Firm Up Your Foundational BA Skills

FOBAᵀᴹ takes you through a project in a simulated enterprise environment.

Earn 36 IIBA PD/CDUs to help you meet the application or renewal requirements for your CCBA or CBAP certification.

This is a hands-on project-based course where you'll produce the core BA deliverables your team needs to enhance an existing digital product in an enterprise environment.

FOBAᵀᴹ is a 12-week practicum where you'll produce BA deliverables including:

Standard BPMN-based process model as part of elicitation.
User Stories and Use Cases as part of elaboration.
Wireframes and Screen Specifications as part of elaboration.
Standard UML-based data model as part of business rules analysis.

► What You'll Learn

► Course Format (Job Shadowing)

► What You'll Produce

► Course Benefits

► Framework (ODESA™)

► Our 12-Week Plan

► Course FAQ

► Refund Policy

► Enrolment Options

Henriette Nitu

Senior Business Analyst

In this course, I have found exactly what I was looking for.

I knew there was a better way but didn't know how, I knew I still had a lot to learn but didn't know on what I should focus. Now I know thanks to you.

What set this course apart is its commitment to bridging the gap between theory and real-world practice. The case studies presented were diverse, reflecting the multifaceted nature of business analysis across industries.

The practical approach adopted by course ensured that I not only understood the theoretical concepts but also knew how to apply them in real-world scenarios.

The guidance and support from experienced instructors were instrumental in my learning journey, providing valuable feedback and insights every step of the way.

The course instructors were not only knowledgeable but also passionate about imparting their expertise, creating an engaging and supportive learning environment.

I do not leave reviews just to be nice. I truly believe 1000% in what you do. Thank you Emal, thank you Danielle for a transformative learning experience.

What You'll Learn

You'll learn the foundational business analysis skills you need to connect business needs to IT solutions in support of all your stakeholders.

The project will give you the pre-project input you need to elicit and elaborate the user needs down to the level of detail required by your technical stakeholders.

Pre-Project Discovery

You'll be given pre-project deliverables produced by a senior business analyst as inputs for your elicitation and elaboration work. You'll use these deliverables to learn how to:

Current State/As-Is Analysis: Use current state analysis to ramp up your domain knowledge and understand customer pain points.
Future State Design: Use future state design to conceptualize the solution to be delivered.
Gap Analysis: Use gap analysis to identify the difference between what your customers currently have to what their business needs.
Feasibility Analysis: Use feasibility analysis to maintain stakeholder alignment throughout the project.

Elicitation & Elaboration

You'll learn to produce 7 artifacts over 4 assignments as part of the case study. These include:

Process Design: A business process using our BPMN-based swim lane process modeling technique.
User Stories and Use Cases: A set of user stories and use cases to model the future state user interactions.
Wireframes and Screen Specs: A set of wireframes and detailed screen specifications to support the user interaction models with additional details.
Business Rules: Clearly written rules that define the capabilities and constraints that need to be enforced by the system.
Data Modelling: A data model using standard UML-based data modeling technique.

Methodologies

ITSM: The role of the business analyst in the ITSM incident & problem management process of a large organization.
Agile: The role of the business analyst in the agile solution delivery process of a project.
Product Backlog: How to manage a product backlog that you've adopted from someone else.

I personally love how the course simplified complex concepts and challenged you to think in different ways.

Emal and Danielle fostered engagement and collaboration among professionals of all levels, encouraging participants to ask questions and receive support while working on a real-world simulated project.

This collaborative environment enabled participants to grasp the necessary level of detail for various business analyst deliverables, including business processes, use cases, use case scenarios, wireframes, screen specifications, and data models.

Additionally, this course facilitated better comprehension and a clear flow from business process to use case to data, ultimately enhancing one's effectiveness as a business analyst.

James Dean

Business Analyst at & President of the IIBA Ireland Chapter

Course Format

Job shadowing is the most powerful way to learn business analysis.

The project will be presented to you in a case study format giving you everything you need to produce the BA deliverables your stakeholders need.

💼 Job Shadowing / Case Study

You will shadow Justin and Ingrid as they work under Shauna's guidance to overcome the obstacles they face to produce their deliverables. Your assignments ask you to produce the same deliverables as Justin and Ingrid giving you the instructions and guidelines you need to ensure you're capable of creating real-world project deliverables.

🔴 5 Live Workshops

These are structured sessions where we meet live as a class. We cover important course concepts and discuss how these concepts apply in real-world projects.

