Saratoga wanted its consulting team to build a stronger, more consistent foundation in business analysis for client work. Michelle van Kesteren, Operations Manager at Saratoga, had assessed BCA’s training herself and saw its relevance for developing consulting capability. A team of Saratoga business consultants then completed Foundation training, building shared language, practical techniques, and clearer confidence with BCA.
Building a stronger business analysis foundation
Saratoga’s consulting environment depends on people who can clearly understand client problems, engage stakeholders effectively, and contribute consistently across different client contexts. As the consulting team grew, Michelle van Kesteren, Operations Manager at Saratoga, recognised a broader capability need: consultants needed more than documentation templates. They needed a stronger shared baseline for business analysis.
Michelle assessed BCA’s training before Saratoga sent team members.
The goal was to help team members understand the business analyst role more clearly, build confidence in core business analysis concepts, and use a common language when working across client engagements. Michelle wanted the team to think more holistically about business problems, ask better questions of stakeholders, and apply practical techniques with greater consistency.
For Saratoga, the need was for individual development and to build a stronger foundation in business analysis that could support a more differentiated and consistent consulting service for clients. The training, therefore, needed to be practical, relevant, and credible enough to help consultants connect business analysis concepts to the real work they perform.
Choosing BCA for the consulting team
Michelle chose BCA because she already trusted Joe’s specialist business analysis expertise and had previous experience of working with him as a consultant. She also attended BCA training herself to assess whether the approach would be suitable for Saratoga and valuable for developing the consulting team.
Her own training experience confirmed that BCA’s approach was practical, relevant and grounded in real-world application. It was not only about learning documents or passing an exam. The training focused on the thinking behind good business analysis, including how to analyse problems, engage stakeholders and uncover root causes.
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"I wanted Saratoga’s consultants to move beyond documentation and build stronger business analysis thinking they could apply across client engagements."
Michelle van Kesteren
That experience gave Michelle enough confidence to send Saratoga team members on the BCS Foundation Certificate in Business Analysis. Their feedback supported the same themes: clear facilitation, useful course material, practical examples and a positive learning environment.
The course provided delegates with a structured introduction to business analysis and helped them connect these concepts to real-world work. It was not experienced as theory for theory’s sake. Instead, it gave them language, structure and practical reference points they could take back into their consulting roles.
“I wanted our consultants to build practical business analysis thinking they could apply across different client environments, not just rely on documentation templates.” — Michelle van Kesteren, Operations Manager, Saratoga
Building shared confidence across the team
The main value for Saratoga was a stronger shared foundation. Phillip Mlotshwa described how the course helped formalise his existing business analysis knowledge with clearer structure and techniques. Tulani Maka highlighted tools and techniques for handling client requirements, while Yaseen Patel valued the structured approach and connection to real-world examples.
Across the team, the Foundation course helped build confidence in the business analyst role, introduced practical terminology and techniques, and created a more consistent understanding of what good business analysis looks like. This aligned with Michelle’s original aim: strengthening consistency, depth and professional confidence across the consulting team.
The team connected business analysis concepts to practical client work.
For the consulting team, the value extended beyond completing a course. The training supported consultants in thinking more clearly about business problems, asking better questions, engaging stakeholders more effectively, and contributing to a more consistent client experience.
“For Saratoga, the value is in developing consultants who can think more deeply, apply techniques practically and deliver real business value for clients.” — Michelle van Kesteren, Operations Manager, Saratoga
