Requirements Inc

Jun 2 | Free Info Session – How to Kick-start Your Career as a BA | Limited Seats, Register Now!

2012-05-08T20:52:00Z

May 12 – Free Info Session: How to Kick-start Your Career as a BA | Limited Seats, Register Now!

2012-05-08T17:24:26Z

Six reasons to pursue a Career in Business Analysis!

2012-04-05T20:48:03Z

Six Reasons to pursue a Business Analyst Career

View more presentations from requirementsinc

Apr 11 | Free Info Session – Learn How to Become an IT Testing Analyst | Limited Seats, Register Now!

2012-04-05T20:48:33Z

Business Analyst jobs in Investment Domain

2012-04-03T19:50:54Z

We will be taking a closer look at a key Financial Services domain where Business Analysts are predominant – Investment.

Investment Banking as a discipline encompasses several vertical markets:

Investment banking (corporate finance)

Contributes to customers raising funds in capital markets and provides strategic advice on mergers and acquisitions (M&A).

Sales and trading

Operated the buying and selling of financial products for profitability.

Investment Research

Reviews companies and writes reports about their prospects, often with “buy” or “sell” ratings.

Global transaction banking

Provides cash management, custody services, lending, and securities brokerage services to institutions.

Investment management / Portfolio management

Manages various securities (shares, bonds, etc.) and other assets (e.g., real estate), to meet specified investment goals for the benefit of investors.

Merchant banking

Offers capital in exchange for share ownership rather than loans, and offer advice on management and strategy.

Commercial banking

Offers retail banking to consumers via secured loan, mortgage loan and unsecured loan.

Risk management

Involves analyzing the market and credit risk that traders are taking onto the balance sheet in conducting their daily trades, and setting limits on the amount of capital that they are able to trade in order to prevent “bad” trades having a detrimental effect on a desk overall.

Corporate treasury

Responsible for an investment bank’s funding, capital structure management, and liquidity risk monitoring.

Financial control

tracks and analyzes the capital flows of the firm, the Finance division is the principal adviser to senior management on essential areas such as controlling the firm’s global risk exposure and the profitability and structure of the firm’s various businesses via dedicated trading desk product control teams.

Compliance

Responsible for an investment bank’s daily operations compliance with government regulations and internal regulations. Often also considered a back-office division.

If you have prior investment banking experience in front office / middle office / back office or operations, you may be a candidate to utilize your expertise and become a Business Analyst. The BA profession is not only Technology based, but also Business Domain centric. Based on your experience, you may even qualify for mid-level or senior-level Business Analyst positions.

Curious about what is out there? Check out the top 10 largest Investment Banking companies and check out who is hiring!

1. J.P. Morgan | See Jobs

2. Bank of America Merrill Lynch | See Jobs

3. Goldman Sachs | See Jobs

4. Morgan Stanley | See Jobs

5. Credit Suisse | See Jobs

6. Deutsche Bank | See Jobs

7. Citi | See Jobs

8. Barclays Capital | See Jobs

9. UBS | See Jobs

10. BNP Paribas | See Jobs

You should also consider web-based investment companies such as:

Bullion vault | See Jobs.
Scotttrade | See Jobs.

Programming Basics for aspiring BAs new to IT

2012-03-07T16:39:59Z

Useful resource about programming basics for aspiring business analysts who are new to IT.

A good resource for aspiring Business Analysts who are new to IT to learn the fundamentals of coding.

Programming Basics

Videos

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Source: Lifehacker.com
Credit: Adam Dachis

BAs are in increasing demand in Indian IT service organizations

2012-03-07T16:30:43Z

Business Analysts are being increasingly sought in top IT service organizations in India. This is a reflection of technology providers adopting to the process followed in their US/European IT clientele in order to deliver the right product the first time.

Kamesh Ramamoorthy, COO of Ramco Systems, Chennai, India speaks about why BAs play a key role in delivering services.

Source: YouTube
Credit: Ramco Systems

Power Excel for Analysts/Managers – Get a Free Trial

2012-04-07T14:36:49Z

Level: Beginner / Intermediate

Duration & Schedule: Expected to spend 20 hours for course recordings + 20 hours for practice/self-learning Typically completed in 3-5 weeks. You get online access for 12 weeks.~each 4 hours class

Delivery Methods: Instant On-Demand

Course Fees $97 USD (Pay online or by check)

What to expect from the Course?

