BCS business analysis certification

What is the BCS?

BCS (The British Computer Society), otherwise known as The Chartered Institute for IT, is an accreditation body in the UK for IT professionals and engineers. It offers certifications in IT and management subjects such as Business Analysis.

What is BCS Business Analysis?

BCS Business Analysis refers to a set of professional certifications for people within the business analyst (BA) profession.

Earning a BCS BA qualification shows that you’ve met the minimum standard of competence in business analysis as determined by the BCS. BCS BA qualifications are seen by many in the UK as the industry-standard in the business analyst profession.

Professional certification is the first step for many in becoming a practicing business analyst. BCS qualifications in particular carry a lot of weight as they are one of the oldest, most widely used and most well-recognized BA certifications on the market.

Benefits of BCS certification

These are the benefits of gaining your BCS certification:

• BCS business analysis qualifications range from entry-level beginner courses all the way to expert qualifications that require decades of experience in business analysis. That means you can stick with a single accreditation provider your entire career!
• BCS has a long and storied history. It is one of the only qualification providers to hold a royal charter and offered the very first business analysis qualification (then called the ISEB). In fact, ISEB qualifications are still valid and the two names (ISEB BA and BCS BA) are often used interchangeably!
• BCS qualifications are modular. After completing your Foundation certificate, you can choose the specialization you’d like to study on your way to gaining your higher qualifications. You can tailor your business analysis education to suit your industry and career!
• BCS is a charity dedicated to advancing the business analysis profession. BCS works with thousands of active practitioners all around the world to fine-tune and improve their training schemes.

BCS Business Analysis certification

BCS Business Analyst qualifications are available from Foundation level to Expert level. Each level is mapped according to the SFIA industry-standard framework.

The BCS qualifications are essential if you want to become a certified business analyst in the UK. BCS qualifications are modular and can be tailored to your specific career path. In addition, many business analyst roles in the UK job market are required to have a formal business analyst certification.

Foundation-level

The knowledge-based Foundation certificate in Business Analysis is for delegates wanting to understand the basics of business analysis. There are no entry pre-requisites for this certification. The Foundation certificate is required for passing the International Diploma.

Options for students include live or virtual classroom study, or self-study online.

Practitioner-level

There are 7 modules in this level, 2 are core modules and the other 5 are selective. You will need both core modules and 1 of the 5 selective modules for the BCS International Diploma.

The 2 core modules are Business Analysis Practice and Requirements Engineering.

BCS Business Analysis Practice

The BCS Business Analysis Practice course helps you develop your practical skills in business analysis. There are no prerequisites for this certification.

BCS Requirements Engineering

The BCS Requirements Engineering course helps you to define and deliver business requirements for projects. There are no prerequisites for this certification.

BCS Modelling Business Processes

The 5 selective modules are:

• Modelling Business Processes
• Benefits Management and Business Acceptance
• Systems Development Essentials
• Systems Modelling Techniques
• Data Management Essentials.

At Knowledge Train, we offer the Modelling Business Processes certification. This certification helps you to identify, model and improve business processes in your organisation. There are no prerequisites for this certification.

BCS International Diploma

This requires you to pass the Foundation Certificate in Business Analysis, the 2 core Practitioner modules, and one of the 5 selective Practitioner modules.

BCS Professional

The BCS Professional qualification level enables you to specialise in analytical skills, business skills, or people skills.

BCS Consultant (Advanced International Diploma in Business Analysis)

To gain the advanced Diploma you must complete one analytical skills module, one business skills module, and one people skills module, plus one more analytical or business skills module.

You must also have a minimum of 5 years’ experience of working as a business analyst.

BCS Expert

To gain the BCS Expert in Business Analysis, you must have a formal assessment, a project assignment and interview.

This is award is the highest level in business analysis. It recognises your high skills and expertise. It validates a business analyst’s ability to:

• Conduct complex business analysis activities
• Engage with senior stakeholders
• Improve the organisation at a strategic level.

BCS Business Analysis course FAQs