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© 2012, ASPE
CBAP®/CCBA™ Certification Prep Boot Camp
Presented byBob Keith, CBAP
Kirkwood, MO
Certified Business Analysis Professional™ (CBAP®)Certification of Competency in Business Analysis™ (CCBA™)
© 2012, ASPE
Elicitation Techniques:Advantages & Disadvantages
Purpose/Description:Activities performed to identify the source of and methods for obtaining requirements and to draw forth or bring out the requirements. It is not an isolated, compartmentalized activity. Rather, it continues through the elicitation, analysis, and review activities.
Stakeholders:Customer, Domain SME, End User, Supplier, SponsorImplementation SME, Operational Support, Project Manager, TesterRegulatorAll Stakeholders
ElicitationElicitationElicitation
Elicitation Tasks
3.1Prepare for Elicitation
3.2Conduct Elicitation Activity
3.3Document Elicitation Results
3.4Confirm Elicitation Results
Requirements Elicitation Techniques
Elicitation Technique
Synonym Conducted by
Brainstorming Event*
Document Analysis Review existing documents Performed
Focus Group Event*
Interface Analysis External Interface Analysis Performed
Interviews Event*
Observation Job Shadowing Event*
Prototyping Storyboarding, Navigational Flow, Paper Prototyping, Screen Flow
Event*
Requirements Workshops Elicitation Workshop, Facilitated Workshop
Event*
Survey/Questionnaire Distributed
* For event-based elicitation, ground rules must be established and agreed upon by all stakeholders (timing, breaks, who talks when, etc.).
53, 56
Technique 9.3: Brainstorming
• Purpose/Description– Produce new ideas through fostering creative
thinking about a problem or topic• Elements
– Preparation• Define goals• Identify facilitator and participants• Set time limits and rating criteria• Set expectations
– Session• Share without discussion• Record everything• Encourage participation
– Wrap‐up• Discuss, evaluate, condense, and rate ideas
Brainstorm: using the brain to storm a creative problem and to do so “in commando fashion, each stormer audaciously attacking the same objective.”
-- Alex Osborn, 1939
3.1, 3.2, 3.3Prepare, Conduct and Document Elicitation
Brainstorming (continued)
Brainstorming Usage Considerations
Advantages Disadvantages
Lots of ideas in a short period of time
Dependent on participants’ creativity and willingness
Encourages creative thinking by providing a non-judgmental environment
Could be (or become) political
Reduces tension between participants
Must avoid debating ideas during elicitation
Technique 9.9: Document Analysis
• Purpose/Description– Gather details of the current or “as is” environment– Identify existing business rules, entities, and attributes – May include business plans, market studies, statements of
work, memos, problem reports, customer suggestions, etc.• Elements
– Preparation• Evaluate what’s available and useful
– Document review• Model business process and generate questions for stakeholder interviews
– Wrap‐up• Review and confirm with SMEs• Obtain answers to follow‐up questions• Organize in requirements format
3.1, 3.2, 3.3Prepare, Conduct and Document Elicitation
Document Analysis (continued)
Document Analysis Usage Considerations
Advantages Disadvantages
Not starting with a blank page Limited to “as-is” view only
Leverage existing materials for discovery
May not be up to date or valid
Cross-checking requirements from other elicitation techniques
Can be time-consuming/tedious to locate and evaluate documentation
Technique 9.11: Focus Group
• Purpose/Description– Elicit ideas and attitudes about a product, service, or
opportunity in an interactive group setting– Participants share impressions, preferences, and needs, guided
by a moderator– Pre‐qualified individuals come together and share perspectives– Can be live or remote; can be used during any lifecycle phase,
and can serve to assess customer satisfaction• Elements
– Prepare • Recruit homogeneous or heterogeneous participants• Assign Moderator and Recorder• Create Discussion Guide• Reserve Site and Services
– Run focus group session– Produce report
3.1, 3.2, 3.3Prepare, Conduct and Document Elicitation
Focus Group (continued)
Focus Group Usage Considerations
Advantages Disadvantages
Saves time and costs compared with individual interviews
Lack of trust may impede disclosure
Good for learning about attitudes and experiences
Lack of consistency between what people say and their actual behavior
Provides active discussion and multiple perspectives
Homogeneous responses may not represent the complete set of requirements
Requires skilled moderator
May be difficult to schedule
Not good for evaluating usability
Technique 9.13: Interface Analysis
