# Eliciting and Communicating Business Requirements Course

Canonical URL: <https://training.sdfm.org/courses/eliciting-and-communicating-business-requirements>

## Overview

This two-day course provides a comprehensive foundation in two critical areas of business analysis: Requirements Analysis and Solution Assessment & Validation. Participants will learn how to identify, define, and prioritize solution requirements, and how to assess and validate solutions to ensure they meet business needs. Through interactive case studies and group exercises, learners will apply techniques from the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK®) to real-world scenarios.

By the end of the course, participants will be able to analyze and verify requirements, assess proposed solutions, define transition needs, and evaluate solution performance. These skills are essential for ensuring that business solutions deliver value and align with organizational goals.

## What you'll learn

- Elicit and document stakeholder requirements.
- Analyze and organize requirements within the solution scope.
- Prepare a requirements package and present it to stakeholders.

## Prerequisites

Students should have prior experience in project management or analysis, familiarity with basic cost and schedule management concepts, and an understanding of federal project performance or compliance requirements.

## Curriculum

#### Module 1: Elicitation

- Ensure necessary resources are available for elicitation
- Elicit requirements from stakeholders
- Record information for business analysis
- Confirm the results of the elicitation

- **Module 2: Requirements Management and Communication**

- Explain the importance of managing and expressing requirements to stakeholders
- Determine the appropriate format for presenting requirements
- Manage requirements for traceability and re-use
- Prepare a requirements package

## Instructors

### Bruce Gay — Instructor

Bruce is an engaging trainers and program manager who brings 25+ years practical experience to deliver effective and experiential training to students. Able to engage adult learners with a range of backgrounds and professional experiences. Successful at building effective stakeholder relationships and coordinating multi-disciplinary teams for solution delivery.

Bruce has over 25 years of project and program management experience across multiple industries. He has a Masters degree from The George Washington University and a B.A. from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. 

Bruce currently runs his own freelance training and consulting business, helping project managers and team leaders improve their business skills, become better leaders, and achieve professional greatness. 

Bruce is a well-received speaker in the areas of design thinking, project management, cross-team collaboration, and AI tools for projects, and has presented at regional and international conferences.

### Steve Pesklo — Instructor

Steve is an energetic trainer who focuses on applying technical concepts to everyday work practices. He is the founder and president of SoftLake Solutions, a company that specializes in providing data and AI applications to identify fraud for Internal Audit, Criminal Investigations, Forensic Accounting, Privacy, and Compliance.

Steve brings a large amount of experience across multiple industries and government agencies. He is an expert in implementing large data analysis projects across the world, including Inland Revenue in the UK and Argentina, New Zealand, Africa and across Europe. Previously, he was the manager of Data Architecture and Data Services for a large mortgage company. He is a frequent speaker on data analytics and project management topics and speaks fluent German. He has been teaching at the Graduate School for over 10 years.

Steve has an M.B.A. from the University of St. Thomas and a B.S. in Computer Science from California Lutheran University and the Universität Salzburg in Austria. He is certified as a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), Project Management Professional (PMP), and a Certified ScrumMaster (CSM).

### Joe Mlakar — Instructor

Joe has over 27 years of Federal Government and military service and has been a part-time instructor with Graduate School USA since 2023. He enjoys using his technical knowledge in Operations Research to teach his students to provide organization and structure to complex processes, and apply advanced analytical techniques to help leaders make better decisions. Joe is based in Fort Collins, Colorado.

## Pricing

**Tuition:** $1399