Physical, Mathematical, Computer and Life Sciences Information Technology and Computer Sciences

Requirements Analysis Methods and Techniques Training

SAQA US 259277 | NQF 6 | Credits 25 | Duration 22 Days
From $3,596 per delegate

Description

This course equips learners with the skills to systematically analyse, document, and validate requirements for business systems and processes. Participants will learn to apply various techniques to elicit, prioritise, and manage requirements effectively, ensuring alignment with organisational goals and stakeholder needs.

Learning Outcomes

  • Apply a range of requirements elicitation techniques to gather stakeholder needs.
  • Analyse and prioritise requirements using structured methods such as MoSCoW or Kano.
  • Document requirements clearly in formats such as user stories, use cases, or functional specifications.
  • Validate requirements through reviews, prototyping, and acceptance criteria.
  • Manage requirements changes using a traceability matrix and change control processes.

Target Audience

Business analysts, systems analysts, project managers, and anyone involved in defining or managing requirements for projects or process improvements.

Prerequisites

None — open enrollment.

Course Outline

Day 1: Introduction to Requirements Analysis

Objectives:
• Define requirements analysis and its importance in systems development
• Understand the role of the business analyst
• Identify key stakeholders and their interests
• Differentiate between functional and non-functional requirements

Topics:
• Overview of systems development lifecycle
• Role and responsibilities of a business analyst
• Stakeholder identification and analysis
• Types of requirements: functional, non-functional, constraints
• Introduction to requirements engineering

Day 2: Requirements Elicitation Techniques - Part 1

Objectives:
• Describe various elicitation techniques
• Conduct effective interviews
• Facilitate workshops and focus groups
• Apply observation and document analysis

Topics:
• Interviewing techniques: structured, semi-structured, unstructured
• Workshop facilitation: brainstorming, JAD sessions
• Focus groups: planning and execution
• Observation methods: active, passive
• Document analysis: reviewing existing documentation

Day 3: Requirements Elicitation Techniques - Part 2

Objectives:
• Use surveys and questionnaires effectively
• Apply prototyping for requirements discovery
• Employ use cases and user stories
• Select appropriate elicitation techniques for different contexts

Topics:
• Survey and questionnaire design
• Prototyping: throwaway, evolutionary
• Use case diagrams and narratives
• User stories: format and acceptance criteria
• Technique selection criteria

Day 4: Requirements Documentation and Specification

Objectives:
• Write clear and concise requirements statements
• Structure a Business Requirements Document (BRD)
• Create a Software Requirements Specification (SRS)
• Apply standards like IEEE 830

Topics:
• Requirements writing guidelines: clarity, completeness, consistency
• BRD structure and content
• SRS components: introduction, overall description, specific requirements
• IEEE 830 standard overview
• Requirements traceability matrix

Day 5: Requirements Modeling - Data Modeling

Objectives:
• Create Entity-Relationship Diagrams (ERDs)
• Define entities, attributes, and relationships
• Normalize data models
• Understand data dictionaries

Topics:
• ERD notation: Chen, crow's foot
• Entities, attributes, keys
• Relationships: one-to-one, one-to-many, many-to-many
• Normalization: 1NF, 2NF, 3NF
• Data dictionary components

Day 6: Requirements Modeling - Process Modeling

Objectives:
• Develop Data Flow Diagrams (DFDs)
• Create flowcharts and activity diagrams
• Use Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN)
• Understand process decomposition

Topics:
• DFD levels: context, level 0, level 1
• Flowchart symbols and conventions
• Activity diagrams in UML
• BPMN basics: events, activities, gateways
• Process decomposition techniques

Day 7: Requirements Modeling - Object-Oriented Modeling

Objectives:
• Create class diagrams
• Develop sequence diagrams
• Use state machine diagrams
• Apply UML for requirements modeling

Topics:
• Class diagram notation: classes, attributes, methods, associations
• Sequence diagram: lifelines, messages, activation bars
• State machine diagrams: states, transitions, events
• UML overview and diagram types
• Case study: modeling a library system

Day 8: Requirements Analysis and Validation

Objectives:
• Perform requirements analysis: completeness, consistency, feasibility
• Validate requirements with stakeholders
• Use techniques like reviews and inspections
• Prioritize requirements using MoSCoW

Topics:
• Requirements analysis criteria
• Validation techniques: peer review, walkthrough, inspection
• Requirements prioritization: MoSCoW, Kano model
• Requirements sign-off process
• Managing requirements changes

