Submitted by Jamal Moustafaev on Thu, 05/01/2014 - 15:11

Course Overview

Business requirements elicitation (i.e. the initial phase of product scope definition) is underdeveloped in today’s project management science with the exception of IT and software development sectors, where scope definition (aka business analysis) is although relatively advanced, but excluded from the project manager’s domain of responsibilities.

As a result, most industries have a very prominent knowledge gap in project scope planning. A gap that starts some time after the Project Charter has been completed and approved and ends somewhere around the point when the work commences based on the detailed blueprints, technical drawings and bills of materials.

And yet, scope definition remains the key ingredient in the success of any project. After all, as one of my clients used to say, “If one does not understand completely what he or she is going to build, what is the point of engaging in scheduling or budgeting?”

This workshop is dedicated to the requirements elicitation, analysis, documentation and planning on the engineering, product, IT, software development and enterprise projects.

Why You Should Attend?

Recent studies indicate that only 32% of our projects can be considered successful, while 44% are challenged (i.e. grossly over the budget and/or late) and 24% are outright failures (i.e. cancelled by the customers before they are even completed). Further research shows that the lion’s share of this lack of success can be attributed to poor requirements elicitation, insufficient planning and inadequate project control.

This course will demonstrate to the participants how to perform these tasks properly and efficiently by teaching them skills, tools, techniques and economic principles that transcend various company structures, environments and project management philosophies.

Benefits of the Course

Every course participant is expected to understand how to improve the quality of the products delivered on their projects, decrease project durations and budgets and improve both internal and external stakeholder satisfaction levels by learning the following techniques:

Understand different types of Requirements, Users and Customers
Learn about High Level Scope Elicitation
Find out about effective Detailed Requirements Elicitation
Discover how to Document Requirements properly
Understand the key techniques of the Final Product Design
Learn about Work Breakdown Structures
Find out about great stakeholder and scope management methods
Understand how document walkthroughs, inspections and peer reviews can save you money and time on your projects

Who Should Attend?

Experienced requirements analysts in all industries
Experienced project managers
Individuals who have been recently promoted to the project management positions
Engineers, architects and the product managers who all had scope definition expertise for at least several centuries, but may benefit from 1) familiarizing themselves with the project management perspective on scope management and 2) learn some fresh new ideas from other fields, especially from software development
All developers, architects and testers who are essential to the success of any technology project
Technical people who have been recently promoted to the requirement analysts positions
Project managers who work on projects and frequently have to assume requirements analysts responsibilities
Managers and directors who want to better understand the challenges faces by requirements engineers and want to learn some universal skills
Business representatives (e.g. sales, marketing and finance people) who frequently have to work with technical teams
Professionals who frequently have to assume project management responsibilities

To download a full course brochure, please click here.

About the Author

Jamal Moustafaev, MBA, PMP – president and founder of Thinktank Consulting is an internationally acclaimed expert and speaker in the areas of project/portfolio management, scope definition, process improvement and corporate training. Jamal Moustafaev has done work for private-sector companies and government organizations in Canada, US, Asia, Europe and Middle East. Read Jamal’s Blog @ www.thinktankconsulting.ca