May 1st, 2020 | Updated on June 29th, 2022
Business analysts are becoming a highly popular professional choice these days. The BAs use the companies Data to bring changes into the way its operations are conducted.
This change could be anything from products and services to software installations.
In simple terms, such employees act as a bridge between the business and its IT side.
They find out the requirements, shape the way projects would move forward and help the business in making strategic decisions.
To be a BA you need to have business skills as well as proficiency in IT skills.
You have to collect and analyze the data, understand the trends, and then use this information to explain it to people who are not so adept with the same.
If you wish to be successful in this career you have to have expertise in both computer and business skills.
Here we are going to tell you more about Business analysts and a list of some of the best courses here.
What Makes A Great Business Analyst Course?
Often it is tough for people to decide which BA course is the most suitable for them. Here are the factors you need to notice to decide which course to choose from.
1. The Instructor
Business analysis is a complicated field. You need to have expertise in a couple of fields and therefore getting a sensible and knowledgeable instructor or teacher is very important.
2. Curriculum
Business analysts have to be adept in a number of skills and thus the choice, of course, should keep that in mind. Find one which handles and deals with the techniques that you need.
3. Cost
The courses come at various price points and continue for different durations. While some of them get over in months others continue for years and accordingly the price changes. You have to decide how much you are willing to invest.
Quick Look: Best Business Analyst Classes
- Business And Data Analysis Skills By edX
- Business Analysis Courses by Harvard
- Business Analytics By Udacity
- Business Analytics By Coursera
- Business Analysis By Berkeley
- Business Analysis By UCI
- Business Analysis By LinkedIn
- Business Analysis By Class Central
- Business Analysis Fundamentals By Udemy
- Business Analysis By IT Masters
- Business Analysis By University of Minnesota
- Business Analysis By Franklin University
- Business Analysis By Swinburne
The Best Online Business Analyst Courses
In order to help you choose a valuable course for yourself, we are mentioning courses that you can select from. Along with is a detailed description telling you about the benefits and level of expertise they provide.
1. Business And Data Analysis Skills By edX
This BA course by edX helps you in learning how to collect, process, and store the data at hand.
As part of the learning, you get to understand how computing and mathematics can exist and work in tandem with each other.
If you have a closer look at the course details you will see that under category modern data analysis topics like linear algebra, data processing, and numerical optimization are covered.
These topics actually form the base for numerical and data-sensitive computing. The duration of the course is around 15 weeks and requires an effort of 8-10 hours every week from your side.
Though the course is free if you want a verified certificate you will have to pool in $500.
The course teaches you languages like Python, R, and SQL using Jupiter notebooks and many other tools. Overall a highly enriching course to get associated with.
2. Business Analysis Courses By Harvard
An 8-week course this one comes from the stable of a very reputed University.
The commitment expectation is around 5-6 hours per week thus you can even do it if you are working full time elsewhere.
The price of the course is $1600 and it teaches you how to recognize the trends and summarize the data sets in the most accurate manner possible.
The difficulty level of the course is introductory and hence covering it up does not require much effort.
You are able to understand the relationship between variables and use this to develop and test hypotheses. The information garnered can be used to make productive managerial decisions.
You may even estimate the accuracy of statistics by estimating the confidence intervals.
Since it is a self-paced course you may undergo it at your convenience. At the end of the course, you get a certificate vouching for the fact that you completed the same successfully.
3. Business Analytics By Udacity
The course from Udacity spans over a duration of 3 months and that shows the kind of expertise you stand to gain.
You have to pool in 10 hours per week which is a decent amount of effort required.
There are no pre-requisites to participate in the course and once you are enrolled the course starts immediately.
The course teaches you foundation skills that can be applied in any industry or at any vertical.
You are taught the tricks to analyze data and build models with the help of Excel, query databases with SQL, and informative data visualization with Tableau.
There is flexibility in the manner in which you complete the course hence you do not have to be burdened by extra effort.
Even if you do not have any prior experience in programming you can learn the basics and flourish in the field.
4. Business Analytics By Coursera
Another beginner level course this one takes 6 months’ time to get covered up. The minimum amount of investment of time required from your side is 2 hours per week which can be easily accommodated.
The course is 100% online and you get the flexibility to complete it as per your time availability. The course will teach you how to use the data collected for recruiting and evaluating performances.
The data-driven information makes it easy for you to make managerial decisions that yield the best results. You can even change your entire career path after choosing this course.
Plus the tools you are taught are useful in interpreting in comprehending a customer’s behavior and understanding its impact on you.
Not only are you able to build a basic data literacy but also develop an analytical mind that helps in making strategic decisions basis the data in hand.
5. Business Analysis By Berkeley
The course is extremely flexible and a student can complete it within 12-18 months of its start date.
Classes are scheduled continuously so once you are done with one you may move on to the next class without any delays on your part.
To get a good grade you would have to complete all the courses available.
Those students who are able to complete the course with a GPA of 4.0 and above get a certificate of distinction once they pass out.
To get this certificate you have to pay a non-refundable fee at the beginning itself.
The course gives you the insights to delve into the data provided and use the information to gain an advantage in making strong decisions.
It utilizes business strategies, operational processes, and subject matter expertise to help organizations breakthrough.
As part of the entire course, you are supposed to study aspects that help you handle every area of business management with ease.
