GatheringBusinessRequirements

Acriticalelementofanyprojectisgatheringthebusinessrequirementsandcreatingaclearpicture of what needs to be delivered. Project initiators generally have a clear view of the end goal, but rarely will have considered or understand all of the stakeholders specific requirements for the system being developed or purchased. Creating a complete set ofrequirements up front enables better planning, more accurate cost estimates, shorter delivery cycles and improves customer satisfactionandadoptionofthefinaloutcome.Theseeminglysimpletaskofgatheringrequirements mustbedoneeffectivelyortheentireprojectcouldbeintrouble.Thisarticlewilladdresssomeof the fundamental elements of gathering business requirements though the concepts may seem simple,remembertheimportanceofcompletingthistasksuccessfully. Business analysts add value by understanding both the business needs and IT development constraints within the given environment. They work with business subject matter experts to developaclearpictureofwhatthebusinessneedswhilealsofocusingonaligningtheseneedswith the business objectives. At the same time they ensure requirements are written in language consumable by both the business users and IT designers. Bridging this gap is a key valueadd businessanalystsbringtodocumentingbusinessrequirements. Atthestartofaprojecttherequirementsareoftensomewhatvague.Ifyouaskafewpeoplewhat they think the requirements are you will likely get different perceptions of what is to be accomplished. The job of the business analyst is to work with the clients to help them gain a commonvisionofthebusinessrequirements. The business analyst should start with the project sponsor to gain a clear understanding of the business goals and objectives of the project so all businessrequirementscan be gathered in the correctcontext. Withoutthislinkageyoumayfindyourselfgatheringrequirementsconsideredoutof scopeorpromotingindividualagendasratherthantheorganizationsvision. Whengatheringrequirementsyouarelikelytomeetallsortsofpitfalls,thesecanrangefrom: Clients toobusyorundertightdeadlines Clientsassumingtheirrequirementscanbeprovidedwithouttheirinput Fearofhowthenewsystemorproductwillaffect/changetheirrole Differingpersonalities:somenotwillingtospeakuporothersbeingtooexpressiveand Geographicdispersionofclients. As an experienced business analyst it is up to you to engage these clients. The time and effort requiredtogatherrequirementsissmallincomparisontothecostofdeliveringanendproductthat doesnotmeetyourclientsbusinessneeds. Togetclientstoprovideopen,honestinputyouneed tobuildaleveloftrust.Youcandothisby getting to know their business, learn their language (no technical jargon please) and generally createanenvironmentthatestablishesrapport.Thekeyistoshowthemyouarereallyinterestedin understandingtheirbusinesschallengesandthatyouvedoneyourhomeworkontheprojectgoals soyoucantrulyhelpthemmoveforward.

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Thereareabroadrangeofapproachestogatheringbusinessrequirements.Allhavetheirbenefits andpitfalls,butwhenusedincombinationcanhelpthebusinessanalystproducesuperiorresults. Thefollowingareafewofthekeyapproaches: Oneonone meetings can promote more detailed discussions. They help you gather requirements from individuals who may be prone to staying quiet in a group meeting, or help you uncover afear of change whichmay allow you to understand or overcometheir concerns.Thesemeetingscanalsohelpyoubuildtrustwitheachstakeholder,understand theirindividualperspectiveandtoprovideyouwithvaluableinputtoagroupdiscussionon requirements. Group Interview meetings speed the process of gathering requirements. It allows group members to feed on the ideas of others to further their understanding and provide input theymaynothaveotherwiseconsidered. Facilitated sessions allow for much larger groups to further speed the process and may allowyoutogatherallrequirementsinonesessionandmovethegrouptowardconsensus. Thismethodrequiresahighdegreeofplanning,aspecificformalagendaandastrongand knowledgeablefacilitatorinordertomakeitasuccess(typicallydeliveredafteroneonone sessions). Questionnairesare oflimitedvalueingatheringdetailedrequirementshowevertheyhave their place in gathering feedback from remote or minor contributors or for gathering statistics,quickfacts,orgaininganswersfromlargergroups. Analysis by walking around is about spending a few days following people around see what they do, how they do it. There is nothing more accurate than watching what really happens.

Therearebroadrangeofquestionsthatcanberaisedintherequirementsgatheringsession.The followingarefewoftheprimersyoumightwanttoconsider: Whatareyourbusinesspainpoints? Whatchallengesareyoutryingtosolve? Whyareyoudoingthis? Whatistheexpectedbusinessoutcome?Howwillitbemeasured? Whatdoesthefinaloutcomelooklike? What limitation do you have today with your current processes? technology? resources? Howdoyourrequirementssupporttheoverallorganizationalbusinessstrategy,goalsand objectives? Howdoyourrequirementshelptomeet/exceedthekeybusinessperformancemetrics? These can be tough, openended questions for clients to answer. Give them the time to fully articulatetheirrequirements.Avoidthecommonmistakeoftryingtorushthemthroughsoyoucan get on with building the end product. The best approach is to have multiple meetings allowing enoughtimebetweenmeetingsfortheorganizationtodigesttheoutputsthusensuringyouareon therighttrack.Atypicalapproachmightincludetheoneononemeetingswithexecutivesfollowed byaninitialhighlevelvisioningsessionwiththem.Withtheexecutivevisionstartedyoucanthen meetoneononewithkeyclientsandthenfacilitateseveralrequirementssessionstodriveoutthe

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details.Attheendbringtheexecutivesandtheworkinggrouptogethertosolidifytheprojectvision andbusinessrequirements. Requirementsgatheringsessionsarecriticaltoyourprojectssuccessandtheprocesswillrequire allyourbestinterpersonal,business analysisandfacilitationskills.Youneedtoencourageclients to be open and honest in their participation. You can aid this process by asking the obvious questionstogetthediscussiongoing.Itisimportanttohaveaclearunderstandingoftheprojects businessrequirementsyourself.Bepreparedforeachmeetingorsession,listencarefullyandthen playbackwhatyouveheardtoensureyouvecaptureditcorrectly.Considerusingbasic,easyto follow,diagramstoillustratetheirrequirementsrememberitseasierforallofustocomprehenda picturethantointerpretwords. Avoidthecommonpitfallofthebusinessanalystwhohasperformedothersimilarprojectsandfeels they have all the answers and tell the client what their requirements are. Most of the time this approach results in projects that are significantly offthemark in terms of solving the actual businesschallenges. Thereareseveralmethodologies,techniquesandtoolsthatcanbeusedtoaidinthegatheringand documentingofbusinessrequirementsincluding: RationalUnifiedProcess(RUP). JointRequirementsPlanning(JRP)/JointApplicationDesign(JAD). UseCase. UnifiedModelingLanguage(UML). These approaches by themselves will not guarantee successful results but they can provide a frameworkformoreeffectivelydrawingoutanddocumentinginformation. Gathering accurate business requirements isa critical step to the overall success ofyour project. Allprojectshavesomespecificbusinessoutcometheyareattemptingtoachieve.Theinvestment that you and your clients make in clearly and concisely gathering business requirements will provideyourorganizationwithacommonframeworkupon whichtheremainderoftheprojectcan be structured. These requirements will provide the basis for testing your decision on whether to build or buy and will provide a key point of reference in terms of quality management and assessingchangestoscopethroughouttheproject.

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KLRConsultingInc.

|Metrotower1,Suite21294710Kingsway,BurnabyBC | T 604.294.2292

F 604.294.2694 www.klr.com