Syllabus
The Business Analytics and Operations Certificate
The Business Analytics and Operations Certificate is a self-paced, flexible program that can be completed in 9 months. You’ll be equipped with data and operations skills essential for store management and leadership positions. The program will teach you how to frame business problems, wrangle data in spreadsheets, create data visualizations, and run data queries in SQL.

You will learn how to manage complex projects and be equipped with skills to contribute to profitable retail operations. This certificate is a Career Launch program, designed for employees with no prior experience. Expect to spend 10 hours or less a week, with individualized support along the way. Career Launch certificates provide in-demand skills AND result in college credits that can count towards a degree.

Why Business Analytics and Operations?

Analytics and operations skills are highly valued in nearly every industry including retail
Understanding data can help you improve store operations or pursue a new role as a business analyst
Operations and project management skills enable you to manage teams and run profitable businesses
4 Courses | Hands-On Learning and Career Exploration

Course 1:

Foundations of Project Management

Course 2:

Agile Project Management

Course 3:

Business Analytics Fundamentals

Course 4:

Data Visualization with Tableau

Course 1: Foundations of Project Management

In this course, you will be introduced to the foundations of project management. You will become familiar with the role of the project manager and the leadership skills needed to be successful as a project manager. You will learn essential information about projects, project life cycles, project management processes and methodologies, and you will explore stakeholder management and create a plan for engaging with stakeholders. You will be introduced to Asana, a leading tool in the project management industry, and other project management tools such as spreadsheets.

 

Learning Outcomes:

  • Prepare a project charter that defines a project, guides the project activities and serves as an agreement between stakeholders.
  • Create a scope statement based on the sponsor’s requirements that details what is in scope and out of scope and identifies objectives, constraints, assumptions, acceptance criteria and deliverables.
  • Create a work breakdown structure using project management software.

Course 2: Agile Project Management

In this course you will learn the fundamentals of Agile project management methodologies. The learning experience is highly interactive and hands-on, providing you with the opportunity to learn by doing. You will begin by exploring the fundamentals of Agile, including frameworks such as Scrum, Kanban, and XP. You will then learn about Scrum in detail, covering key concepts, such as sprints, adaptive planning and estimation. You will also learn how to conduct daily scrums, retrospectives and other key meetings to successfully plan and manage a project. While learning these concepts and frameworks, you will practice key project management related soft skills, such as how to plan for unexpected challenges and proactively manage issues that arise on a team.

Learning Outcomes:

  • Manage a technical project from start to finish using key Agile methodologies, concepts, tools and frameworks.
  • Create and monitor a Kanban board to organize sprints and share information with the project team throughout the lifecycle of an Agile project.
  • Initiate a Scrum project by decomposing a release plan into user stories and analyzing project risks.
  • Plan a kickoff sprint in Asana by grooming a backlog, establishing a point structure, and committing to the sprint.
  • Support a hypothetical Scrum team through executing a sprint by creating and analyzing a burndown chart.
  • Continuously improve Scrum team efficiency throughout sprint cycles by analyzing and resolving velocity issues.
  • Conduct a sprint review in Asana, and close a project by facilitating a retrospective.

Course 3: Business Analytics Fundamentals

This course is designed to introduce you to the fundamentals of Business and Data Analytics. You will practice skills for data wrangling, data visualizations, descriptive statistics, exploratory data analysis, and data storytelling. The course culminates with a hands-on project in which you will perform an end-to-end exploratory data analysis (EDA). This course is designed for students with little or no background in business or analytics. Upon completion, you will be able to apply your new knowledge to make compelling business recommendations based on data. Watch your new insights come to life by making compelling data visualizations.

 

Learning Outcomes:

  • Construct business framing applications for analytics problem-solving processes.
  • Apply spreadsheet software to manipulate and prepare data for analysis.
  • Communicate analysis insights to intended audiences, such as business stakeholders.

Course 4: Data Visualization with Tableau

In this course, you will learn the fundamentals of data visualization, including how to communicate insights from data. You will be learning in an online lab environment using real industry data sets and building directly in Tableau software embedded in the learning experience (no downloads required). You will create and design both static and dynamic tables, data visualizations, dashboards, and stories while incorporating visual design best practices. You will also connect multiple external data sources and optimize large data to efficiently wrangle and analyze industry data.

 

Learning Outcomes:

  • Learn to use Tableau Software to visualize data.
  • Build interactive tables by connecting, preparing, and customizing data in Tableau.
  • Create data visualizations, dashboards, and Tableau Stories, to communicate insights to business stakeholders.
  • Apply Tableau performance optimization to improve speed when working with large datasets.
4 Courses | Hands-On Learning and Career Exploration

Course 1:

Foundations of Project Management

In this course, you will be introduced to the foundations of project management. You will become familiar with the role of the project manager and the leadership skills needed to be successful as a project manager. You will learn essential information about projects, project life cycles, project management processes and methodologies, and you will explore stakeholder management and create a plan for engaging with stakeholders. You will be introduced to Asana, a leading tool in the project management industry, and other project management tools such as spreadsheets.

Learning Outcomes:

  • Prepare a project charter that defines a project, guides the project activities and serves as an agreement between stakeholders.
  • Create a scope statement based on the sponsor’s requirements that details what is in scope and out of scope and identifies objectives, constraints, assumptions, acceptance criteria and deliverables.
  • Create a work breakdown structure using project management software.

