Meetings toolbox for business analysts

Course overview

Business analysts plan, facilitate, and conduct various types of meetings to support the identification, analysis and tracking of business requirements through each phase of the business solutions life cycle. The business analyst often faces challenges when conducting these meetings. Counter typical meeting obstacles by learning to conduct crisp, focused, productive meetings. Develop a clear purpose and effective agendas, while practicing time management and motivating team members to provide valuable participation. Build consensus, arrive at necessary decisions, and achieve team “buy in”.

Prerequisites

• A comprehensive introductory business analysis course such as Principles of Business Analysis (HE551S) plus Business Analyst Leadership (HE553S)

Audience

This course is intended for business analysts and related professionals such as Project Managers, A Managers, Project Customers, Technical Leads, Systems Engineers or anyone with a substantive role in the success of projects.

Course objectives

• Recognize when a meeting is required and identify what type of meeting would solve the business need
• Identify the five phases of planning and conducting an effective meeting
• Design and plan a meeting based on the size and complexity of the required work
• Design a meeting with purpose, clear objectives, and agenda topics that successfully support the meeting
• Identify tools and techniques that maximize project meeting attendance, participation, and follow-up
• Appropriately plan meeting logistics
• Effectively close a meeting and develop the go-forward plan to manage follow-up activities
• Use tools and techniques to conduct post-evaluations

Next steps

• Advanced Business Analysis topics such as Crafting High Quality Requirements (HE555S)

Benefits to you

• Learn to plan, facilitate and conduct meetings that support identifying, analyzing and tracking business requirements through each phase of the business solution life cycle
• Gain tools for building consensus and assuring team “buy in” to solutions or decisions
• Experience less time wasted in meetings and less frustration by meeting participants

Course outline

Key Concepts

• Recognize when a meeting is required and identify what type of meeting would fulfill the need
• Recognize why meetings fail and how to improve for success
• Comprehend the five phases of planning an effective and productive meeting
• Scale meeting size and design approach based on the size and complexity of the endeavor
• Comprehend types of organizational meetings
• Identify key roles necessary to plan and keep meetings running smoothly
• Design and organize standard meeting procedures and tool library

Meeting Requirements

• Recognize the purpose of defining meeting requirements
• Use methods to effectively elicit meeting requirements
• Define clear and specific objectives and outcomes for each meeting type
• Identify and qualify the meeting sponsor and key participants
• Discover the attitudes, needs and expectations of the meeting participants

Meeting Design

• Select meeting style based on the identified need and meeting requirements
• Associate meetings specific to key project management phases and deliverables
• Prepare a meeting design based on specific criteria
• Produce the meeting agenda to address the need
• Identify tools required to support meeting design
• Recognize roles that support the meeting design

Planning the Meeting

• Organize, plan and schedule meeting topics
• Prepare realistic meeting timelines
• Use techniques that maximize project meeting attendance, participation and follow-up
• Identify and assign meeting roles and responsibilities
• Recognize the logistical needs, equipment, room set up and materials for various type of meetings
• Prepare a meeting planning checklist

Conducting the Meeting

• Recognize value and required skills for effective meeting facilitation
• Give examples of meeting ground rules
• Identify meeting time management techniques
• Apply methods to open the meeting and warm up participants
• Recognize techniques to focus participants on the agenda
• Explain the value of parking boards
• Select methods of recording meeting results

Closing the Meeting

• Describe how meeting closure will set the go-forward path for follow up activities
• Select ways to conduct post evaluations to improve all types of meetings
• Prepare a guide for recording effective meeting minutes and archiving meeting documents