Requirements Analysis
Eliciting, documenting, and managing requirements, to meet business and project objectives and facilitate the successful implementation of the product or service.
Level 1 Demonstrates introductory understanding, directing people to the appropriate source for further information.
BEHAVIORS
- Identifies linkages to organizational goals and objectives.
- Describes project context.
- Documents project assumptions.
- Differentiates between processes, sub-processes, and tasks.
- Identifies process inputs, outputs, and process flows/chains.
- Answers straight-forward questions on process implementation or improvement.
- Identifies key participants for requirements elicitation.
- Validates completed project activities against requirements.
QUESTIONS
- Describe a project where you were asked to identify project requirements or deliverables.
Probing Questions
* What was the project?
* What were the issues in identifying the requirements?
* What participants did you interact with?
* How did you prioritize deliverables?
* How often did you revisit the requirements over the life of the project?
- Describe a time when there was more than one way to accomplish a task.
Probing Questions
* What was the task?
* What were the different ways to accomplish the task?
* Which did you choose?
* What did you base your decision on?
* What would you do differently if you had the task to do again?
Level 2 Applies the competency in common situations that present limited difficulties, working with a moderate level of guidance.
BEHAVIORS
- Identifies how requirements apply to organizational objectives.
- Plans business analysis activities.
- Prioritizes project requirements.
- Defines the traceability matrix.
- Creates simple process flow diagrams, use case diagrams, and user stories.
- Evaluates requirements using techniques such as SWOT Analysis and root-cause analysis and affinity diagrams.
- Develops low-level requirement rule models (e.g., decision trees, data models).
- Defines the solution evaluation process.
QUESTIONS
- Provide an example of a project you worked on, where you did not have all of the information you required.
Probing Questions
* What was the project?
* Why was the project information incomplete?
* What did you do to get the missing information?
* How did you deal with the information gaps?
* What was the outcome?
- Describe the analysis tools and techniques you have used in previous projects.
Probing Questions
* What tools were used on which projects?
* Why were those tools and techniques used?
* How would you have changed the tools or techniques, if you could have?
* Which are the most effective tools and techniques available to you?
Level 3 Applies the competency in the full range of typical situations, requiring guidance in only the most complex or new situations.
BEHAVIORS
- Develops complex models with multiple dependencies or that require the input of multiple groups.
- Creates or revises processes according to improvement plans and objectives.
- Develops learning solutions to educate employees on new or revised processes.
- Manages interdependencies between processes to ensure effective operations.
- Evaluates processes after improvements and, on an ongoing basis, to determine the need for further revisions.
- Provides recommendations including cost-benefit analysis for the most viable option when multiple alternatives are presented.
QUESTIONS
- Provide an example of a time a gap was found that threatened the project.
Probing Questions
* What was the gap?
* What should have been done to prevent the gap from occurring?
* How did you respond to this threat?
* What adjustments were made to the project plan?
* What was the outcome?
- Tell me about a time when you performed a feasibility study.
Probing Questions
* What was the study?
* What type of analysis did you perform?
* What tools or techniques did you employ to do the analysis?
* What were your findings?
* How were the findings dealt with?
Level 4 Applies the competency in new or complex situations and advises others.
BEHAVIORS
- Reviews the evaluation results from multiple processes to determine departmental or organization areas needing improvement.
- Establishes objectives for process implementation or improvement.
- Develops guidelines for obtaining, tracking and reporting of process improvement feedback.
- Scans the business environment to identify best practices in process improvement that can be incorporated into current processes.
- Defines organizational decision-making processes.
QUESTIONS
- Tell me about a time when you helped to develop new tools or processes to improve business results or determine areas of improvement.
Probing Questions
* What were the circumstances surrounding this situation?
* What issue were you trying to resolve?
* Why were the existing tools or processes failing?
* What tools or processes were developed?
* How were they received?
- Provide an example of a change to the organizational decision-making process you implemented.
Probing Questions
* How were the decisions implemented previously?
* What was the change you proposed?
* Was the change successfully implemented?
* What metrics were gathered to show if the change was successful or not?
* What were the findings?
Level 5 Develops new approaches and methods in the area. Is recognized as an expert within the organization.
BEHAVIORS
- Champions large process improvement or implementation initiatives.
- Evaluates process management tools, processes, and systems for use over the full organization.
- Review processes to ensure alignment with business requirements across the organization.
QUESTIONS
- Describe a time when you led a large process improvement or implemented a new process initiative.
Probing Questions
* What was the process?
* Why was this new process required?
* How did you determine there was a deficiency?
* What was the solution you implemented?
- Provide an example of a 'best practice' you championed within the organization or industry.
Probing Questions
* What was the goal you were working towards?
* How did your proposed 'best practice' better achieve that goal?
* How did you roll out the best practice?
* How was the best practice received and implemented?
* Was the 'best practice' subsequently revised due to new technology, or other change?