Course Overview

Incomplete requirements are often cited as the number-one reason projects or systems fail. Accurately identifying requirements and staying on course from the beginning is key to success in today’s business world. This “how-to” course introduces the roles of the business analyst as it relates to the elicitation, analysis and documentation of requirements. It familiarizes participants with the core knowledge and skills required to identify and document user requirements. It also addresses how these requirements are managed throughout the project life cycle. This course covers the exciting subject of requirements elicitation through a 5 step process that is highly effective practically and also arms you with the essential soft skills to empower you in real world situations. This engagement is replete with case studies and scenario and even a role play to aid absolute understanding and help with the retention of subject as well as help you understand complex elements with ease. 

 

Who should attend?

• Business analysts
• Project managers, program managers and other business managers who have the additional role of eliciting requirements from stakeholders
• On-site team in the onsite – offsite development model

 

Performance Focus

• Business analysis as a domain
• Practical requirements elicitation using global best practices
• Stakeholder analysis
• Requirements documentation, modeling and validation
• Defining the solution scope
• Defining solutions to business problems
• Selecting an audience for written communication
• Requirements writing guidelines
• Writing clear, precise, unambiguous requirements

 

What You Will Learn

• Understand the critical role of the business analyst with respect to requirements elicitation and project management
• Develop and validate a solution vision and scope
• Use appropriate modeling techniques
• Plan the requirements elicitation and analysis to maximize efficiency and estimate the required effort
• Determine the most appropriate technique(s) for eliciting requirements at different points in the analysis cycle
• Analyze various kinds of requirements into a complete, coherent and organized requirements document
• Build consensus to validate and finalize the requirements in the business requirements document

 

Training Content and Basic Outline of the course

Foundation Concepts

• Concept of business analysis
• Role of business analysts
• Essential terms and definitions before we begin

 Requirements Framework

• Understanding requirements
• Kinds of requirements (Classification of requirements)
• Where does “Requirements Elicitation” fit in the overall project picture
• Establishing the documentation to manage requirements
• Overview of the “5 Step Yamakasi” requirements elicitation process

 Step – 1: Top View

• Capturing solution vision and defining solution scope
• Creating high-level quality targets for a solution
• Explaining the relationship of vision and scope to quality
• Stakeholder identification
• Overview and enterprise modeling

  Step – 2: Planning For Requirements

• Overview of requirements documentation planning
• Establishing a common language
• Determining best practices for producing well-formed requirements
• Building and executing a plan for requirements
• Building a work breakdown structure for the business analysis activities
• Identifying stakeholders and classifying users
• Identifying risks and planning risk responses
• Finalizing, reviewing and approving “Requirements Plan”

 Step – 3: Eliciting Requirements

• Eliciting pre-work
• Essential soft skills and interpersonal skills for requirements elicitation
• Modes of requirements elicitation and tradeoffs
• Iterative nature of requirements elicitation
• Parties required during elicitation period
• Client / Customer expectation setting and closing this phase

 Step – 4: Documenting Requirements

• Overview of writing requirements documents
• Using a standard structure / template
• Applying formatting techniques and using apt models
• Meeting the challenge of writing non-functional requirements
• Making the document interesting and smaller, yet complete
• The traceability matrix

 

Step – 5: Validating Requirements

• Overview of the requirements baseline process
• Verifying requirements
• Validating requirements
• Selecting and applying consensus building techniques
• Approving requirements
• Understanding the project’s change control process
• Tracing requirements through design and development (build, test and implement)
• Following through to post-implementation (transition and early production)

 

Engagement end recap and vote of thanks