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here for a direct link to the video

The video refers to this course as ‘Excel School’. The 12 week program as mentioned in the video is now available entirely on-demand and can be completed in 3-5 weeks.

What will you Learn?

Who should Attend?

Data / Business Analysts
Project / Product Managers
Anyone who uses Excel a lot
PRE-REQUISITES: This is not a course for beginners. You should kn ow to use create Excel formulas and simple charts.

Most careers require proficiency in a spreadhseet software like Excel. Specifically, an analyst or a manager is required to have a good understanding of data and the ability to work with it. Learning the core concepts in Excel can help capture, analyze, visualize and gather trends. This on-demand course explains the core excel concepts using informative videos and animations on how to mine large volumes of data and the right way to visualize it so you can derive useful information. The course is designed to help you learn Excel in a useful and fun way! This course is useful for:

[contact-form-7]

Training Methodology

Login to On-Demand Recordings will be provided. No need to call-in at a specified time.
You can review the recordings as many times as you want for 6 months.
Instructor support will be provided on the course website in forum format.

Key Benefits

Course developed and instructed by Purna Duggirala MBA, MS Excel MVP, author of chandoo.org, a popular resource for Excel tips and resources. Purna has over 6 years of Excel experience and is well respected for his Excel expertise.
Convenience of taking the program using Video Recordings at your own time. You get access to video recordings and materials for 12 weeks.
The video recordings and all supporting materials are downloadable, so you can keep the reference materials for yourself forever!
Instructor-led training: post your questions in the forums
Online Course Website: Course materials, Reference materials, Articles, Assignments

View Course Overview

[scribd id=30426552 key=key-15xs1t9xdixwjoq49s64 mode=slideshow]

[contact-form-7]

Course Outline

Formulas

1. References, Using $

2. COUNTIF

3. SUMIF

4. IF, Nested IF, CHOOSE

5. VLOOKUP, Adv. VLOOKUP

6. MATCH

7. INDEX

8. OFFSET

9. SUMPRODUCT

10. ROWS, COLUMNS

11. SUMIFS, COUNTIFS

12. IFERROR, ISERROR

13. SMALL, LARGE

14. Formula Debugging

Formatting

1. Paste Special

2. Format Painter

3. Custom Cell Formats

4. Date / Time Formatting

5. Table Formats

6. Formatting Best Practices

7. Freezing Rows, Splits

Conditional Formatting

1. Intro to CF

2. Formulas in CF

3. Using Traffic Lights, Icons

4. Adv. CF thru Examples

5. Removing CFs, Cleaning

Data Visualization – Charting

1. Choosing correct chart

2. Various charts in Excel

3. Chart formatting Options

4. Chart templates

5. Best practices

6. Combo charts

7. Dynamic charts

Tables

1. Excel 2007 Tables –Intro

2. Benefits of using tables

3. Table formatting

4. Table formulas

5. Table –named ranges

Pivot Tables

1. What is a Pivot and why use one?

2. Creating Pivots

3. Summarizing data

4. Calculated Fields, Calculated Items

5. Grouping Data

6. Pivot Table Tips

7. Pivot Charts – Intro

Data Filters

1. Data Filters

2. Sorting

3. Data Validation

4. Error Messages, Invalid Data

5. Advanced Filters

6. Filters in Tables, Pivots

Importing Data

1. Text to Columns

2. Importing CSV Files

3. Importing Text Files

4. Importing Web Data

5. Importing MS Access Data

Advanced Formulas

1. Named Ranges, What are they and why use them?

2. Dynamic Ranges using OFFSET

3. Formula Audit

4. 3D References

5. Array Formulas –Intro

6. Circular References –Intro

7. Calculation Modes and uses

8. Formula Errors and What to do?

Form Controls, Macros

1. Developer Toolbar / Ribbon

2. What are Form Controls

3. Using Scroll-bar Control

4. Using Checkboxes

5. What is a Macro?

6. Using Macro Recorder

7. Getting used to Visual Basic Editor

8. Introduction to Macros

9. Where to find help?

Shortcuts & Productivity

1. 20 Most useful Excel Shortcuts

2. Understanding Ribbon

3. Customizing Quick Access Toolbar

4. Setting Defaults

5. Using Templates

6. Where to find help & best practices

[contact-form-7]

