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At a glance

Use Cases for Requirements Gathering

This course is endorsed by the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA™). It provides material and skills relevant to three Business Analysis Body of Knowledge™(BABOK™) knowledge areas.

Use Cases are a proven tool to uncover behavioural and functional requirements of computer software systems. Having good Use Cases has been shown to significantly improve the overall development process by enhancing understanding of requirements early in the software development life cycle. Writing effective Use Case descriptions is part art, part science and not a skill that comes easily to most people.

This course covers the fundamentals of requirements elicitation with Use Cases, and provides the participants with examples and experience in writing Use Case descriptions, drawing on best practice from experts in the field. The course aims to answer the vexing questions about deciding on the appropriate level of detail to present based on the context of the system under development. Participants are shown how to analyse Use Case descriptions to uncover specific requirements to be recorded in a Software Requirements Specification or similar document. It is emphasised that Use Case description is a requirement elicitation technique and not a requirement description technique.

Exercises and examples are used to reinforce the understanding gained and ensure the participants are able to effectively apply the skills acquired.

Intended For

• New or experienced Business Analysts who need solid requirements elicitation techniques to work with
• Experienced Analysts who wish to formalise their training.

Prerequisites

Participants are expected to have some understanding of basic business practice, and to have been exposed to the capabilities and limitations of computer systems.

A suggested lead-in course is Software Education’s “Business Systems Analysis” course.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Understand the essential elements of Use Cases
• Effectively uncover system requirements by identifying and describing Use Cases
• Effectively employ Use Cases in system development projects

Content

• Overview discussion of Use Cases
• Essential elements of Use Cases:
  • Actors
  • Stakeholders
  • Design Scope
  • Level
  • Scenarios
  • Goals
  • Exceptions
  • Extensions
  • Inclusions
• The writing process . . .
  • Analysing Use Case text to uncover specific system requirements
  • Converting Use Case description sentences into well-formed requirement statements
  • A style guide with suggested formats for different levels of Use Case
  • List of time-saving Use Case writing tips
• A proven methodology for taking advantage of Use Cases
• Templates with discussion on when and how they should be employed

Method Used

Lecturing is kept to the minimum necessary. A participative approach is used to enable learning by discovery.

Exercises and examples are used extensively to reinforce the knowledge gained over the course.

Business Analysis Body of Knowledge™

This course provides material and skills relevant to the following International Institute of Business Analysis™(BABOK™) knowledge areas:

• Requirements Elicitation
• Requirements Analysis and Documentation
• Requirements Communication

For more details on the IIBA™ and the BABOK™ see http://www.theiiba.org

Testimonials

"Anja has great knowledge, excellent communication skills - she kept us motivated, interactive, stimulated.  Thank you Anja it was a pleasure!"

Tessa O'Leary, Senior Project Officer,Queensland Health.