Day 9: Requirements Management and Traceability

Objectives:
• Establish a requirements management plan
• Use traceability matrices
• Manage requirements throughout the project lifecycle
• Handle requirements versioning and baselines

Topics:
• Requirements management plan components
• Traceability: forward, backward, bidirectional
• Requirements lifecycle: from elicitation to retirement
• Version control and baselines
• Tools for requirements management

Day 10: Stakeholder Management and Communication

Objectives:
• Identify stakeholder communication needs
• Develop a communication plan
• Manage stakeholder expectations
• Resolve conflicts and negotiate requirements

Topics:
• Stakeholder analysis: power/interest grid
• Communication planning: frequency, channels, formats
• Expectation management techniques
• Conflict resolution: win-win, compromise
• Negotiation skills for requirements

Day 11: Agile Requirements - User Stories and Backlog

Objectives:
• Write effective user stories
• Prioritize and estimate user stories
• Manage product backlog
• Apply acceptance test-driven development (ATDD)

Topics:
• User story format: as a, I want, so that
• INVEST criteria for user stories
• Backlog grooming and prioritization
• Story points and planning poker
• ATDD: writing acceptance tests

Day 12: Agile Requirements - Epics, Themes, and Roadmaps

Objectives:
• Decompose epics into user stories
• Organize themes and releases
• Create product roadmaps
• Use story mapping for backlog visualization

Topics:
• Epics vs. user stories
• Themes and release planning
• Product roadmap creation
• User story mapping: activities, tasks, stories
• Case study: e-commerce platform

Day 13: Requirements for Data and Analytics Projects

Objectives:
• Elicit data requirements
• Define data quality rules
• Specify reporting and analytics needs
• Understand data governance basics

Topics:
• Data requirements elicitation: interviews, data profiling
• Data quality dimensions: accuracy, completeness, timeliness
• Reporting requirements: dashboards, KPIs
• Analytics requirements: descriptive, predictive, prescriptive
• Data governance principles

Day 14: Requirements for Integration and Interfaces

Objectives:
• Specify system interface requirements
• Understand API and service contracts
• Document data mapping and transformation rules
• Address non-functional requirements for integration

Topics:
• Interface requirements: input/output, protocol, format
• API specification: REST, SOAP
• Service contracts and SLAs
• Data mapping techniques
• Non-functional requirements: performance, security, reliability

Day 15: Requirements for Security and Compliance

Objectives:
• Identify security requirements
• Apply compliance requirements (POPIA, GDPR)
• Conduct threat modeling
• Specify authentication and authorization needs

Topics:
• Security requirements: confidentiality, integrity, availability
• Compliance frameworks: POPIA, GDPR, PCI-DSS
• Threat modeling: STRIDE, attack trees
• Authentication: password, MFA, SSO
• Authorization: RBAC, ABAC

Day 16: Requirements for Mobile and Web Applications

Objectives:
• Elicit mobile-specific requirements
• Address usability and user experience
• Specify responsive design requirements
• Consider platform constraints

Topics:
• Mobile requirements: device, OS, screen size
• Usability heuristics and UX requirements
• Responsive design: breakpoints, layouts
• Platform constraints: iOS, Android, web
• Accessibility requirements (WCAG)

Day 17: Requirements Testing and Verification

Objectives:
• Write testable requirements
• Create acceptance criteria
• Develop test cases from requirements
• Perform requirements-based testing

Topics:
• Testability criteria: unambiguous, measurable
• Acceptance criteria: given/when/then
• Test case design: equivalence partitioning, boundary value analysis
• Requirements traceability to tests
• User acceptance testing (UAT) planning

Day 18: Tools for Requirements Management

Objectives:
• Evaluate requirements management tools
• Use JIRA for requirements tracking
• Apply Confluence for documentation
• Explore other tools like IBM DOORS

Topics:
• Tool selection criteria: scalability, integration, cost
• JIRA: issues, epics, user stories
• Confluence: pages, templates, macros
• IBM DOORS: modules, links, baselines
• Comparison of tools: pros and cons

Day 19: Advanced Topics - Requirements in DevOps and Continuous Delivery

Objectives:
• Understand requirements in DevOps context
• Apply continuous requirements validation
• Use feature flags and A/B testing
• Integrate requirements with CI/CD pipelines