Instructors are also there to answer questions about the course content, provide help with the assignment, or help students overcome challenges they may be experiencing in their jobs.

🔴 3 Live Office Hours

These are unstructured “drop-in” sessions where students come to get extra help.

Instructors are available to answer questions about the course content, provide help with the assignment, or help students overcome challenges they may be experiencing in their jobs.

📺 5 Video Lessons

Students receive detailed video instructions covering important course concepts and providing detailed instructions on how to produce deliverables.

📚 10 Sample Documents

Students receive completed sample documents demonstrating how a senior business analyst would capture the outcome of their stakeholder analysis, current state analysis, feasibility analysis, and feasibility analysis (etc.)

📝 4 Assignments

You will produce a single cohesive deliverable containing the artefacts you produce in each of your 4 assignments spaced over our 12 weeks together.

The assignments follow the case study and contain perspectives from all stakeholders involved in the initiative.

Your job is to elicit the stakeholder's needs through process design, express stakeholder requirements via user stories, and to elaborate those user stories to the level of detail needed by your downstream stakeholders via use cases, wireframes, screen specifications, and data models.

👨‍🏫 Full Instructor Support

Your instructors are always available in the course space to answer your questions and help you overcome any challenges you're facing in the course.

During the course, instructors will also provide (optional) bonus materials for students who are looking to deepen their expertise in any of the skills or tools we cover.

The course is a mix of video releases and live sessions, with the added benefit of assignments that require you to produce deliverables that are reviewed by an experienced BA professional for feedback and grading

FOBA goes beyond the classroom.

Throughout the course, complex concepts were brought to life through industry-relevant examples, realistic scenarios, and concrete solutions. This approach not only solidified my theoretical knowledge but also provided me with a practical toolkit that I can confidently leverage in real-world BA situations.

I highly recommend the FOBA Business Analysis course to anyone seeking to embark on a successful career in business analysis. The program's focus on practical applications, combined with its commitment to fostering a supportive learning community, makes it an invaluable resource for aspiring BAs.

I extend my sincere gratitude to the lead instructor, Emal, and the team for their dedication and expertise in crafting such a valuable learning experience.

Firas Mahmoud

ERP Consultant, odoo Certified, eLearning Expert

What You'll Produce

You'll produce four core BA deliverables, each of which progressively elaborates the customer needs down to the level of detail required by your IT stakeholders.

FOBA™ leads you through a solution enhancement project led by Justin and Ingrid (two business analysts at Peterson & Baker) as they produce the deliverables that their upstream and downstream stakeholders require from them. Your assignments ask you to produce the same deliverables as you shadow the business analysts.

Assignment #1: Process Modeling

This assignment challenges you to apply your theoretical knowledge of process modeling
to a practical scenario. You will explore the current operational processes of Peterson &
Baker (P&B) and use your insights to develop a streamlined future state process model.

The aim is to identify inefficiencies and propose innovative solutions that align with P&B’s
strategic objectives and drive business transformation.

Assignment #2: User Stories and Use Cases

This assignment challenges you to apply your theoretical knowledge of use cases and user
stories to a practical scenario. You will elaborate on the user story assigned by Ingrid using the
use case elements in the provided video lessons and templates.

Assignment #3: Wireframe and Screen Specification

This assignment challenges you to apply your theoretical knowledge of wireframes and screen specifications to a practical scenario. You will elaborate on the user story assigned by Ingrid using the elements defined in the video lessons and templates.

Assignment #4: Data Models

This assignment challenges you to apply your theoretical knowledge of data modeling to a practical scenario. You will fill in the gaps in the data model provided by Ingrid using the elements defined in the lesson and the Visio data modeling template.

Stuart Hindemit

Certified Business Analyst Professional, Certified Salesforce Business Analyst

This course was unique compared to other BA courses I've taken.

Not only was it presented as a project, where each student has an "over the shoulder" view of the work completed by the Business Analyst, but each student also becomes the BA who produces the deliverables. This hands-on, real-world approach, created a learning environment that resembled a live project experience. It was a very rewarding way to learn the material.

The course was taught in a clear, concise manner, by the founder of BA Blocks, Emal Bariali and Danielle Robert. The material taught was based on Emal's almost 20 year career experience as a Business Analys

If you're looking for an excellent foundational course in Business Analysis, consider FOBA 2024. I am glad I did!"

