Facilitating Requirements for Business Analysis*

OverviewBringing people together to elicit requirements and gainconsensus on solutions is a critical success factor for allbusiness analysis professionals. This course teachesfacilitation techniques that can be used for structuredsessions and “facilitation-on-the-fly.” This course goesbeyond traditional facilitation training by focusing onfacilitation techniques specific to gathering business andfunctional requirements.

This allows each student the opportunity to practicefacilitating multiple requirements sessions in a “safe”environment with personalised feedback. Students will spend60% of class time participating in interactive, real-worldbusiness case studies and performing each key role in atleast one session.

The workshops in this course require students to plan therequirements workshop, develop the correct questions to askthe group, and facilitate the group to a consensus on therequirements using one of the learned techniques. Studentswill conduct a requirements workshop for at least onerequirement deliverable (i.e., context level dataflow diagram,workflow diagram).

Students will learn to

Facilitate using proven techniques for eliciting detailedbusiness, functional and non-functional requirements.

Identify when and how to use each technique.

Develop confidence and a skill set to conductrequirements workshops.

Actively practice learned skills and techniques.

Use a requirements planning session template.

Prepare the participants for the requirements session.

Perform each facilitation role through role playing eachsession.

Conduct the session to stay focused on the corerequirement that was planned as a deliverable.

Select which facilitation technique to use for each corerequirement being gathered.

Complete checklists for managing and conducting thesession.

Facilitate a requirements workshop.

* Optional Practical Workshop (1 day)

2 DAYS + 1 DAY

Intended audience

This course is designed for experienced, knowledgeablebusiness analysts involved with requirements elicitation andanalysis. Students are expected to understand the purposeof business and functional requirements.

IIBA Continuing Development Units:14 or 21 hours

Prerequisites

This is an advanced class. We recommend students first doone of our Essential Skills for Business Analysis courses, orhave experience in project scope definition, elicitingrequirements from subject matter experts, andunderstanding how business requirements fit into the entiresystems development effort.

Pricing

Standard 3-day course is $2,700 per attendee. For 2-dayoption course is $1,800 per attendee.

For a configured option to meet your specific needs, costsmay vary. Please contact us for more information.

3 days

15 www.redvespa.com

Course Outline

Introduction - 1 hour

Learn guidelines for requirements facilitators. Set session rules and manage the session. Learn reactive techniques to use during the session:o Encourage participationoManage group focusoManage group conflictoConsider remote facilitation techniques.

Student Workshop - 1.5 hours

Conduct a mini-requirements workshop. Practice techniques used for requirements workshops.

Session Feasibility - 1 hour Determine when requirements workshops are appropriateoDetermine need/requirements deliverable desiredoDetermine commitment leveloDetermine risks.

Practice determining session need using real-worldscenarios. Review the core requirements components and discuss

how they are best gathered. Learn when not to use requirements workshops.

Planning and Preparing for a FacilitatedSession - 4 hours

Plan the sessionoDetermine the number of session(s) needed and the

length of the session(s)oDocument the purpose of the sessiono Identify potential participantsoDefine session requirements deliverablesoDocument the plan using session planning templates.

Prepare for a sessionoOutline the goals and requirements deliverableso Select session participants and determine if pre-session

interviews are appropriate. Learn facilitation techniqueso BrainstormingoConsensus buildingo Flowchartingo Force field analysisoHip pocket techniquesoNominal groupoRoot cause analysiso Storyboardingo Facilitating across distance.

Develop focused questions to gather requirementsoDirect, Open-ended, Clarifying, Leading, Re-focusing.

Create a detailed agenda for the facilitation team.

Learn group-oriented facilitation techniques. Create a formal agenda for the session participant. Orient the facilitation team. Prepare the facilities.

Student Workshop - 3.5 hours

Each student will practice elicitation techniques in arequirements workshop. Personal feedback will be provided to drive skill

development.

Conducting the Session - 1 hour

Learn the stages of group development / productivity. Facilitate decision making – work toward consensus. Conducting the sessiono Introducing the sessionoManaging the sessionoCreating a follow-up action plan.

Review/approve requirements deliverables.

Student Workshop - 8 hours

Plan and conduct a requirements workshop. Use one or more of the learned facilitation techniques. Produce the requirements deliverable using one of the

facilitation techniques. Personal feedback will be provided to drive skill

development.

Session Follow-Up - 1 hour

Produce the final requirements document. Share session feedback. Determine the next steps.