6. Business Analysis By UCI
The course duration, in this case, is 6-12 months and average cost around $3000 approximately.
The program has been designed for professionals who want to enhance their expertise in the BA field.
Apart from that, all those people who are looking for a change in career can benefit too. It benefits people in IT, management, product marketing, system software, and other industries too.
This is a fully online business analysis course and the foundation of the same is to build the skills of the students in areas of data management and analysis.
It focusses on improving analytical thinking, communication skills, and problem-solving abilities.
With the help of such a focussed course, the students make a foray into using these skills to make an impactful presence in the Business arena.
7. Business Analysis By LinkedIn
This course comes from professional website LinkedIn and at the head is a speaker and Trainer Angela Wick.
You can completely access the course from your mobile and tablet and on completion, a certificate is duly provided.
The course would help the students learn how to identify intelligent automation and digital landscape that is utilized in modern business scenarios.
Students can also learn how to comprehend the fundamentals of Robotic process automation and its applications in business.
Since Blockchain has become such an important technology these days the course helps you explore how it works in accordance with machine learning, robotics, and Artificial Intelligence.
The course comprises of 5 chapter quizzes and explores how innovations in technologies can be beneficial to traditional business practices.
At the end of its students learn how a customer’s thought process may be changed using these innovations.
8. Business Analysis By Class Central
A 7 weeks long course this one is free of cost for the students. Every week a minimum effort of 4 weeks is to be invested diligently.
The scope of the Business Analyst and its need in companies is explained at the beginning of the course.
As the learning moves ahead the students go through the typical path of learning which involves identifying the problem, figuring out the need, and identifying a strong solution for the same.
The course also helps in understanding the balance between enterprise strategy and Business analyst activities.
Outline of each week is different from the other and it starts with learning the BA’s job profile, how it fits into corporates, the concept of stakeholders, and sectors in which the same can be utilized.
Taught by Michael Boyle as the course moved ahead the application scope of the BA job profile is taught.
The last week of the course goes into the field of estimation and system thinking and how important probability could be in the former.
9. Business Analysis Fundamentals By Udemy
A very basic course in Business analysis it is comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee. It includes 1.5 hours of on-demand videos and 5 downloadable resources which could be utilized later on.
Once the course is over the student is provided with a certificate of completion.
The materials are given for lifetime access and no prior training in this field is required in order to start the course.
After completion, any student would get the hang of the responsibilities of a BA and tasks and challenges that accompany such a tough job.
All the practical exercises give the user a feeling that he is already a part of a huge project.
The emphasis of the course is more about making the student aware of the practical aspects rather than working on the theory part.
Liliana M an Experienced BA/Consultant conducts this course and brings to fore her experience in the field too.
10. Business Analysis By IT Masters
This free course is for those who want to explore and find if BA is the right profession for them or not.
The difficulty level is intermediate and the course duration is approximately 5 weeks.
The course is divided into four separate modules and at the end is the assessment which is conducted in the form of an open book online test.
It teaches students how to work more effectively in the BA field. This could be best suitable for those who are just wanting to get an idea of BA and the future with adopting it as a career choice.
The course has been designed by an experienced faculty, Brenton Burchmore who has experience of more than 20 years in this field.
If the user scores above 50%, in the end, he receives a certificate vouching for the expertise he has gained.
All the study materials are provided free of cost as well and there are webinars that could be accessed to get a better hang of the topic.
11. Business Analysis By University of Minnesota
Though the course is primarily from the University location these days you can get them tailored as per your location.
The overall cost of the course is around $4050 and involves the use of 60 contact hours for successful completion.
It helps the user to hone their skills as the main bridge between the IT and the business departments of any organization.
A person who undertakes this course learns how to gather and document any business requirements and convert them into technical design specifications which are then executed by the IT team.
Identifying the business needs and the costs and benefits of handling them in a technical way is another aspect that this course covers.
If you are not interested in a full-fledged technical course you may even take up sub courses to just brush the information. Free webinars are provided on some of the most suitable subjects and they help the user to gain more insights in the field.
12. Business Analysis By Franklin University
The course from Franklin University can be completed in less than a year with separate four, 12-week courses to complete it.
It requires a minimal cost investment whereas the results received have a huge potential for growth.
After completion, the user gets to learn the basic information of IT management and the significance of the Golden Triangle in the same.
The problem-based curriculum of the course guides the students into developing skillsets that can help organizations change the outcome of the business decisions taken by them.
At the end of the course, you are able to understand the industry methods and tools that help any person become an asset to the organization he works with.
It starts with the learning of Unified Modelling language that can be used to visualize the system design modules.
Alongside is given a detailed explanation of the Systems Development Life cycle that can be utilized to explore business processes and how to make them more viable.
13. Business Analysis By Swinburne
A two-day course this one is not available for international students to take part in. After undertaking the course the students get the skills that are required to transform any business.
It also teaches them how they can become the harbingers of change in the workplace they are working at.
A range of tools and techniques are taught the aim of all of them is to help seek out and define any problems and opportunities coming in the way.
The students also grasp how to manage the solution assessments and validations and make them capable of applying the BA techniques to identify any such problems and opportunities in their organization as well.
This course can be attended by anyone who wants to analyze the full potential of having a BA course completed and the possibilities of growth that accompany it.
The entire course costs between $1100-$1400 depending on the type, of course, you wish to undertake.
