Facilitation Techniques

Duration : 2 days
Course Reference : HJB-BA107
Price : € 495,– excl. VAT per participant

The business analyst spends a significant amount of time eliciting requirements. Yet, many business analysts lack formal training on this vital skill. A successful facilitation session results in requirements that you can begin to analyze and work with. Facilitation Techniques for Requirements Development focuses on teaching the facilitation skills necessary to elicit and analyze requirements on a project.
An effective facilitator empowers the group to capitalize upon their own latent capabilities and knowledge in the search for optimum solutions and consensus. The facilitator’s ability to control the workshop to achieve its objectives is key to the success of this method. This highly interactive course equips attendees with a structured approach to the planning, conduct and follow-up of facilitated workshops. Several facilitation techniques and processes are taught, and guidelines provided on why, when and how to use them. Throughout the course attention is focused on the effective management of the people dynamics. Unlike an overview course, this workshop gives participants numerous exercises to practice the techniques presented.

Course objectives : This workshop will provide the participants with:

    • Identify the use of facilitation in business analysis
    • Explain the role and responsibilities of a business analysis facilitator
    • Plan a facilitation session
    • Use the appropriate facilitation techniques for a given session
    • Conduct a facilitation session using best practices
    • Manage conflict during a session
    • Identify facilitation opportunities in business analysis

Target audience : Those wishing to use facilitation for maximum effect and those wishing to go beyond basic meeting skills to deliver consensus and action.

Pre-requisite: Prior to taking this course, you should have acquired the background as taught in Gather and Document User Requirements.

Professional Development Units : 14 PDU’s, 1.4 CEU’s, 14 IIBA CDU’s

BABOK Knowledge areas : This workshop will address the following knowledge areas:

    • Business analysis planning & monitoring
    • Elicitation
    • Enterprise analysis

Course Outline: The following topics will be addressed in this workshop :

    • Session 1 : Get started
        • • Definition of facilitation
        • Getting and receiving feedback
        • Technique: group division
        • Facilitated exercise: participant introductions
        • Ice breakers
        • Ice breakers: benefits & when to use
        • Facilitated exercise favorite ice-breakers
        • Technique: round robin
        • Ground rules
        • Ground rules: benefits & strategies for use
        • Technique: voting
        • Facilitated exercise: developing ground rules for the class
    • Session 2 : Problem Solving
        • • Problem identification
        • Overview
        • Technique: brainstorming
        • Technique: getting to consensus
        • Technique: affinity diagram
        • Facilitated exercise: problem identification
        • Root cause analysis
        • Overview
        • Technique: mind mapping
        • Facilitated exercise: root cause analysis
        • Problem solving
        • Overview
        • 5-step problem solving model
        • Facilitated exercise: problem solving
    • Session 3 : Facilitating People Situations
        • • Group Dynamics
        • Tuckman’s stages of team development in relations to a facilitated session
        • Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs in relation to a facilitated session
        • Handling difficult people centered situations as a facilitator
        • The BID model
        • Facilitated exercise: difficult people centered situations
        • Conflict Resolution
        • Conflict defined
        • Conflict causes
        • Conflict resolution strategies
        • Conflict resolution process
        • Facilitated exercise: conflict resolution
        • The Facilitation Process
        • Facilitated session steps
        • Session preparation
        • Key roles and responsibilities
        • Facilitator supplies
        • Facilitated exercise: personal attributes of a good facilitator
    • Session 4 : Practical Applications
        • • Session review
        • Session review: when to use
        • Facilitated exercise: session review
        • Associated brainstorming
        • Overview
        • Associated brainstorming: when to use
        • Facilitated exercise: associated brainstorming
        • Process mapping
        • High-level overview
        • Process mapping session steps
        • SIPOC chart & example
        • Process expectations & variations
        • Process mapping conventions

Project Management, Business Analysis & Business Improvement Consultancy