How to Gather and Document User Requirements

Course Information

Learn How To

• Define the role of the business analyst in the requirements process
• Structure a Business Requirements Document
• Effectively document a project’s vision and scope
• Identify user classes and define their environment
• Develop a Requirements Analysis Work Plan
• Define, elicit, structure, validate and document business requirements
• Link the Business Requirements Document to a Software Requirements Specification

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Course Synopsis

Incomplete requirements are often cited as the number-one reason projects or systems fail. Accurately defining the requirements and staying on course from the beginning is key to success in today’s business world.

This “how-to” course introduces the roles of the business analyst as they relate to the analysis and documentation of requirements. It familiarizes participants with core knowledge and skills required to analyse and document user requirements. It also identifies how these requirements are defined and managed throughout the life cycle.

Course Topics

1. Roles, Definitions and Key Principles
   1. Critical role of the business analyst
   2. Creating and adopting a formal documentation strategy
   3. Roles and mutual expectations among team members
2. Capturing Requirements in a Business Requirements Document
   1. Identify critical consumers
   2. Understand the structure of a Business Requirements Document
3. Project Vision and Scope
   1. How projects are initiated
   2. Importance of a project scope statement
   3. Document project vision and scope
4. Identifying Users and Creating a Work Plan
   1. Project users and characteristics
   2. The value of creating a work plan
   3. The elements in a generic work plan
5. Types of Requirements
   1. Attributes and types of effective requirements
   2. What is an effective requirement?
6. Elicitation Techniques
   1. Apply four different question types
   2. Advantages and disadvantages of several techniques
7. Structuring End-User Requirements
   1. Techniques used to structure requirements
   2. Develop a basic Use Case
   3. The role of modeling
8. Validating User Requirements
   1. Requirements validation
   2. Methods used to validate requirements
9. Documenting User Requirements
   1. The purpose of documenting requirements
   2. Apply standard principles and techniques
   3. Organise your requirements descriptions for communication

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