Eliciting Business Requirements

Length:

In-person classes – 2 days / Virtual (Live online) and Anytime Learning – 4 sessions

Overview: 

The crux of “getting it right” on any project is the ability to give stakeholders what they ask for. Or is it? Of course, that depends on what they ask for. As consultative project professionals, it’s our job to help align what stakeholders ask for with what the organization needs. We are tasked with understanding and getting their buy in for what they need, which may or may not be consistent with what they tell us they want. This is no small task even when they all agree! Reconciling competing stakeholder needs and wants with the organization’s business goals can make the difficult seem all but impossible.

This course helps you develop skills and learn techniques to efficiently and effectively elicit requirements. From preparing for elicitation sessions to getting consensus, students work through multiple facets of the requirements gathering challenge. It provides a framework for identifying business problems and linking requirements to business objectives in order to solve business problems and set project scope. The approach taken is applicable to all types of requirements gathering efforts, including, but not limited to, systems development projects. Many practical and engaging exercises and role playing help walk participants through the concepts presented, and afford ample practice with the techniques learned.

Pre-requisites: Participants should have worked on the analysis, development, maintenance, or enhancement of at least one business “product,” such as software, business processes, services, etc.

Skill Level: Basic

Audience:

This seminar is designed for business analysts, business people, systems analysts, project managers, and anyone who is involved in the development of any business product, not just software development.

CEUs: 1.4 ($75.00)

Certificate Programs:

  • Masters Certificate in Business Analysis
  • Masters Certificate in Project Management

Format: 

To help assimilate the tools and techniques learned, there is a mixture of individual and group exercises throughout the course. A case study and considerable role play help reinforce concepts learned. Students need to be prepared for a high level of participation. Each participant receives a comprehensive student guide complete with examples and workshop solutions.

Content:

Requirements Essentials

  • Challenges in eliciting stakeholder needs
  • Mental models
  • Definition of a requirement
  • Why are requirements critical to success?
  • Cost of missed requirements
  • The role of eliciting – Business Analysts and Project Managers
  • Distinction between requirements and design
  • Exercise: Requirement or Design?
  • Eliciting exercise

Context for Business Requirements

  • Requirements Layers Context exercise
  • Eliciting requirements within the context of the business need Eliciting requirements within the context of the project Assumptions and Constraints
  • Business rules
  • Workshop: Eliciting to understand business and project contexts

Preparing for Elicitation

  • Elicitation session/meeting challenges Defining session purpose
  • Defining session scope
  • Session roles and responsibilities Elicitation techniques
  • Exercises: Preparing for different types of elicitation sessions
  • Understanding stakeholders Keeping sessions focused
  • Workshop: Work with sponsor to prepare for Elicitation
    • Eliciting to understand stakeholder commitment
    • Eliciting to validate project charter and scope
    • Eliciting to define high-level requirements
    • Eliciting to define detailed requirements

Conducting Elicitation

  • Elicit versus interrogate
  • Trust and eliciting
  • Exercise: Good questioning and good listening
  • Game: Open/closed‐ended questions
  • Exercise: Convert questions   
  • Dangers of “why”
  • Exercise: Convert questions
  • Leading questions 
  • Exercise: Convert questions
  • Elicit detailed needs
    • Process needs
    • Information needs
    • Solution needs
  • Practice with role play

Building Consensus

  • Decision-making styles
  • Group decision-making styles
  • Types of conflict
  • Resolving conflict
  • Handling difficult people situations
  • The BID Model
  • Exercise: Depersonalizing conflict
  • Prioritizing requirements
  • Final role play

 This outline is subject to change.