Know-how for successful product development
Bringing the right features for new and existing products to market as quickly as possible and with good quality is a decisive competitive advantage. Business analysts and requirements engineers support the work of product managers. But what do you need to know in this area to be able to develop products successfully?
IREB (International Requirements Engineering Board) and IIBA (International Institute for Business Analysis) have both published widely used good practices on requirements engineering and business analysis, which are used as a basis for training and certification. The question now is which approach is better suited for which situation.
The BABOK Guide
The aim of the IIBA is to promote business analysis. To this end, it has published the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge® Guide, or BABOK Guide® for short. The BABOK Guide describes a framework for business analysis tasks and thus attempts to set a standard. It serves as the basis for six certifications:
- ECBA (Entry Certificate in Business Analysis)
- CCBA (Certification of Capability in Business Analysis)
- CBAP (Certified Business Analysis Professional)
- AAC (Agile Analysis Certification)
- CCA (Certificate in Cybersecurity)
- CDBA (Certificate in Business Data Analytics) The first three certifications are for beginners, advanced (2-3 years experience) and experts (about 5 years experience in business analytics).
The certification in Agile builds on the Agile Extension of the BABOK Guide. The last two are special certifications. In some cases, a great deal of effort is required to prepare for the certifications. In the BABOK Guide, IIBA divides business analysis into six knowledge areas that include various tasks.
For each task (e.g. conducting the survey), the BABOK Guide describes the input (e.g. planning the survey), possible techniques (e.g. brainstorming, workshops), stakeholders involved (e.g. client, experts) and the outcome (e.g. the documented result of the survey).
The BABOK Guide describes the techniques in detail in a separate chapter, including the points to bear in mind when using them. It also explains the skills that a business analyst should have.
The tasks and techniques are described in a very formal and process-heavy manner. Overall, the BABOK Guide offers a very comprehensive description of how business analysts can work - albeit at a rather theoretical level, which is also usual for a (quasi-)standard. It is therefore more suitable for experienced requirements engineers and business analysts than for beginners.
Certified Professional for Requirements Engineering
The IREB (International Requirements Engineering Board) publishes the syllabus for CPRE (Certified Professional for Requirements Engineering). There is currently a general foundation level course, an introductory course in agile requirements engineering (RE@Agile Primer) and four advanced level courses: Requirements Elicitation (Elicitation), Modeling, Requirements Management, and Agile Requirements Engineering (RE@Agile). While the Foundation Level and the Primer provide a good overview of the topics of (agile) requirements engineering and are suitable for conveying a common understanding, the Advanced Level modules go into more detail on individual topics. The Advanced Levels require several years of professional experience in the subject.
The Foundation Level, for which the book "Basiswissen Requirements Engineering" is also available, covers the complete requirements lifecycle, from scope delimitation to requirements elicitation, documentation, testing, coordination and management. The Foundation Level is geared towards the daily work of the requirements engineer. However, the topics are not covered in depth. For this, there are then the Advanced modules, for which a Foundation Level certificate is a prerequisite.
- Elicitation: Here the focus is on sources of requirements as well as elicitation and conflict resolution techniques.
- Requirements Modelling: In this course the modelling of requirements is deepened.
- Requirements Management: With topics such as prioritization, versioning, reporting or traceability of requirements.
- RE@Agile: Specifics of requirements engineering in the agile project environment including backlog management and agile scaling.
To pass the CPRE Foundation Level exam, it is sufficient to already have some experience with requirements engineering, to attend a training course as required and to deepen the topics that you do not yet know so well in the official accompanying book. The advantage of the training courses is clearly the opportunity for exchange between the course participants and the illustration through concrete everyday examples. For the Advanced Levels, more experience and effort is required, as you still have to write a paper after passing the exam. In total, including the training, you need to plan for about seven days of effort.
Know-how development à la carte
How should one build up the knowledge required in each case? For newcomers to the topics of business analysis and requirements engineering, the CPRE Foundation Level is recommended. This also applies to other people interested in requirements such as project managers, testers or product owners. For these target groups, if they work in an agile environment, the RE@Agile Primer is also useful.
The CPRE Advanced Level Elicitation is suitable for anyone who wants to deepen their knowledge in requirements elicitation and conflict management. Requirements Management is very useful for employees who are heavily involved in managing requirements.
If you are heavily involved in the modeling of processes, requirements or systems, the question arises as to whether you should pursue a special certification instead of the Advanced Level Requirements Modeling.
If you work as a product owner or agile business analyst, the Advanced Level RE@Agile is certainly of interest. In addition, you can take a look at the "Agile Extension to the BABOK Guide". However, there is also more practical literature here.
When it comes to introducing or improving processes and methods as the person responsible for requirements engineering or business analysis, the BABOK Guide forms an ideal basis. During implementation, the processes can then be adapted to your own needs and some can be omitted.
However, in contrast to CPRE training and certification, we see little demand for IIBA training or certification, as the effort involved is very high and demand in German-speaking countries is low. However, for a manager in the area of business analysis, an internal process specialist in a larger company or a very experienced requirements engineer who would like to go even deeper, such training or certification may very well make sense.
Summary
Good, high-quality requirements are crucial for successful products. The correct application, methods and techniques in requirements engineering and business analysis are the key to this. These can be acquired in training courses, among other things. And the corresponding certificate shows that the certified person has dealt intensively with the topic. Here, the CPRE certifications are highly recommended.
