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Prepare requirements elicitation workshop participants for the discussion by distributing supporting material prior to the workshop. Send out draft documents, straw model diagrams, or even just a list of questions designed to stimulate thoughts and ideas. Participants will be much better able to articulate their own ideas and respond to others when they’ve had some time to think about the requirements workshop topics in advance. This approach is particularly helpful for participants who need time to analyze ideas and organize their thoughts before speaking out. Without any material in advance, this type of participant often spends the entire workshop trying to digest the information instead of actively participating.

Communicate the requirements workshop topics and objectives to participants, and then stick to the plan. Participants become frustrated and disengaged when the discussion is unfocused, or meanders onto unexpected topics.

Document and publish notes from the workshop discussion, including any decisions that were made. This helps ensure that everyone has a consistent understanding of the requirements discussed, and the notes can be a valuable resource in resolving any subsequent churn or debate.

For more details, check out these top requirements elicitation methods.

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Sandy Lambert
Business Architect
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