Course Benefits

FOBAᵀᴹ is the only case-based course allowing you to shadow business analysts through a project to see how foundational BA deliverables are produced.

Combine this teaching style with the latest industry standards, IIBA credits, and instructors with 40+ years of BA delivery experience, and you will gain practical, actionable skills that link theory and real-world application, making you job-ready from day one.

36 IIBA PD/CDU's

The FOBA certificate gives you the 36 IIBA professional development / continuing development units to apply or renew your CBAP.

Case Based Project

You'll follow Ingrid and Justin as they work on making a major product enhancement on their existing processes and systems.

Latest Standards

You will learn the latest standards starting with BABOK v3, ITSM/ITIL-based processes, Scrum-based processes, and UML-based modeling techniques.

Experienced Instructors

You will learn directly from experienced business analysts with 40+ years of experience across the pre-project, project, and post-project stages of an enterprise initiative.

The FOBA course by BA BLOCKS has been a game-changer for me.

It provides a thorough and organized approach to grasping the basics of business analysis. I found it to be a valuable resource whether you're new to the field or looking to deepen your knowledge.

I would like to thank Emal Bariali and Danielle Robert for their exceptional guidance and support throughout the course.

I highly recommend the FOBA course from BA BLOCKS for anyone aiming to start or enhance their career in business analysis. It’s a solid foundation for anyone looking to succeed in this dynamic field."

Emmanuel Megai, CAPM

Business Analyst, Project Management, Data Analyst, Business Intelligence

The ODESA™ Framework

Our framework teaches you how to execute the BA work on projects of all sizes and types.

The business analysis tasks required on a small project can look very different from the BA tasks you need to perform on a large project. Our ODESA™ Framework teaches you how to determine what tasks and deliverables you need to deliver to your team based on project size, and solution type.

Onboarding

Onboarding is the critical first step in a digital transformation project, where you ensure that all stakeholders are aligned and prepared for the upcoming work that needs to be performed.

This stage involves determining who your key stakeholders are, introducing them to business analysis deliverables if required, setting expectations about your role, and establishing clear communication channels to make sure that everyone has the correct expectations set for the project.

Discovery

At the beginning of a digital transformation, the business analyst focuses on identifying and understanding the customer’s challenges and needs.

This involves conducting a thorough analysis of the current state, defining future state goals, and performing a GAP and feasibility analysis.

Elaboration

On every project, there comes a time when the business analyst needs to translate user-level needs into detailed specifications.

This is called elaboration and allows you as the business analyst to express the business need at a level of detail that your development and QA stakeholders need to build and test the software product.

Support

You will play a crucial role in assisting both upstream and downstream stakeholders during the build and test stages of the project.

They provide clarity on specifications to the Dev & QA teams and help customers navigate through the user acceptance testing (UAT) phase.

Adoptiopn

The final phases of a digital transformation focus on integrating the software product into the enterprise, and you might have an important role to play in this phase on some projects.

Here you might be helping your team members secure approvals needed to make product releases, to handle some communication, and train users on the new system.

FOBA is the most practical business analysis course I've ever taken.

I was immediately able to apply, for example, the process modeling skills, and the BA Block's 'RAPID Mapping' technique on my real-life projects working as an IT Systems Business Analyst.

I've studied a lot of business analysis materials and have taken courses. I've read through the BABOK guide, PMI guide to BA, Visual Models for Software requirements, the Business Analyst Handbook, and several other business analysis books and publications and done lots of internet research.

The FOBA course put all that disparate knowledge together into a clear picture of all the level 1 BA tasks that are to be performed and the sequence in which to perform them. The "dots" were able to finally connect.

I highly recommend this course for beginner business analysts and veterans alike.

Denver Martin, PMP

Business/Systems Analyst & Project Manager

Our 12-Week Plan

You will receive step-by-step guidance and support through theory and practice to build a portfolio of BA artifacts for your interviews.

FOBA blends a unique combination of video lessons, live sessions, and direct 1:1 mentorship to ensure you have a comprehensive learning experience.

