Requirements Workshop - JAD Session (Example workshop agenda)

Summary

This video explains how to conduct effective requirements workshops using the JAD (Joint Application Development) method. It emphasizes preparation, clear agenda structure, and specific techniques such as the Moscow method for prioritizing features and functional decomposition for defining system requirements. The process includes engaging stakeholders, focusing on system needs rather than implementation details, and applying agile principles when necessary. The session concludes with a wrap-up of achievements, deliverables, and next steps to ensure clear follow-through. This approach ensures productive, focused workshops that align business and IT stakeholders.

Takeaways

• 😀 Clear and detailed agenda items are essential to a successful workshop, ensuring participants know their roles and expectations.
• 😀 Pre-session materials, such as business cases and feature lists, should be shared to allow participants to come prepared.
• 😀 The Moscow method (Must Have, Should Have, Could Have, Won’t Have) is used for prioritizing features during the workshop.
• 😀 The workshop should aim to break down features into user-level requirements using functional decomposition, creating clear, actionable items.
• 😀 Business stakeholders focus on requirements that represent their specific user groups during the feature breakdown.
• 😀 In agile environments, the feature breakdown will translate into user stories, a process known as story decomposition.
• 😀 Lunch should be scheduled off-site to allow participants to rest and recharge without interrupting the session.
• 😀 Functional requirements are derived from stakeholder requirements and focus on what the system needs to do to meet user needs.
• 😀 IT representatives should focus on feasibility and clarifying questions, while business stakeholders provide input on system requirements.
• 😀 In agile environments, story elaboration and defining acceptance criteria are iterative and typically occur over several workshops or sprints.
• 😀 The workshop concludes with a wrap-up session that reviews accomplishments, deliverables, action items, and next steps to ensure clarity and alignment moving forward.

Q & A

What is the purpose of the agenda in a requirements workshop?

The agenda serves to clearly define each activity, its time-boxed duration, responsible parties, and detailed descriptions of tasks. This structure helps participants understand their roles and expectations, ensuring the workshop runs smoothly.

Why is it important to include descriptions for each agenda item?

Including descriptions for each agenda item removes ambiguity, clarifies expectations, and helps participants prepare for the session. It ensures that everyone is on the same page regarding what needs to be done.

What is the Moscow method, and how is it used in the workshop?

The Moscow method is a prioritization technique used to classify features into categories: Must have, Should have, Could have, and Won't have. It helps stakeholders focus on what is most important and feasible, ensuring that critical features are prioritized.

What is functional decomposition, and why is it necessary in the workshop?

Functional decomposition is the process of breaking down features into smaller, manageable components, such as stakeholder requirements. This technique helps to ensure that all user needs are identified and clearly defined for development.

How does a business analyst use the '5Ws and H' method in a requirements workshop?

The '5Ws and H' method (Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How) is used to ask focused questions to gather comprehensive information. A business analyst particularly uses the 'Who' and 'What' to understand user needs, and 'How' to delve into existing concepts like business rules and calculations.

What role do IT representatives play during the functional requirements session?

IT representatives provide input on the feasibility of requirements, ask clarifying questions to ensure understanding, and help ensure that the system’s requirements are technically sound. However, they should avoid discussing implementation details, which is reserved for later design-focused sessions.

What is the key difference between agile and traditional environments regarding requirements workshops?

In agile environments, requirements are developed iteratively, and stories are refined over multiple workshops. This contrasts with traditional environments, where more detailed requirements may be defined upfront in a single session.

Why is it important to break down features into user stories in an agile environment?

Breaking down features into user stories allows for more manageable, actionable tasks that can be progressively detailed over time. This approach supports agile principles by focusing on iterative development and accommodating changing requirements.

What is meant by 'story elaboration' in an agile environment?

Story elaboration is the process of further breaking down user stories into detailed acceptance criteria, which define the conditions that must be met for a story to be considered complete. This is an ongoing process, often occurring just before a story is assigned to a sprint.

What should be done during the in-session wrap-up of a requirements workshop?

During the in-session wrap-up, the facilitator provides a summary of what was accomplished, including any decisions made, deliverables, and action items. This ensures clarity on the next steps and helps participants understand what to expect after the workshop.