Comparing and Validating Elicitation Information - CBAP Guide
Understanding Comparing and Validating Elicitation Information
Why It Is Important
Comparing and validating elicitation information is a critical business analysis practice that ensures the accuracy, completeness, and consistency of requirements gathered from multiple sources. This process is essential because:
- Multiple stakeholders often provide conflicting or overlapping information
- It helps identify gaps, inconsistencies, and errors in requirements
- It ensures all voices are heard and integrated into the final requirements
- It increases stakeholder confidence in the accuracy of documented requirements
- It reduces the risk of building solutions that don't meet actual business needs
- It validates that all requirements are realistic, achievable, and properly understood
What Is Comparing and Validating Elicitation Information?
Comparing and validating elicitation information refers to the systematic process of examining, cross-referencing, and verifying information collected from various elicitation activities and sources. This includes:
- Comparison: Analyzing information from different stakeholders, interviews, workshops, and documents to identify similarities, differences, contradictions, and overlaps
- Validation: Confirming that the information is accurate, complete, relevant, and aligned with business objectives
- Reconciliation: Resolving conflicts and inconsistencies between different sources of information
- Verification: Ensuring that documented requirements accurately reflect what stakeholders intended to communicate
How It Works
Step 1: Organize Elicitation Data
Collect and organize all information gathered from various elicitation activities, including:
- Interview notes and recordings
- Workshop outputs and flipcharts
- Survey responses
- Document analysis findings
- Observation notes
- Requirements from different stakeholder groups
Step 2: Identify and Map Requirements
Create a comprehensive list of all requirements and organize them by category, stakeholder, or functional area. Use tools such as:
- Requirements matrix or traceability matrix
- Mind maps or concept maps
- Functional decomposition diagrams
- Use case diagrams
Step 3: Compare Information Sources
Systematically compare requirements across different sources by:
- Identifying duplicate or overlapping requirements
- Noting contradictions or conflicts
- Recognizing gaps where no requirements exist
- Highlighting areas of strong agreement
- Determining priority and scope differences between stakeholders
Step 4: Validate Against Criteria
Test elicited information against validation criteria:
- Completeness: Are all necessary requirements included?
- Consistency: Are requirements aligned with each other and organizational standards?
- Accuracy: Do requirements correctly represent stakeholder needs?
- Feasibility: Are requirements realistic and achievable with available resources?
- Clarity: Are requirements understandable and unambiguous?
- Testability: Can requirements be verified and validated?
- Traceability: Can each requirement be traced to its source and business objective?
Step 5: Resolve Conflicts and Inconsistencies
Address discrepancies through:
- Follow-up interviews or clarification sessions with specific stakeholders
- Facilitated workshops to reconcile conflicting viewpoints
- Consulting subject matter experts or decision-makers
- Documenting assumptions and decisions made during conflict resolution
Step 6: Obtain Stakeholder Agreement
Ensure stakeholders review and validate the consolidated requirements through:
- Requirement review sessions
- Walkthrough meetings with stakeholder representatives
- Formal sign-off on the requirements document
- Confirmation that requirements accurately reflect their needs
Key Techniques for Comparing and Validating
- Gap Analysis: Identifying missing requirements or information
- Root Cause Analysis: Understanding why conflicts exist between sources
- Stakeholder Interviews: Clarifying conflicting information directly with sources
- Requirements Review: Formally examining requirements with stakeholders
- Prototyping: Validating understanding through concrete examples
- Traceability Analysis: Ensuring requirements link back to business needs
- Impact Analysis: Assessing the effect of requirements on the solution
- Peer Review: Having other business analysts examine requirements
Exam Tips: Answering Questions on Comparing and Validating Elicitation Information
Tip 1: Understand the Distinction
Questions often test whether you understand the difference between comparing (identifying similarities and differences) and validating (confirming accuracy and completeness). Be prepared to address both aspects in your answers.
Tip 2: Know When to Apply This Technique
Be ready to identify situations where comparing and validating is necessary, such as:
- When multiple stakeholders provide different requirements
- When elicitation activities yield conflicting information
- When requirements need to be consolidated before documentation
- When validating that documented requirements match stakeholder intent
Tip 3: Focus on Stakeholder Collaboration
Questions frequently emphasize the collaborative nature of this process. Highlight the importance of:
- Involving stakeholders in validation activities
- Using group facilitation techniques to resolve conflicts
- Obtaining buy-in and agreement from all stakeholder groups
- Ensuring no stakeholder perspective is overlooked
Tip 4: Know the Validation Criteria
Be familiar with the six criteria for evaluating requirements: completeness, consistency, accuracy, feasibility, clarity, and testability. Questions may ask which criterion applies to specific scenarios, or how to address deficiencies in each area.
Tip 5: Recognize Conflict Resolution Approaches
When exam questions present conflicting requirements from different stakeholders, be prepared to:
- Identify the source and nature of the conflict
- Suggest appropriate resolution techniques (facilitated workshop, stakeholder meetings, subject matter expert consultation)
- Explain how documented decisions will be used going forward
Tip 6: Understand Documentation Practices
Be aware that comparing and validating results in:
- Updated requirements documents
- Conflict resolution logs or decision records
- Traceability matrices
- Stakeholder sign-off documentation
- Assumptions and constraints lists
Tip 7: Apply Systems Thinking
When answering questions, consider the broader context:
- How do requirements interact with each other?
- What are the downstream impacts of each requirement?
- How do requirements support overall business objectives?
- Are there dependencies between validated requirements?
Tip 8: Recognize Common Pitfalls
Questions may present scenarios where comparing and validating could go wrong. Be ready to identify issues such as:
- Failing to involve all stakeholder groups in validation
- Not documenting conflict resolution decisions
- Accepting requirements without verifying feasibility
- Missing gaps due to incomplete comparison
- Allowing dominant stakeholders to override others' needs
Tip 9: Know When to Escalate
Be prepared to explain when conflicts cannot be resolved through normal channels and require escalation to:
- Sponsor or executive leadership
- Requirements prioritization committees
- Portfolio management bodies
- Policy makers or compliance officers
Tip 10: Practice Scenario-Based Questions
Typical exam scenarios might include:
- "A business analyst has gathered requirements from three departments, and they conflict on system functionality. What should the BA do?"
- "Which validation criterion is most important when evaluating technical requirements?"
- "How would you handle a situation where a key stakeholder's requirements are infeasible?"
- "What documentation should result from comparing and validating elicitation information?"
For these scenarios, provide comprehensive answers that demonstrate understanding of the process, stakeholder management, and appropriate techniques.
Tip 11: Remember the Purpose
Keep in mind that the ultimate goal of comparing and validating elicitation information is to create a single, agreed-upon set of requirements that all stakeholders understand and accept. Frame your answers around this central objective.
Tip 12: Connect to CBAP Domains
Relate your answers to broader CBAP competencies:
- Business Analysis Planning and Monitoring: How validation ensures requirements quality
- Elicitation and Collaboration: How this technique enhances stakeholder engagement
- Requirements Life Cycle Management: How validated requirements serve as the foundation for traceability
- Strategy Analysis: How requirements align with business strategy