At a glance
3 days
AUD $2200 inc GST
NZD $2390 + GST
including in-house delivery.
Effective Business Requirements
Many of the problems encountered in business information systems implementations are the direct result of shortcomings in the processes and practices used to gather, understand, document, confirm and manage the requirements for the system.
Whereas our Business Systems Analysis course focuses on the fundamental framework of business analysis, this course is intended for those who want to enhance their current business analysis knowledge and confidently take ownership of the requirements from generation through to validation and requirements management and learn how to overcome the many requirements related challenges by looking at additional requirements approaches, tools and techniques that our Business Systems Analysis course only hints at.
What's The Benefit?
Industry studies around the world suggest that five out of every six software projects fail or are "challenged" - over time and/or over budget. Looking through a requirements lense, we see that some of the main contributors are:
- A poor understanding of the VISION or expected business outcome affecting top-down requirements practices
- Poorly defined requirements, especially the lack of emphasis on Quality or Non-Functional requirements
- Poor management of changes to requirements (affecting scope management in particular)
- Insufficient customer and user involvement in defining, confirming and managing requirements.
A vague understanding of expected business outcomes combined with insufficient skills to write, communicate and control effective requirements (whether for Agile or more linear approaches to software development) will lead to the invention of requirements - usually by the programmer. But the decisions that software developers make are often different from the decisions a subject matter expert would make under the same circumstances. Where a project fails - it is often seen as a direct result of poor requirements practices.
IIBA Endorsed BA Training
This course is endorsed by the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA) and is aligned with the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge® (BABOK®).
This course will contribute 21 CDU's (Continuing Development Units) towards your Certificate of Competency in Business Analysis™ (CCBA™) or Certified Business Analysis Professional™ (CBAP®) certification requirements.
"This is a well run course that directs your thought processes and concepts to gain understanding."
Craig Stirling, Ministry of Fisheries
Intended For
Business analysts, analyst/designers, systems analysts, requirement engineers, project leaders, project managers and anyone else involved in defining and representing requirements for business systems.
Prerequisites
Participants are expected to have an understanding of business analysis activities.
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 objectives, processes and activities involved in defining testable requirements of different types in the context of Agile as well as more linear approaches to systems development
- Understand how to negotiate and prioritise conflicting requirements
- Understand how to define and use requirements quality metrics in the process of defining and evaluating requirements
- Learn how to run a Peer Review session
- Establish detailed traceability between Business Requirements and other project deliverables
- Understand the importance of consistent use of approved requirements templates
- Encourage effective participation on projects by business Stakeholders and SMEs
- Learn about the challenges and take away some tips for moving from requirements to design.
Content
Introduction & Overview
- Overview of the Enterprise Analysis activities with a focus on defining and articulating a Business Case
- An overview of different Lifecycles and Approaches
- Recognising the relationships between business analysis and requirements engineering
- The Requirements Engineering Roadmap
- Standards for requirements engineering and management e.g. ISO, IEEE
Requirements Fundamentals
- The various types of requirements which define a business system
- Requirements Properties supporting requirements management
- Requirements Quality Attributes supporting the validation and verification of requirements
- Characteristics of "good" requirements statements looking at various approaches to writing requirements (from User Stories to more formal approaches to requirements specification)
Requirements Engineering Process
Elicitation and Documentation
- Eliciting Requirements (various approaches with focus on eliciting Non-Functional Requirements)
- Producing the documentation
- Vision and Scope document
- System Requirements Specification
- Software Requirements Specification
- Supplementary Specification
Analysis and Negotiation
- Analysis of Requirements against Quality Criteria
- Requirements Trade-offs
- Requirements Negotiation
Requirements Validation
- Formal Validation and Verification Methods
- Requirements Quality Metrics
- V-Model
- Peer Reviews (benefits, types, participation, process of review)
Requirements Management
- Prioritising requirements
- Baselining requirements
- Requirements status
- Requirements attributes
- Traceability
- Impact analysis
- Attribute and traceability policies
- Tool support
- Configuration management
- Managing changing requirements
How to make a transition from requirements to design
- Major obstacles identified when trying to move from requirements to design
- Approaches to overcoming those identified obstacles
Method Used
The course is based on participation, group work, and collaborative discussion. There are lecture sessions to formalise and confirm the findings from the collaborative activities. The participants undertake a case study through the course, building up to a final complete set of documentation and knowledge of the topic.
Testimonials
"This is a well run course that directs your thought processes and concepts to gain understanding."
Craig Stirling, Business Application Analyst, Ministry of Fisheries
IIBA®, BABOK® and Business Analysis Body of Knowledge® are registered trademarks owned by International Institute of Business Analysis. These registered trademarks are used with the express permission of International Institute of Business Analysis.
CCBA™, Certification of Competency in Business Analysis™, Certified Business Analyst Professional and the EEP logo are trademarks owned by International Institute of Business Analysis. These trademarks are used with the express permission of International Institute of Business Analysis.
