Developing User Requirements:
The Key to Project Success

Introduction

• Guiding standards: Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK^®) and PMBOK^® Guide Fourth Edition
• Requirements classification scheme
• The requirements development process: elicit, analyse, specify, validate and manage
• Challenges to developing effective requirements

Planning a Requirements Project

Interpreting existing documentation

• Requirements throughout the organisation
• Analysing business cases and project history
• Identifying stakeholders
• Determining project scope

Creating a project action plan

• Identifying and managing requirements
• Elements of an action plan
• Writing a plan for a simulated project

Eliciting Requirements from Stakeholders

Planning elicitation meetings

• Choosing the right people to interview
• Selecting the best interview methodology
• Constructing questions that deliver results
• Identifying other data sources

Facilitating elicitation meetings

• One-on-one meetings
• Group meetings
• Dysfunctional meetings
• Meetings with senior executives

Analysing Requirements with Process Maps

Process-mapping methodologies

• Process-mapping procedure and materials
• Creating process maps

Other analysis methodologies

• Creating outlines
• Applying alternative graphical models
• Performing gap analyses

Completing the analysis

• Prioritising requirements with creative techniques
• Completing a requirements analysis worksheet

Writing and Assembling the Requirements Document

Gathering the pieces

• Extracting requirements from a requirements analysis worksheet
• Utilising templates

Key writing skills

• Principles of well-formed requirements
• Word sensitivity, syntax and active voice
• Well-formed vs. ill-formed requirements
• Editing and rewriting requirements
• The top five challenges to creating well-formed requirements

Organisational skills and traceability

• Organising requirements into a readable document
• Sequencing and numbering strategies
• Linking requirements to business needs and test cases
• Creating a traceability strategy for the organisation

Validating Requirements

Applying validation skills

• Selecting the best validation methods
• Validation checklists
• Methods for conducting a walk-through

Writing testable requirements

• Checking the testability of requirements
• Test cases for requirements

Managing Changes to Update Your Document

What you can expect

• Types of changes
• Frequency, magnitude of changes

Navigating the change process

• Conducting a change meeting
• Managing change requests
• Accepting and rejecting changes

Integrating Requirements into Your Organisation

• Choosing the right requirements management tools
• Selecting appropriate requirements standards
• Defining an ideal requirements process