Improve Requirements Gathering
Back to basics: great products are built on great requirements.
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A poor requirements process results in:
- Rework due to poor requirements leading to costly overruns.
- Final deliverables that are of poor quality.
- Final deliverables being implemented late.
- Predicted gains from deployed applications not being realized.
- Low feature utilization rates by end users.
- High levels of end-user dissatisfaction.
- High levels of project sponsor dissatisfaction.
- Breaches in regulatory requirements.
- Incompatibilities with legacy systems.
- Frustrated teams within IT and the business.
Developing a strong set of standard operating procedures for requirements gathering translates to:
- Reduced project rework.
- Better alignment of project deliverables to underlying stakeholder needs.
- Reduced cycle times for projects.
- Reduced stakeholder frustration with project outcomes.
- Strong return on investment for deployed functionality.
- Greater alignment between IT and business teams.
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Onsite Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn’t enough, we offer low-cost onsite delivery of our Project Workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a road map in place to complete your project successfully.
Book NowModule 1: Define the Current State and Target State for Requirements Gathering
The Purpose
- Create a clear understanding of the target needs for the requirements gathering process.
Key Benefits Achieved
- A comprehensive review of the current state for requirements gathering across people, processes, and technology.
- Identification of major challenges (and opportunity areas) that should be improved via the requirements gathering optimization project.
| Activities: | Outputs: | |
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| 1.1 | Understand current state and document existing requirement process steps. |
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| 1.2 | Identify stakeholder, process, outcome, and training challenges. |
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| 1.3 | Conduct target state analysis. |
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| 1.4 | Establish requirements gathering metrics. |
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| 1.5 | Identify project levels 1/2/3/4. |
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| 1.6 | Match control points to project levels 1/2/3/4. |
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| 1.7 | Conduct project scoping and identify stakeholders. |
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Module 2: Define the Elicitation Process
The Purpose
- Create best practices for conducting and structuring elicitation of business requirements.
Key Benefits Achieved
- A repeatable framework for initial elicitation of requirements.
- Prescribed, project-specific elicitation techniques.
| Activities: | Outputs: | |
|---|---|---|
| 2.1 | Understand elicitation techniques and which ones to use. |
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| 2.2 | Document and confirm elicitation techniques. |
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| 2.3 | Create a requirements gathering elicitation plan for your project. |
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| 2.4 | Build the operating model for your project. |
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| 2.5 | Define SIPOC-MC for your selected project. |
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| 2.6 | Practice using interviews with business stakeholders to build use case models. |
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| 2.7 | Practice using table-top testing with business stakeholders to build use case models. |
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Module 3: Analyze and Validate Requirements
The Purpose
- Build a standardized framework for analysis and validation of business requirements.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Policies for requirements categorization, prioritization, and validation.
- Improved project value as a result of better prioritization using the MOSCOW model.
| Activities: | Outputs: | |
|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | Categorize gathered requirements for use. |
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| 3.2 | Consolidate similar requirements and eliminate redundancies. |
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| 3.3 | Practice prioritizing requirements. |
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| 3.4 | Build the business process model for the project. |
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| 3.5 | Rightsize the requirements documentation template. |
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| 3.6 | Present the business requirements document to business stakeholders. |
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| 3.7 | Identify testing opportunities. |
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Module 4: Establish Change Control Processes
The Purpose
- Create formalized change control processes for requirements gathering.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Reduced interjections and rework – strengthened formal evaluation and control of change requests to project requirements.
| Activities: | Outputs: | |
|---|---|---|
| 4.1 | Review existing CR process. |
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| 4.2 | Review change control process best practices and optimization opportunities. |
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| 4.3 | Build guidelines for escalating changes. |
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| 4.4 | Confirm your requirements gathering process for project levels 1/2/3/4. |
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Module 5: Establish Ongoing Governance for Requirements Gathering
The Purpose
- Establish governance structures and ongoing oversight for business requirements gathering.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Consistent governance and oversight of the requirements gathering process, resulting in fewer “wild west” scenarios.
- Better repeatability for the new requirements gathering process, resulting in less wasted time and effort at the outset of projects.
| Activities: | Outputs: | |
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| 5.1 | Define RACI for the requirements gathering process. |
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| 5.2 | Define the requirements gathering steering committee purpose. |
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| 5.3 | Define RACI for requirements gathering steering committee. |
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| 5.4 | Define the agenda and cadence for the requirements gathering steering committee. |
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| 5.5 | Identify and analyze stakeholders for communication plan. |
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| 5.6 | Create communication management plan. |
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| 5.7 | Build the action plan. |
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