Requirements Elicitation Workshop Classroom Live Boston, MA February 26, 2018

Course Overview

• I. Overview of Elicitation and Collaboration - This course is intended to provide guidance to business analysts when preparing, conducting, communicating and confirming business analysis work. This course takes a deep dive into the elicitation and collaboration tasks involved when utilizing generally accepted elicitation and collaboration techniques. This section provides for a lively kick-off of conversations to:
  • Define elicitation and collaboration
  • Benefits of iterative elicitation and collaboration
  • Overview of how the Elicitation and Collaboration Knowledge Area relates to the other knowledge areas according to the BABOK®
  • Overview of the IIBA®'s Business Analysis Core Concept Model™
  • Discuss why is elicitation difficult
  • Understand the impact of trust on requirements elicitation
• II. Overview of Elicitation and Collaboration Techniques - We think of this as "doing our homework" to ask the right questions of the right stakeholders and build our creditability with stakeholders. There are two generally accepted techniques for eliciting information from existing non-human sources. In this section, the participants will utilize these techniques to start to build requirements and questions to be verified by stakeholders.
  • Group exercise to consider elicitation and collaboration techniques used today
  • Introduce the elicitation and collaboration techniques
  • Group exercise to define advantages and disadvantages introduced techniques
  • Introduce the three technique categories to include Collaborative, Research and Experiments
  • Discuss utilization of ground rules for interactive stakeholder involvement
  • Discuss impact of body language and verbal cue
• III. Building Business Context - We think of this as "doing our homework" to ask the right questions of the right stakeholders and build our creditability with stakeholders.
  • Discussion of business context understanding
  • Exercise to introduce and build an understanding of the case study organization's business context
• IV. Problem Domain Scope Discovery – It is human nature for our stakeholders to jump to a solution before clearly identifying the problem. In this section, the participants will utilize techniques to drive to the problem statement which will then allow for identification requirements and design that will ultimately solve the problem. This will also allow for relevant questions to stakeholders for collaboration.
  • Exercise to identify questions that will drive out the problem statement
  • Introduce a fictitious but realistic case study to gain hands on practice with the elicitation and collaboration techniques
  • Exercise to review the project request
  • Develop a plan for scope definition
  • Introduce the Interface Analysis technique
  • Group exercise to analyze an "As-Is" Context Diagram and create "To-Be" Context Diagram
  • Introduce the Collaborative Games technique
  • Group exercise to perform a collaborative game which will drive out functions and features of the problem domain
  • Exercise to develop scope definition and gain consensus with project sponsor
• V. Solution Elicitation and Consensus
  • Discussion of Requirements and Design Cycle
  • Develop a plan for elicitation and collaboration of solution requirements and design definition discovery
  • Introduce Process Modeling technique
  • Exercise to develop a process model for the "As-Is" process defining questions for follow-up with stakeholders
  • Introduce Process Analysis technique
  • Exercise to develop recommendations to solve for gaps and areas of improvement
  • Exercise to collaborate on recommendations
  • Introduce Survey / Questionnaire technique
  • Group exercise to build and distribute a survey
  • Group exercise to analyze survey results and presentation of survey results
  • Introduce Review technique
  • Exercise to conduct a review of business analysis work product for consensus
• VI. Elicitation Planning
  • Facilitate the elicitation plan discussion
  • Group exercise to plan elicitation activities for some fictitious example
• In-Class Group Exercises:
• In-class exercises help you identify and examine first-hand problems that you may be experiencing eliciting requirements. Through group effort, you and your peers will discuss ways your department or company should be engaging stakeholders to determine what the solution must provide. You will also identify and practice strategies that you and your organization can use to better manage customer expectations and obtain critical stakeholder ownership of the solution.
  • Practice elicitation and collaboration techniques - using a case study
  • Practice doing some research to elicit information prior to engaging stakeholders
  • Learn about multiple event based elicitation technique to engage stakeholders –it's more than just interviews
  • Learn to ask effective, non-biased, context-free questions
  • Practice engaging stakeholders in a conflict-oriented environment
  • Utilize techniques to facilitate stakeholder groups to achieve goals