To truly and accurately identify customer need, one has to be able to communicate effectively. One aspect of effective communication in a requirements elicitation context is the ability to organize and ask the right questions in the right way.

To that point, I’d like to refer you to one of my all-time favorite articles on customer interviews by Esther Derby. Below is a synopsis of a few of her key points on how to prepare for and frame an interview intermingled with some thoughts of my own….

The idea of a “requirements workbench” is one that the guys over at Requirements.net have been consistently socializing over the past few months, and one that I have been following with interest.

Requirements.net has recently posted a Business Analyst Workbench Whitepaper and a Workbench Buyer’s Guide. To give the general gist of the workbench without stealing Req.net’s thunder, the workbench concept includes requirements management capabilities, but then goes beyond that to support the analyst through elicitation, elaboration and communication and validation activities.

The business analyst’s job is not complete if the requirements are written and accurate but not precise. The key is to find a way of articulating requirements that is as precise and as easy to read by the target audience as possible. I’ve found that as my requirements become more precise, the churn around language and semantics decreases significantly. I suspect that many BA’s may find the same to be true.