Root Cause doesn’t have to hurt like a Root Canal – Five Proven Techniques for Understanding Business Needs
Needs are arguably the most important input to any business analysis effort. Why is that? For one thing, the BA Body of Knowledge from IIBA literally starts with Needs as the core input when planning the BA approach. Needs are also the primary input when eliciting requirements, which leads to virtually every other task in the BABOK.
The PMI Standard for Business Analysis includes Needs Assessment as its initial domain. Outputs of that domain are key inputs to all but one of the other domains: the situation statement, business case, and project charter.
Given the importance of Needs, it is critical for business analysts to have tools and techniques to get to the root cause of business problems and opportunities. Without them, it is difficult to understand the current situation and solve the right problem. This presentation covers five essential techniques for uncovering and understanding Needs. You will leave the session feeling confident you can begin applying any of the techniques in your next effort.
Learning Objectives
Attendees will be able to:
- Describe the importance of Needs in the BA Core Concept Model.
- List which techniques most apply to certain situations.
- Be in position to use any of the techniques to uncover and understand business needs.
Download the presentation here (username and password needed).