How do you get stakeholders to focus on what they need?
Do you ever feel like you can’t scratch the surface with your stakeholders when eliciting their requirements? Often stakeholders get caught up at the high-level with blanket statements rather than discussing their lower level and true requirements.
I find that the single most powerful activity we can engage in during elicitation is active listening. By simply taking the time to confirm your understanding by rephrasing what you heard in your own words you get a much deeper level of engagement with your stakeholder and, in my experience, a much more efficient elicitation process.
One of my greatest tips is to record the conversation. I simply ask the stakeholder for permission to record the conversation so that I can ensure that I properly document all of their needs. Also it allows me to focus on them and not on writing. I’ve never had a stakeholder say no. This process of recording the elicitation also allows me to improve my elicitation skills – when I play the recording back I often realise that I had plenty more opportunities to rephrase and clarify understanding to be sure we were both on the same page.
When you use this simple technique, you also plant the seeds to cultivate a trusting relationship with the stakeholder. Because they know you ‘get it’, they implicitly begin to trust you and your role on the project. This trust creates even more efficiencies in the elicitation and requirements gathering processes. It may surprise you that such small adjustments in our communication patterns can have such a significant impact, but I’ve seen it work time and time again.
Author: Steph Jeuken
Categories: Planning, Uncategorised,