General FAQs

On the free course

{slide=What are the pre-requisites of this course?} This course is not a beginners’ level course. You must have some background in Excel and know how to operate basic formulas (like SUM, AVERAGE, IF, etc.) how copy-pasting of Excel formulas works, how to create basic bar charts and pie charts. {/slide}

{slide=Who is this course aimed at?}

Most careers require proficiency in a spreahsheet software like Excel. Specifically, an analyst or a manager is required to have a good understanding of data and the ability to work with it. Learning the core concepts in Excel can help capture, analyze, visualize and gather trends.

This on-demand course explains the core excel concepts using informative videos and animations on how to mine large volumes of data and the right way to visualize it so you can derive useful information. The course is designed to help you learn Excel in a useful and fun way!

Data / Business Analysts
Project / Product Managers
Anyone who uses Excel a lot
PRE-REQUISITES: This is not a course for beginners. You should kn ow to use create Excel formulas and simple charts.

{/slide}

On the free trial

{slide=Is a credit card or any payment commitment required to register for the trial class?} No. There is no commitment required to participate in the trial class. {/slide}

{slide=How do I take the trial class?} You must register to attend the trial class. You may attend the trial class by participating in the Recorded On-Demand at your own convenience. Pick any date to get instant access to the trial class {/slide}

{slide=What is covered in the trial class} The trial class covers Excel conditional formatting {/slide}

On-Demand Recorded FAQs

{slide=How long are the recordings available?} Recordings are available for 30 days. {/slide}

{slide=Does the on-demand training come with assignments and online tests?} Yes, the On-Demand course website has the same assignments and tests which are administered to live participants to help you apply what you learn from the course. {/slide}

{slide=How is the On-Demand course supported?} The On-Demand course comes with instructor support. You can email the trainer using the course website for technical questions. You can also set up a time to speak to the trainer as needed.{/slide}

Payment FAQs

{slide=I have a payment question.} Click here for payment questions.{/slide}

[contact-form-7]

Helen

I just wanted to give you some feedback on our lessons so far. While I wouldn’t consider Excel school to be a beginner’s 101 course, I wish I had found something with this level of instruction years ago. I’m having a blast looking at things that I thought I understood well. You have given some new insight into several things that I’ve been able to apply to some workbooks at my job. Just with one powerful little formula tweaks I figured you saved me and a colleague 475 minutes per month on a monthly report that we have to prepare. Over a years time that equates to over $3500. That’s only one instance. This is the best instruction that I’ve ever come across. You make Excel fun! THANK YOU! Thank you for being so generous with all of the great information that you share. You truly are awesome!

Mehdi

I am a member of your Excel School and continuously watching your postings. I just want to thank you personally for providing me such a good excel tutorials.

Georgine

I really am learning a lot…I am stubborn and will keep trying till I get the ideas. And you have so many wonderful tricks I never knew about. I got started with you in charting and I have learned so much and done some nifty charts. I am looking forward to learning a lot more from you in the future. I am amazed how much you know and how well you are able to explain things. I thought I was pretty proficient in formatting till I watched week 2 and I have discovered that there is much more I do not know than I do. Can’t wait for the rest of the classes.

Rob

I just wanted to tell you that so far in the Excel School, I am blown away with the quality and amount of information I’m getting out of the course. I have always been the excel expert where ever I work, and it’s inspiring to see what you’ve been able to do with it. I didn’t realize there was so much more to learn.

Steve M (link to blog post)

Been taking an online class in Excel. About 6 weeks into it and wow, I have learned a lot. And I am the best Excel user in my department at work. Class is hosted by Chandoo and he is good, really good. Runs a great blog called Pointy Haired Dilbert. A lot of value in this thing: class was approximately $100 for 15 weeks of awesome-ness. … I am loving it. … The surprising thing I have learned is how to better present information for others. I have always taken pride in making good spreadsheets instinctively, but this has made me much better.