Week	HRIS Project Storyline	Course Events & Resources	Student Assignments	Student Goals
Week 0: Week Before Course Starts	Justin is assigned to Ingrid's project.	BA Primer Videos Released	None.	Review the pre-requisite course materials.
Week 1: Onboarding & Project Kickoff	Ingrid provides Justin with the company procedure for solution delivery.	Live Session #1	None.	Learn how enterprises triage, prioritize, and deliver on customer requests (ITSM/ Agile)
Week 2: Process Mapping (Theory)	Ingrid provides Justin with a current state, and gap analysis document and asks him to produce a future state process model.	Process Modelling Video Released.	Assignment 1	Create the process swim lanes, and add activities to their swim lanes.
Week 3: Process Mapping (Practical)	Justin provides his draft Future State to Ingrid for review.	Live Session #2	None.	Add in dependencies, messaging, and remaining elements to create a future state model that is legible to business customers
Week 4: Product Backlog Management (Theory & Demo)	Ingrid provides Justin with an updated and refined version of the future state.	Agile & Backlogs Video Released.	None.	Learn the difference between Scrum and Kanban and see how product backlogs are prioritized.
Week 5: Use Cases & User Stories (Theory)	Ingrid assigns Justin a product backlog item to elaborate on.	Use Case & User Story Video Released.	Assignment 2	Begin working on the use case/user story.
Week 6: Use Cases & User Stories (Practical)	Justin submits his draft of the use case and user story.	Live Session #3	None.	Complete your draft of the user story/use case.
Week 7: Wireframes & Screen Specifications (Theory)	Ingrid requests Justin to elaborate further with a Wireframe and Screen Spec.	Wireframe & Screen Spec Video Released.	Assignment 3	Begin working on the wireframe/screen specs.
Week 8: Wireframes & Screen Specifications (Practical)	Ingrid assigns Justin a task to update the existing data model.	Live Session #4	None.	Complete your draft of the wireframe/screen specs.
Week 9: Data Modeling (Theory)	Justin makes the adjustments needed to the data model.	Data Modelling Video Released.	Assignment 4	Begin working on the data model.
Week 10: Data Modeling (Practical)	Justin continues to fill in the details of the data model.	Live Session #5	None.	Complete your draft of the data model.
Week 11: Deliverables Support (Practical)	Justin submits his final deliverable containing all artifacts he's produced.	Student 1:1 support sessions.	Final Deliverables Due	Firm up all of your drafts artifacts into a final deliverable and submit before deadline.
Week 12: Full Course Recap & Next Steps	None.	Grades & Certificates Issued.	None.	Reinforce your understanding of the foundational skillset.

This course is a must!

For business analysts who thrive on problem-solving and working more effectively - this course is a must! The core framework can immediately be applied to real-time projects.

As an experienced analyst who was looking for a worthwhile IIBA re-certification opportunity, I found that the FOBA curriculum not only refreshed my technical basics – but delivered so much more.

What truly set this course apart was Emal’s carefully crafted content, agenda, and presentation – the result of years of IT consulting experience and a passion for sharing his knowledge and insights with other BAs.

The class is practical, interactive, and provides a unique synthesis of components in a logical framework transferable to many types of work projects from small to enterprise level. Every session was engaging and worthwhile - a solid investment of my time.

An added bonus was also having access to any updated course material/career resources that are continually being developed by Emal and Danielle. What a truly supportive platform and community.

Heather Dean

CBAP and MBA

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Course Content

Does FOBA cover Agile or Waterfall methodology?

Why does FOBA cover ITIL, ITSM and SDLC? How is this related to business analysis.

Does FOBA also cover knowledge about scrum and product owner responsibilities ?

Does FOBA cover any specific domains (like healthcare, banking etc.) for building functional/domain knowledge?

Our project this year will be in the HR domain and the delivery of an HRIS system. We will be designing a module for a system that helps Peterson & Baker manage a portion of its recruitment/HR process involving hiring managers, business partners, finance partners, and the recruitment manager.

You will get exposure to realistic enterprise-scale HR processes in this course as a bonus wile you learn the foundational skills.

Do I have to find my own project for FOBA?

FOBA Costs, Duration, and Effort

How do I get feedback on my deliverables with FOBA?

You get to ask questions all throughout the course to complete your assignment, and you get graded with directional feedback on the assignment you submit.

Your assignments require you to produce the same deliverables as Justin Kwong, the junior business analyst at Peterson & Baker.

Justin shares his deliverables with Ingrid Fischer, the intermediate analyst, to get her feedback as we move through the course.

You are privy to all the conversations they have about the improvements that Justin needs to make to his deliverables.

By shadowing Justin and Ingrid, you will have visibility into how these deliverables should look and can compare your own deliverables to Justin and Ingrid's to see where you went wrong and where you can improve.

