"Specifying Client Requirements"

 

 

Course Description:

This two day applied course provides the steps and practices to effectively gather business and system requirements. Participants learn a variety of practical communication, analysis and modeling techniques -- the best practices used in the Requirements Elicitation Process. And even more importantly, participants are taught - and given the opportunity to practice how to apply them on systems development projects.

The course teaches a very practical systematic approach to requirements analysis and definition. This is a proven, effective, real world approach that will enable a defined and consistent method that is easily learned and easily applied. Participants will learn specific modern methods, strategies and techniques that can be easily integrated into a company's existing methodologies and practices.  

 

Name  Specifying Client Requirements (SCR) 
Duration  Two (2) days
Type  Instructor-led 
Target  Business Analysts, Business Systems Analysts, Project Leads 
Rating  5 stars: IAG's Most popular course! 
Purpose  To learn indepth, practical techniques to gather and define business requirements

 

 

 

Course Content:

1. The Requirements Discovery Process
  • The Software Development Life Cycle and The Requirements Discovery Process
  • Requirements Best Practices; Principles & Standards
2. Requirements Planning
  • Requirements Planning Activities
  • How to Discover & Describe Business and Project Objectives
  • How to Discover & Describe Project Scope
3. Requirements Elicitation
  • Methods to Elicit Requirements
  • How to Discover & Describe Business Activities
  • How to Discover & Describe Information Requirements
4. Requirements Analysis and Documentation 
  • Documenting the Requirements
  • How to Discover & Describe Functional Requirements
  • Documenting the Non-Functional Requirements
5. Requirements Verification and Review
  • Refining the Requirements
6. Requirements Validation and Acceptance
  • Prioritizing the Requirements

 

Learning Objectives:

  • How to use the right elicitation techniques, models, steps and questions appropriate for the various stakeholder groups (users, senior management, non-technical, business subject-matter-experts, detail oriented, high-level, etc.)
  • Understand the critical success factors for a requirements meeting including setting SMART objectives and expectations, using a systematic process and questioning techniques, using visual modeling, keeping the meeting focused, using business language
  • Identify clients’ business needs easily, without needing to be a subject matter expert  
  • How to work directly and interactively with business clients in defining project requirements 
  • Conduct fast and efficient analysis – maximizing the time and resources of the company
  • How to apply industry best practices for discovering, describing and documenting requirements for various projects (new development, maintenance and package) and in various environments (iterative, incremental and waterfall)
  • Identify true user requirements versus "nice-to-have"
  • How to organize and model the information requirements into business objects and data elements
  • Learn the steps, questions and techniques for business process and data modeling – using such tools as context diagramming, use-case modeling, data flow diagramming, functional narratives, process modeling, data descriptions, entity relationship diagrams) 
  • How to analyze client business requirements and produce requirement specifications
  • Complete a business requirement specification that’s ready for design, development or sourcing software

 

 

 

Business Analysis Competencies    Coverage    Objective 
Analytical & Systems Thinking   

S/I

 

A

Change Leadership   

M/I

 

A

Requirements Planning   

I/I

 

SD

Requirements Elicitation & Analysis   

I/D

 

SD

Requirements Management   

I/I

 

U

Client Relationship Management   

M/I

 

A

Consensus & Agreement Building   

M/I

 

U

Professional Knowledge   

M/I

 

A

Modeling   

I/D

 

SD

Communication   

I/D

 

SD

Self-Management   

M/I

 

A

Teamwork   

M/I

 

A

Leadership   

S/I

 

A

 

Legend

Coverage

 

Objective

         
I/D  In-depth, Direct    SD  Skill Development 
I/I  In-depth, Indirect   U  Understanding 
M/D  Moderate. Direct   A  Awareness 
M/I  Moderate, Indirect       
S/D  Some. Direct       
S/I Some, Indirect       
N/A Not Addressed