• Purpose/Description– Identify connections (interfaces) between solutions
and/or solution components and find their requirements
– Interface: a connection between two components and/or systems• User: between human and hardware or software• Systems: between one application and another• Hardware: to and from external hardware devices
• Elements– Prepare
• Review current documentation (e.g. Context Diagram)– Conduct interface identification
• Identify, describe, and evaluate interfaces for requirements– Define interfaces
• Inputs and outputs for each interface, with validation rules and trigger events described
3.1, 3.2, 3.3Prepare, Conduct and Document Elicitation
Interface Analysis (continued)
Interface Analysis Usage Considerations
Advantages Disadvantages
Provides an early, high-level view on interoperability for planning purposes
High-level view (inputs/outputs/key data) lacks detail
Helps us be more accurate with planning; can save time and cost
Encourages collaboration between other systems or projects
Prevents difficulties of integrating multiple components
Technique 9.14: Interviews
• Purpose/Description– Elicit information from an individual or group by talking to them– A systematic approach that may be formal or informal– One‐on‐one interviews most common– Two types of interviews:
• Structured: Pre‐defined questions• Unstructured: Open‐ended discussion of Stakeholder’s needs
– Success depends on BA’s level of understanding, experience, skill, and ability to build rapport and the Stakeholder’s readiness and clarity
• Elements– Prepare for interview
• Identify potential interviewees• Design the interview• Contact stakeholders
– Conduct the interview with opening, interview, and closing– Post interview follow‐up and confirmation
• Document and review the results
3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4Prepare, Conduct Document and
Confirm Elicitation
Interviews (continued)
Interviews Usage Considerations
Advantages Disadvantages
Encourages stakeholder participation and builds rapport
Requires stakeholders’ time and commitment
Simple, direct, and widely applicable Doesn’t always promote consensus
Allows discussion and explanation of information
Effectiveness depends on BA’s skill; BA might require training
Enables observations of non-verbal behavior
Depth depends on BA’s domain knowledge
Allows follow-up/probing questions with confirmation of understanding
Transcription and analysis of interview data can be complex and expensive
Maintains focus on clear objectives Risk of leading the interviewee
Interviewees express freely in private
BA may subtly bias documentation
Technique 9.18: Observation
• Purpose/Description– Learn details about current processes– Collect requirements through an assessment
of a SME’s work environment– Sometimes called “job shadowing” or
“following people around”– Two key approaches:
• Passive/invisible: BA observes but does not interact until process is complete
• Active/visible: BA observes, takes notes, and interacts with worker• Elements
– Prepare• Determine which stakeholders and prepare questions
– Observe• Introduce yourself, reassure the stakeholder, then observe
– Post‐observation wrap‐up documentation and confirmation• Note any new questions for review/clarification• Review findings with entire group, looking for variances
3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4Prepare, Conduct Document and
Confirm Elicitation
Observation (continued)
Observation Usage Considerations
Advantages Disadvantages
Realistic, hands-on feel of existing process
Not applicable for high degree of intellectual activity
Elicits informal information on how work is actually done
Exception processes may not occur during the observation
As-is only
Time consuming
Process disruption
Technique 9.20: Problem Tracking
• Purpose/Description– An organized approach to track, manage, and resolve defects,
issues, problems and risks during BA activities– Ensures resources are allocated to resolve issues– Enables root‐cause analysis identification
• Elements– Problem record
• Contains critical information about each problem/issue
– Problem management• A process for regularly evaluating the problem log and resolving the problems/issues it contains
– Metrics• Determine a set of metrics and key performance indicators(Technique 9.16) and report on them
3.3Document
Elicitation Results
Problem Tracking (continued)
Problem Tracking Usage Considerations
Advantages Disadvantages
Organized method for tracking and resolving risks, issues, and defects
If regular review does not occur, the list becomes outdated and/or irrelevant
Mechanism to communicate problems
If team members are not focused, then resolution is slow to non-existent