How much does FOBA cost?

Are there pricing plans to spread the cost out ?

How long does FOBA take to complete?

How many hours does an average student spend on the class and for after class work?

We encourage students to set aside approximately 6 to 8 hours per week for the duration of the course.

Here's how might spend that time.

2 - 5 hours reviewing the course release materials and attending live sessions.
3 - 6 hours producing deliverables, asking questions in our chat, or making notes to bring to the next live session.

Every student has strengths and weaknesses in different areas and we encourage students to spend their time in the areas where they can make the most gains.

Certification Questions

Is this a ECBA or CCBA exam prep course?

No, this course is not a certification exam prep course and is not aimed at helping you pass the exam.

This is a hands-on practical course aimed at teaching you how to produce the deliverables that your employers will need you to produce in your actual job.

We will use the tools, techniques, and perspectives of the BABOK to produce actual requirements, a product backlog, and functional specifications, and this can help you internalize the BABOK concepts more deeply, but we do not focus explicitly on helping you pass the IIBA certification exams.

Will I be certified as a business analyst after this course?

No. A training company cannot certify you as a business analyst.

Please understand that a true BA certification can only come from a neutral third-party certifying body such as the IIBA, BCS, or IREB. Some other BA training providers may promise you a certification, but that is misleading marketing.

We explain the difference between certifications and certifications in this detailed video to help business analysts understand what they are purchasing.

You will receive a certificate of completion from this course demonstrating that you've successfully produced the course deliverables and a professionally assessed level of quality.

Please watch this video to learn the difference between certificates & certifications in business analysis:

Would your company issue a reference letter to that effect after completing the course?

Resumes, Jobs, and Other Questions

After this course, can one secure a job as a BA?

The course will teach you the core skills you need to do the job of a business analyst, but it would be unethical to imply that you'll get a job just by taking the course.

As a practitioner, I know that securing a job is much more than just skills that you can learn through a course.

It requires skills, a good resume, good interview performance, and most importantly, patience & persistence.

Beware of anyone promising you a job after taking a course. That is a dishonest promise.

Does FOBA provide any guidance on resume and job search ?

No, but FOBA students can book Emal for 1:1 sessions that they can use to get help and mentorship on any aspect of their business analysis career.

You can use this time to get deeper feedback on your deliverables, get help crafting a great resume, get tips on how to pass interviews or any other area of your BA career you need help with.

Please note: FOBA Lite students do not receive this benefit.

Can this project be used on our resume when searching for a job?

What happened to the BA Fundamentals course?

FOBA™ is the next iteration of the BA Fundamentals course.

We've been continually improving our program since 2017. At that time we had a course titled "Core BA Concepts". That course has now evolved into two courses: a foundational level course called FOBA™, and an intermediate level course called BAPC™.

We continually evolve our entire program to ensure our students are getting the latest education in the ever-evolving profession of business analysis.

Naveen Dsouza

Business Analyst | Artificial Intelligence

The RAPID mapping technique for process modeling has been instrumental in refining my approach to capturing and documenting business processes effectively.

The FOBA Business Analyst course offers a comprehensive curriculum that has greatly enriched my understanding and application of business analysis techniques.

The course also delves deeply into User Stories and Use Cases, providing a robust framework for requirement elaboration that enhances communication and alignment with stakeholders. I found the sessions on Wireframes and Screen Specifications particularly beneficial, improving my ability to visualize and document system interfaces with clarity.

Overall, the FOBA course has significantly strengthened my business analysis skill set, equipping me with essential tools and techniques. I highly recommend this course to anyone looking to deepen their expertise and proficiency in business analysis.

My sincere thanks to Emal Bariali for teaching with such passion and commitment, and Danielle Robert for the support and guidance provided.

Refund Policy

You shouldn’t feel stuck when you sign up.

You're entitled to a full refund even after attending the first class. Yes, you can get onboarded, receive access to our platform and course materials, attend the first class, ask all your questions, and still be eligible for a refund, no questions asked.

No Question Asked

We take action on your refund as soon as we receive your request. We don't ask you why, or ask you to fill out a survey.

No questions asked, really.

No Complicated Hoops

We don't force you to jump through complicated hoops to get your refund.

You ask, and you receive.

All that we ask, is that you submit your refund request by the deadline specified in our refund policy.

The Next FOBA Session Will Be In Early 2026.

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