Topics:
• DevOps principles and requirements impact
• Continuous validation: automated acceptance tests
• Feature flags: toggling requirements
• A/B testing for requirements validation
• Requirements in CI/CD: versioning, traceability

Day 20: Capstone Project and Course Review

Objectives:
• Apply all learned techniques to a real-world scenario
• Present requirements documentation
• Receive feedback and improve
• Review key concepts and prepare for assessment

Topics:
• Capstone project: from elicitation to specification
• Group presentation and peer review
• Feedback integration
• Course summary and key takeaways
• Assessment preparation and Q&A

Practicals

64 hours of practicals To be conducted online or on-campus or in-house
Overview

The practicals allow learners to apply requirements analysis techniques in simulated and real-world scenarios. Through hands-on exercises, learners practice elicitation, modeling, documentation, and validation, reinforcing theoretical concepts and building competence in using industry-standard tools.

Practical Activities
  • Elicitation Techniques Role-Play — Learners conduct mock interviews, facilitate a JAD workshop, and administer a survey to elicit requirements for a case study system. (12h)
  • Requirements Modeling Lab — Using a case study, learners create data models (ERD), process models (DFD, BPMN), and UML diagrams (class, sequence, state machine) using modeling tools. (16h)
  • Requirements Documentation and Management — Learners write a BRD and SRS for a given project, populate a traceability matrix, and use JIRA to manage the product backlog. (12h)
  • Agile Requirements Sprint Simulation — In teams, learners participate in a simulated sprint: write user stories, estimate with planning poker, create a story map, and conduct a sprint review. (12h)
  • Capstone Project: Full Requirements Cycle — Teams work on a comprehensive project from elicitation to validation, producing all artifacts and presenting to stakeholders. (12h)

Summatives

Each delegate is assessed continuously throughout the course via daily exercises, scored practical assignments, and a final summative test at the end.

Practical Assignments — 30%

Practical assignments are observed and scored against a rubric during the practical sessions. Each delegate's practical mark is averaged into a single 100% score and contributes 30% to the final total.

Daily Exercises — 20%

Every training day ends with a multiple-choice exercise scored out of 100%. The scores from each daily exercise are averaged across the duration of the course to produce a Daily Average mark, which contributes 20% to the final total.

Final Test — 50%

On the last day a final summative test is written. It is a multiple-choice paper with multiple-answer questions: each question may have more than one correct option, and a single wrong selection on a question marks the entire question wrong — no partial credit. The final test is scored out of 100% and contributes 50% to the overall mark.

Final Total
Component Out of Weight
Practical Assignments (rubric-scored) 100% 30%
Daily Average (multiple choice) 100% 20%
Final Test (multi-answer multiple choice) 100% 50%
Final Total 100%

All marks are recorded on the AATICD LMS and visible to each learner under their account.

Certificate

Certificate of Completion

Awarded to delegates who achieve an overall mark of 50% or higher on the Final Total (Practicals 30% + Daily Average 20% + Final Test 50%).

How it works
  • Certificates are auto-generated on the AATICD LMS as soon as the marks pass the 50% threshold.
  • Each certificate is a branded PDF with the delegate's name, the course title, the unit standard ID, NQF level, credits, and the date of issue.
  • You can download or print your certificate from your LMS dashboard at any time after issue — there's no reissue fee and no expiry date.
  • If you scored under 50% you can sit the final test again at the next scheduled session at no extra cost.
Where to find it

Sign in to the LMS, open your dashboard, and your certificates appear under My Certificates. Each entry has a View / Download button and a print option.

Training Discounts

Group discounts apply automatically — the more delegates you enrol, the greater the saving. Discounts are calculated at 3% per 5 delegates, scaling up to 40% off for 100+ delegates.

Delegates Discount
5 3% off
10 6% off
15 9% off
20 12% off
25 15% off
30 18% off
50 30% off
75 35% off
100 40% off

3% discount per 5 delegates, up to 40% off for 100+ delegates. Contact us for a custom group quote.

Upcoming Training Sessions
Online training — attend live sessions from anywhere via our virtual classroom.
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On-Campus training — face-to-face sessions at our training venues across Africa and beyond.
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In-House training — we bring the trainer to your organisation, tailored to your team.
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Let us know you're interested and we'll arrange a session that suits you.
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Training Discounts
Delegates Discount
5 3% off
10 6% off
15 9% off
20 12% off
25 15% off
30 18% off
50 30% off
75 35% off
100 40% off

3% off per 5 delegates, up to 40% for 100+

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