BCS Certificate in IS Consultancy Practice — A 5 day course

Enquire about this course

 Open Public Course Closed In-House Course

Synopsis

The IS Consultancy Practice training course provide participants with the skills they need to act as either an external or internal information systems consultant. These skills may be in support of their primary role, such as business analyst, or as a stand alone consultancy role. A comprehensive range of topics are covered, including:

• The structure of the IS/IT industry and the role of IS consulting
• Management of the customer relationship
• Assignment structure, management and control
• Management of people and relationships
• Conducting a consulting assignment
• Managing the quality of consulting assignment

During the course, participants will be encouraged to apply these and other techniques in the context of a typical assignment. The stages of this assignment will include: Gaining Entry, Contracting and Assignment Initiation, Identifying Problems and Requirements, Diagnosis and Solution Definition, Implementing and Taking Action, Closing and Review.

The IS Consultancy Practice course is delivered by trainers who bring their substantial experience of practical consultancy and change projects to the programme. The case study on which the course is built is based on a genuine consultancy assignment.

A very comprehensive manual, containing detailed information about consultancy techniques and providing references for further reading, is supplied as part of the course.

Contents

Structure of the IT/IS industry and the roles of IS consulting

• Types of organisations involved, how they have evolved and where they operate
• The role of the internal consultant

Introduction, scoping and planning

• Gaining entry
• Contracting
• Stating a consultancy assignment
• Strategic analysis tools
• Meeting the client and qualifying opportunities

Business environment analysis

• Identifying problems and clarifying requirements
• Managing the customer's needs
• Business activity modelling and process modelling
• Stakeholder analysis
• The soft systems methodology in consulting
• Solution identification

Solution definition

• 'As is'-'To be' gap analysis
• Diagnosis and generation of options
• Creative thinking
• Critical success factors and key performance indicators

Proposals and contracts

• Bid management
• Invitations to tender, requests for information and requests for proposals
• Proposals
• Best and final offers
• Proposal evaluation
• Contracts and agreements
• Work packages
• Intellectual property rights

Solution appraisal

• Financial planning
• Charging
• Investment appraisal
• Evaluation and measurement of solutions

Programme and project management

• The Project Initiation Document
• Programme/project governance and PRINCE2
• Quality management
• Change control

Understanding teams

• Working in consultancy teams
• Negotiation and influencing skills
• Motivation
• Written communication and report writing
• Effective presentations

Disengagement and expansion

• Termination and withdrawal from an assignment
• Benefits confirmation
• Evaluation and follow-up

Managing the customer/consultant relationship

• The effective use of consultants
• Issues for sole practitioners
• Dealing with conflict
• The effective use of time

Publicly scheduled dates, locations, and prices

Examination

This course thoroughly prepares participants to sit the examination for the BCS Practitioner Certificate in Consultancy, which is held on the final afternoon of the course. The fee for the examination is included in the price of the course.

This examination is assessed by a two hour closed-book examination.

Candidates who pass this written examination and who hold appropriate specialist knowledge and practitioner qualification can sit the oral examination which leads to the BCS International Diploma in Consultancy. The oral examination is not included in the price of the course.

In addition to covering the full BCS syllabus, this course enables participants to develop SFIA skills CNSL levels 5 and 6 and RLMT levels 5 and 6.