Slide 11: Change Control
Process
• Impact Analysis: Assess the effect of a proposed change on time,
cost, and project scope.
• Change Control Board (CCB): A team responsible for approving or
rejecting changes based on business value.
• Manage Requirements Volatility: Accept that requirements will
evolve and plan for it.
Slide 12: Requirements Effort
Tracking
• Why Track Requirements Effort?: Helps in accurate resource planning
and time management.
• Improving Future Estimates: Use the tracked data to improve
estimates for similar future projects.
• Effort Tracking Tools: Implement tools to record the time and
resources spent on requirement-related activities.
Slide 13: Reuse of Existing
Requirements
• Reusing Components: Leverage existing software modules or
templates where applicable.
• Reusing Data Models: Use existing data structures to avoid
duplication of effort.
• Past Documentation: Learn from previously documented
requirements to streamline current projects.
Slide 14: Prototyping and
Simulation
• Benefits of Prototyping: Provides a tangible representation of the
system early in development.
• Simulation Tools: Help in validating complex systems before full
development begins.
• Early Feedback: Involve stakeholders in reviewing prototypes to refine
requirements early
Slide 15: Tools and Techniques
• Requirements Management Tools: Use specialized software like IBM
DOORS, Jira, or Azure DevOps to manage and track requirements.
• Traceability Automation: Automatically link requirements to their
design, development, and testing phases.
• Change Control Automation: Use tools to streamline the approval
and implementation of requirement changes.
Slide 16: Best Practices for
Implementation
• Define a Requirements Engineering Process: Establish clear steps for
elicitation, analysis, validation, and management.
• Continuous Improvement: Conduct retrospectives to identify lessons
learned and improve future projects.
• Apply Techniques Thoughtfully: Choose practices that best fit the
project's unique needs, instead of following one-size-fits-all solutions.
Key Challenges and Solutions
• Challenge 1: Managing Changing Requirements: Solution: Implement
robust change control processes.
• Challenge 2: Aligning Stakeholders' Expectations: Solution: Engage
stakeholders early and maintain clear communication throughout the
project.
• Challenge 3: Avoiding Scope Creep: Solution: Prioritize requirements
and manage stakeholder expectations effectively.
Slide 18: Conclusion
• Summary: Effective requirements engineering leads to successful
projects.
• Key Takeaways: Use best practices in elicitation, validation,
management, and stakeholder communication.
• Final Thought: Continuously refine your approach to adapt to new
challenges and improve project outcomes.
Business Analyst
The Business Analyst
The business analyst is the individual who has the primary
responsibility to elicit, analyze, document, and validate
the needs of the project stakeholders.
The analyst serves as the principal interpreter through
which requirements flow between the customer group
and the software development team
many other communication pathways are also used
The BA plays a central role in collecting and disseminating
product information
The project manager takes the lead in communicating
project information
RQ 10
The business analyst
RQ 11
The business analyst role
Business analyst is a project role, not necessarily a job
title.
aka requirements analyst, systems analyst, requirements
engineer, requirements manager, application analyst, business
systems analyst, IT business analyst, and simply analyst.
One or more dedicated specialists could perform the role
on a given project or it could be assigned to team
members who also perform other project functions
RQ 12
The BA tasks
The analyst must first understand the business objectives
for the project and then define user, functional, and
quality requirements that allow teams to estimate and
plan the project and to design, build, and verify the
product.
The BA converts vague customer notions into clear
specifications that guide the software team’s work.
RQ 13
The typical BA tasks
1. Define business requirements
2. Plan the requirements approach
3. Identify project stakeholders and user classes
4. Elicit requirements
5. Analyze requirements
6. Document requirements
7. Communicate requirements
8. Lead requirements validation
9. Facilitate requirements prioritization
10. Manage requirements
RQ 14
Essential BA skills
Listening skills
Interviewing and questioning skills
Thinking on your feet
Analytical skills
Systems thinking skills
Learning skills
Facilitation skills
Leadership skills
Observational skills
Communication skills
Organizational skills
Modeling skills
Interpersonal skills
RQ
Creativity 15
Essential analyst knowledge
BAs need a breadth of knowledge, much of which is gained through experience.
They need to understand contemporary requirements engineering practices and
how to apply them in the context of various software development life cycles.
thread requirements development and management activities through the
entire project life span.
An analyst with a sound understanding of project management, development
life cycles, risk management, and quality engineering can help prevent
requirements issues from torpedoing the project.
BAs benefit from a basic level of knowledge about the architecture and
operating environment, so that they can engage in technical conversations
about priorities and non-functional requirements.
Knowledge of the business, the industry, and the organization are powerful
assets for an effective BA.
The business-savvy analyst can minimize miscommunications with users. Analysts who
understand the organization and business domains often detect unstated assumptions and
implicit requirements.
RQ 16
Well-rounded BA
No matter what his background, a
creative business analyst can apply
it to enhance his effectiveness.
The analyst needs to gain the
knowledge and skills he is lacking,
build on any past experiences, and
practice performing the BA tasks to
become more proficient.
All of these help create the well-
rounded BA
RQ 17
Summary
The expectation gap
Stakeholders, Customers and Users
Rights of customers
Responsibilities of customers
Decision making and agreement
The business analyst
The BA tasks, skills and knowledge
RQ 19
