National Certificate: Business Analysis 

Business analysis is a vital instrument within the business environment to ensure that information technology is able to provide effective solutions for business enterprises. The development of business analysts through a suite of qualifications will have a positive impact on the broader economy of South Africa. It will also assist with bringing South Africa in line with international trends and satisfy industry requirements.

The qualifying learner will be able to:

• Analyse a business scenario.
• Develop a business case.
• Compile user requirement specifications.
• Develop functional specifications.
• Monitor quality assurance activities throughout the life cycle of the project.

  Rationale:

  A business analyst works as a liaison amongst stakeholders in order to elicit, analyse, communicate and validate requirements for changes to business processes, policies and information systems. The business analyst understands business problems and opportunities in the context of the requirements and recommends solutions that enable the organisation to achieve its goals. Traditionally business analysts were drawn from senior information technology (IT) and business people, whereas this qualification provides lower level access for the development of such competencies. It has also been developed to enable learners to access higher education and provide flexible access to life-long learning.

  This qualification provides opportunities for people to engage in further learning towards a specialisation in business analysis or achieve competencies that are portable to other specialisations such as systems development or systems support. This will therefore enable business analysis competencies to be strengthened, and enable individuals who are currently working in a business systems environment, to better contribute to the implementation of solutions that support the business requirements. The competencies of business analysis have been identified as a target development area for the ICT sector and the South African government. The demand for this qualification is evidenced by these National initiatives as well as international demands and trends. It is intended to empower learners to acquire knowledge, skills, attitudes and values required to operate confidently as individuals in the South African community and to respond to the challenges of the economic environment and changing world of work. Ultimately, this qualification is aimed at improving the productivity and efficiency of business analysts within all sectors in South Africa.