Course 2:

Agile Project Management

In this course you will learn the fundamentals of Agile project management methodologies. The learning experience is highly interactive and hands-on, providing you with the opportunity to learn by doing. You will begin by exploring the fundamentals of Agile, including frameworks such as Scrum, Kanban, and XP. You will then learn about Scrum in detail, covering key concepts, such as sprints, adaptive planning and estimation. You will also learn how to conduct daily scrums, retrospectives and other key meetings to successfully plan and manage a project. While learning these concepts and frameworks, you will practice key project management related soft skills, such as how to plan for unexpected challenges and proactively manage issues that arise on a team.

Learning Outcomes:

  • Manage a technical project from start to finish using key Agile methodologies, concepts, tools and frameworks.
  • Create and monitor a Kanban board to organize sprints and share information with the project team throughout the lifecycle of an Agile project.
  • Initiate a Scrum project by decomposing a release plan into user stories and analyzing project risks.
  • Plan a kickoff sprint in Asana by grooming a backlog, establishing a point structure, and committing to the sprint.
  • Support a hypothetical Scrum team through executing a sprint by creating and analyzing a burndown chart.
  • Continuously improve Scrum team efficiency throughout sprint cycles by analyzing and resolving velocity issues.
  • Conduct a sprint review in Asana, and close a project by facilitating a retrospective.

Course 3:

Business Analytics Fundamentals

This course is designed to introduce you to the fundamentals of Business and Data Analytics. You will practice skills for data wrangling, data visualizations, descriptive statistics, exploratory data analysis, and data storytelling. The course culminates with a hands-on project in which you will perform an end-to-end exploratory data analysis (EDA). This course is designed for students with little or no background in business or analytics. Upon completion, you will be able to apply your new knowledge to make compelling business recommendations based on data. Watch your new insights come to life by making compelling data visualizations.

Learning Outcomes:

  • Construct business framing applications for analytics problem-solving processes.
  • Apply spreadsheet software to manipulate and prepare data for analysis.
  • Communicate analysis insights to intended audiences, such as business stakeholders.

Course 4:

Data Visualization with Tableau

In this course, you will learn the fundamentals of data visualization, including how to communicate insights from data. You will be learning in an online lab environment using real industry data sets and building directly in Tableau software embedded in the learning experience (no downloads required). You will create and design both static and dynamic tables, data visualizations, dashboards, and stories while incorporating visual design best practices. You will also connect multiple external data sources and optimize large data to efficiently wrangle and analyze industry data.

Learning Outcomes:

  • Learn to use Tableau Software to visualize data.
  • Build interactive tables by connecting, preparing, and customizing data in Tableau.
  • Create data visualizations, dashboards, and Tableau Stories, to communicate insights to business stakeholders.
  • Apply Tableau performance optimization to improve speed when working with large datasets.
What You’ll Learn:
After completing this program, you’ll be ready to:
 

  • Frame business problems effectively
  • Analyze data and communicate insights to business stakeholders
  • Use spreadsheet software to manipulate and prepare data for analysis
  • Visualize data using Tableau Desktop software
  • Develop a project plan that includes a schedule, budget, and resource estimations using tools such as Asana software and Google Sheets
  • Set up team communications and plan a structured agenda for project kickoff meetings
  • Manage a technical project from start to finish using Agile methodologies, tools and frameworks
Learning Experience
  • No required times to log in. Complete lessons at times during the week that work for you. Keep up with deadlines to stay on track and complete in 6 months.
  • Complete real business projects in an online platform and get individualized support and feedback from instructors.
  • Practice using analytics and project management software directly in the learning platform. No separate downloads.
  • Explore the real work that business analysts, project managers and operations specialists do on the job and apply those skills to your own career.
  • Access individualized career coaching to help you get promoted and advance professionally.

FAQs

What is the schedule?

There are four courses which will be open for 8 weeks each with a 1-week grading period after each. You should expect to spend 10 hours per week getting through the coursework. Courses will open and close on a specific start and end date, after which you’ll no longer be able to access the course or submit projects for grading. The program is flexibly-paced, meaning you can move as quickly or slowly as you’d like through each course, as long as you complete all sections and projects during the 8-week course period. We provide a suggested course schedule to help pace yourself through each course. Students who follow this schedule are more likely to earn the certificate and get more out of the course by spreading out their workload, and our instructors often provide weekly nudges to keep you on track. As long as you submit all projects by the course end date, you can progress through the course at whatever pace works best for you! For example, you might do all your work over the weekend or space it out throughout the week. We’ve found that students who follow our suggested course schedule are much more likely to earn the certificate.

Can I work full-time while enrolled in this program?

Yes, the entire course experience is online and can be completed on your own schedule as long as you work towards the deadlines set in each course. There are no set times or classes when you need to log in. Our courses are designed for working professionals, students, and parents!

What prerequisites do I need?

Students must have a high school degree prior to taking this program. Due to the rigorous curriculum, comfort with high school level mathematics with a focus on algebra and statistics is required. In addition, students should have basic computer literacy skills including familiarity with Google Suite tools such as Google Docs and Google Slides.

What industry certifications will I be prepared for?

This certificate program aligns to the Tableau Desktop Specialist certification Exam. While we recommend additional study beyond this program, you’ll gain a headstart in your preparation for this industry-leading certification.

What is Pathstream?

Pathstream is a provider of digital skills training based in Silicon Valley. We partner with leading tech companies and universities like Harvard, New York University (NYU) and Emory University to develop programs that prepare people for in-demand jobs.

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