Review of problems provides team focus leading to resolution
Strict deadlines may not place resolution as a high priority
Technique 9.22: Prototyping
• Purpose/Description– Uncover and visualize interface requirements prior to solution
development– Horizontal or vertical– Throw‐away or evolutionary/functional
• Elements– Prepare for prototype
• Determine approach• Identify the functionality to be modeled
– Build prototype• Decompose prototype from high level navigational flow and iteratively add details
– Evaluate prototype• Verify by tracing interface elements to processes, data and business rules defined
• Validate user needs are met• “Test” prototype using scenarios
3.1, 3.2, 3.3Prepare, Conduct and Document Elicitation
Prototyping (continued)
Prototyping Usage Considerations
Advantages Disadvantages
Good for visual thinkers Can take a lot of time focus on how instead of what
Allows for early user interaction Might require assumptions about technology
Can be inexpensive (throw-away) May lead to unrealistic user expectations
Can show technical feasibility (vertical)
May overly constrain a solution if designers are under the impression the prototype must be matched precisely
Vehicle for designers to learn about user interface needs (evolutionary)
Technique 9.23: Requirements Workshop
• Purpose/Description– Provides structured way to capture requirements– aka: JAD, Joint Application Design (or Development)– Attended by a few key stakeholders and SMEs for a few days– Needs experienced neutral facilitator and a scribe– Can generate ideas for new features, develop consensus, or review
• Elements– Prepare for the workshop
• Clarify goals, objectives, stakeholders, agenda• Arrange logistics
– Conduct the workshop• Elicit, analyze and document requirements• Resolve conflict and gain consensus
– Post‐workshop wrap‐up• Follow up with open items; complete and distribute documentation
3.1, 3.2, 3.3Prepare, Conduct and Document Elicitation
Requirements Workshop (continued)
Requirements Workshop Usage Considerations
Advantages Disadvantages
Can elicit lots of requirements in a short time
Can be very difficult to schedule
Promotes collaboration, decision making, and mutual understanding
Success depends on facilitator’s expertise and participants’ knowledge
Can cost less than individual interviews by eliminating need for follow up and consensus building
Too many participants can slow the process and affect the schedule, but input from too few can result in biased or missed requirements
Immediate feedback and able to validate requirements
Technique 9.31: Survey or Questionnaire
• Purpose/Description– Collect information about customers, products, work practices,
and attitudes sometimes anonymously– Uses a set of written questions to the stakeholders and/or
SMEs; responses are analyzed and results distributed as appropriate
– Closed or open questions
• Elements– Prepare
• Define purpose, choose type, select sample group, select distribution methods, write questions, test survey, etc.
– Distribute the survey– Document the survey results
3.1, 3.2, 3.3Prepare, Conduct and Document Elicitation
Survey or Questionnaire (continued)
Survey or Questionnaire Usage Considerations
Advantages Disadvantages
Effective in obtaining quantitative data (closed questions)
Not well suited to collect information about actual behavior
Survey results may yield insights and opinions not easily obtained using other methods (open questions)
Low response rates – mitigate with the use of incentives or enforcement
Not a lot of time for responders May need follow-up questions/visits
Effective when used for geographically dispersed stakeholders
Use of open questions requires analysis
May result in large amount of responses
Specialized skills required to achieve unbiased results
Quick and inexpensive to administer Some questions go unanswered
Concepts that Support Success
•Have senior management sponsorship•Know who all the stakeholders are •Actively engage stakeholders •Link requirements to stakeholders•Use iteration to capture requirements •Link all requirements to business goals•Know how requirements will be measured
CSF’s to Elicitation
•Be visual•Use multiple techniques and types of models •Approach stakeholders from different directions •Change the stakeholders physical environment •Hear it twice and see it•Capture requirements by type •Link requirements to each other
Elicitation Barriers
•Time•Access to stakeholders •Stakeholders don’t know or are unable to articulate what they want•The number of stakeholders•Stakeholders are focused on the solution •Stakeholder prejudice•Analyst think they understand the stakeholder problem better than the stakeholders•Everybody believes everybody else is politically motivated