[contact-form-7]

Basics of the RUP Iterative Software Development

2012-04-03T16:27:36Z

Rational Unified Process (RUP, commonly pronounced as in rupture) is a contemporary approach aimed at efficient software development. RUP is representative of the newer iterative and incremental methods, forming the basis of newer and rapid development approaches such as Agile Development. Waterfall is a conventional software engineering approach been in existence since 1970s and we will compare RUP with Waterfall and analyze if it is more efficient.

In this post, we will use a non-IT construction analogy to understand the basics of RUP. After all, software development borrowed concepts from constructing buildings to start with!

This is box title

Let’s say the project at hand is to build three apartment complexes, A1 A2 and A3. The project needs to be completed in three months. For simplicity, assume that the project involves three primary processes, Structuring, Engineering and Landscaping. How will Waterfall go about it? What about RUP?

The Waterfall Enclave Apartments

Waterfall is a top-down, common-sense approach. It proposes that the key processes in a project must be performed sequentially.

The three key processes Structuring, Engineering and Landscaping. Waterfall recommends performing each task in one ‘big bang’. Do it once, do it right! Sounds ambitious? You’re right, not everything about a project is known clearly up front, so this is a risk in waterfall approach!

In Jan, we take on the Structuring work for all the three complexes, A1, A2 and A3. In Feb, we proceed with all the Engineering for all three complexes and in Mar, we finish the project by Landscaping for A1, A2 and A3.

This is how the project plan will look like:

Visually construction will progress as illustrated below:

The RUP Hill Apartments

RUP recommends that key sub-systems in the project be identified first. Take a sub-system, complete the all the key processes, then repeat for each of the sub-systems.

Let’s break the bigger project into three sub-systems: A1, A2 and A3. Take A1, perform the key tasks (Structuring, Engineering and Landscaping) then repeat for A2 and then A3.

In Jan we’ll take A1 and complete Structuring, Engineering and Landscaping. Then, A2′s Structuring, Engineering and Landscaping in Feb. Repeat for A3 in Mar.

The project plan will look like this:

And visually in three months we’ll see the apartments progress as shown here:

This is box title

RUP is called an iterative and incremental model. Iterative, since we repeat the processes in each iteration (A1, A2 and A3 are our iterations). Incremental since each iteration contributed to expanding the project towards it completion.

What are the advantages of RUP?

Faster Return of Investment - End of Jan, the apartment complex A1 is complete and rentable, yielding usage much sooner
Opportunity for improvement - If you do not like the way something turned out in A1, you can always make changes into A2 and A3
Improved Efficiency - Building a repeatable process allows for increased efficiency in each cycle
Better Resource Utilization - Since Structuring, Engineering and Landscaping resources are utilized in three stints over three months rather than being fatigued one of the months, resource utilization is optimal
Greater Access to Materials - Over time, technology and materials availability increases, presenting wider options
What are some other benefits? Use comments to add your thoughts..

Is RUP always better than Waterfall?

The answer to this question depends on several factors:

project size
problem domain area
requirements stability up front
resourcing availability

Here is a video snippet on this topic from a trial class of our Business Analyst Workshop. Register for a Free Trial

Click here to view the embedded video.

RUP and Agile methods are widely adopted these days. What is the reason behind the focus shift? Does RUP and Agile provide for more Rapid Development? What do you use in your current project? Please share your thoughts in the comments section.

Is UML a programming language?

2012-03-07T16:40:00Z

The UML stands for Unified Modeling Language. It is christened a “language” since the representation involves predefined notations, semantics and rules – so all participants involved – stakeholders, analysts, developers, testers all interpret these diagrams the same way.

It is not a programming language (such as C, C++, Java) or a sub-language (such as SQL) and does not have a set of ‘command keywords’.

The UML is a representation method, providing for different views to detail the software system under design. Just like we have front elevation, floor plan, electrical plan, plumbing plan, in the construction industry, to document different aspects of the same building, UML offers a set of diagrams to represent varied views for a software system. Each of these diagrams have a specific perspective to deliver to the reader, and it makes sense to overlay multiple diagrams to get the complete picture. The UML was architected by the Object Management Group (OMG) and they continue to maintain the definition for the later releases. Visit OMG.org and UML.org for more information.

The UML is an analysis toolbox that allows authoring of specific details of the system, such as business processes, state changes of key objects in a system, etc.

What is UML? From UML.org

Please ask your questions, using the comments. Thanks!