page 125)
Porter's Value Chain ✔✔ Model to examine the products/services and define what processes
are required for their delivery; Primary activities include Inbound Logistics -> Operations ->
Outbound Logistics -> Marketing & Sales -> Service. Support Activities include Procurement ->
Technology Development -> Human resource management -> Firm infrastructure (page 128)
Value Proposition ✔✔ The unique value that a product or service provides to its customers and
how it is better than and different from those of competitors; elements include:
Product/Service attributes (Functionality + Price + Quality+ Choice/Customisability +
Availability) + Image/Reputation + Customer Relationship
Business Process ✔✔ An entire set of activities that generate business value by transforming
inputs into outputs; triggered by a business event, end with output delivered; five key
components: tasks, process flow, decision points, actors, and outcome (page 131)
Business Event ✔✔ Act that triggers a business process, three types: external, internal, time-
based (page 132)
Six Sigma DMAIC ✔✔ Alternative approach to process improvement; Define, Measure, Analyse,
Improve, Control (page 148)
Terms with Complete Definitions
Core Responsibilities of a Business Analyst ✔✔ Investigate business systems, evaluate actions to
improve the operation of said systems, document the business requirements, elaborate
requirements (page 12)
The definition of strategy (Johnson, Scholes and Whittington 2008) ✔✔ Strategy is the direction
and scope of an organisation over the long term, which achieves advantage in a changing
environment through its configuration of resources and competences with the aim of fulfilling
stakeholder expectations (page 40)
Soft Systems Methodology ✔✔ A way of understanding stakeholder perspectives and complex
real-world situations; five main stages:
1. Situation identified
2. Stakeholder perspectives gathered
3. Conceptual models on each perspective
4. Comparison of models with real-world situation --> consensus model generated
5. Define actions needed to improve situation (page 116)
CATWOE Tool ✔✔ Technique used to explore stakeholder perspectives; should be done in
following order:
1. Worldview
2. Transformation
3. Customers
4. Actor
5. Owner
6. Environment (page 117)
, Business Activity Model (BAM) ✔✔ Conceptual model of what we would expect to see to fulfil a
particular stakeholder perspective: what the organisation should be doing (not business process
model that shows how should be doing), includes Plan, Enable, Do, Monitor, Control (page 118)
Alternative View of an Organisation ✔✔ Paul Harmon developed to represent internal processes
and an external world, first external factors that influence org are considered and then internal
business process is analysed; consists of The Processes (center), External Environment (top),
Competition (bottom), Suppliers (left), Customers (right) (page 125)
Porter's Value Chain ✔✔ Model to examine the products/services and define what processes
are required for their delivery; Primary activities include Inbound Logistics -> Operations ->
Outbound Logistics -> Marketing & Sales -> Service. Support Activities include Procurement ->
Technology Development -> Human resource management -> Firm infrastructure (page 128)
Value Proposition ✔✔ The unique value that a product or service provides to its customers and
how it is better than and different from those of competitors; elements include:
Product/Service attributes (Functionality + Price + Quality+ Choice/Customisability +
Availability) + Image/Reputation + Customer Relationship
Business Process ✔✔ An entire set of activities that generate business value by transforming
inputs into outputs; triggered by a business event, end with output delivered; five key
components: tasks, process flow, decision points, actors, and outcome (page 131)
Business Event ✔✔ Act that triggers a business process, three types: external, internal, time-
based (page 132)
Six Sigma DMAIC ✔✔ Alternative approach to process improvement; Define, Measure, Analyse,
Improve, Control (page 148)
