business analysis fundamentals – writing good business requirements

BA Intelligence

Business Analysis Fundamentals

The Cornerstone of a Good Business Analyst-Writing Good Business Requirements

By Ken Shome (CBAP)

BA Fundamentals: Writing Good Requirements

• Clearly stated requirements are listed as one of the top reasons a project is successful.

• 50-70 % of projects fail due to poorly stated requirements

• Good Requirements are one of the key determinants of project “success”.

How do you

write a good

requirement?

• A good requirement should have the following characteristics:

• Specific• Measureable• Achievable• Relevant• Traceable• Evaluated • Reviewed

BA Fundamentals: Writing Good Requirements

Specific

• Individual: Each statement is a single element

• Clear: Each statement is clearly understandable

• Precise: Each statement is precise and concise

BA Fundamentals: Writing Good Requirements

Example of a Specific requirement

• ID BR-1.1.1• Business Activity: Generate Case to Legal• Requirement: Should have the ability for the user to refer an

approved case to Legal.

BA Fundamentals: Writing Good Requirements

• Example of a poorly stated requirement

BA Fundamentals: Writing Good Requirements

BR-1.1.1 Generate case to Legal

If the Case is ‘Approved’ and it is a Civil matter, the Case will be referred to Legal for them to pursue in the courts. The case will be pre-populated with information to support the case.

BA Fundamentals: Writing Good Requirements

Measurable

• Testable: each statement can be validated/verified

Example of a immeasurable requirement

BA Fundamentals: Writing Good Requirements

BR-1.1.2 Validate for Completeness

The Applications team must be able to perform a google like search for all applications to validate the application for completeness before an assessment can be performed.

Example of a Measurable requirement• ID: BR-1.1.2• Should have the ability for the user to perform a search for

applications with the following search attributes:• Application ID• First Name of Applicant• Last Name of Applicant• Date of Application• Application Type

BA Fundamentals: Writing Good Requirements

Achievable

• The requirement must be realistic to be achievable.

BA Fundamentals: Writing Good Requirements

Example of a unachievable requirement

BA Fundamentals: Writing Good Requirements

BR-1.1.3 System

Should have the ability for the system to work on all desktops and tablets.

Example of a Achievable requirementBR-1.1.3Should have the ability for the system to be compatible with the following operating systems:• Microsoft Windows 8+• Android v5+• iOS v10+

BA Fundamentals: Writing Good Requirements

BA Fundamentals: Writing Good Requirements

Relevant

• The requirement has a rationale to justify the requirement

Example of a relevant requirement. ID: BR-0001Rationale: The Certification team is required to notify existing customers their certification is expiring and are required to submit a renewal application prior to the expiry date or their certification will be suspended.

Requirement: Should have the ability for the user to send a certification expiry reminder notification to a customer.

Rule: • Accreditation reminders notification may be sent up to 3 months prior

to the expiry date. • No reminders may be sent after the due date.

BA Fundamentals: Writing Good Requirements

Traceable

• Each requirement is a single element with a unique traceable ID

BA Fundamentals: Writing Good Requirements

BA Fundamentals: Writing Good Requirements

Evaluated

• Define the value and benefit of the requirement.

Reviewed

• The requirements should be verified and validated by peers, stakeholders, SMEs and members of the project team

BA Fundamentals: Writing Good Requirements

BA Fundamentals: Writing Good Requirements

BR-1.1.4

Generate Infringement Record

The Infringements team requires ability to generate their own Case Record, and an option to allocate the Case record immediately to a Infringement Officer.Upon creating a Case Record, the system will allocate a unique Case Identifier.Upon creating a Case Record that has no preceding Record, the system will allocate a unique Identifier, and link this to the Case Record.The Infringements Team requires the ability to link a newly generated Case Record to an existing Record.

Example of a poorly stated requirement

Revised Requirements:• ID: BR-1.1.4 • Should have the ability for Infringements team to create a case record with

the following attributes:– Case ID– Date of Infringement– Infringement Type– Name, etc ( A complete set of attributes should be included).

• ID: BR-1.1.5 • Should have the ability of Infringements team to allocate the case to an

investigator• ID: BR-1.1.6 • Should have the ability for the system to allocate a unique identifier to a new

case record • ID: BR-1.1.7• Should have the ability for the Infringements team to link a new case record to

an existing case.

BA Fundamentals: Writing Good Requirements

What should the business expect from your requirements?• Describe clearly what stakeholders need• Address the business problems and identify opportunities.• The value to the business of addressing the problem.• An understanding of the impact of not addressing the

problem.

BA Fundamentals: Writing Good Requirements

• How do we get BAs to write good requirements consistently?• What strategies can we apply to ensure long-term results?

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