An Overdue Update on E-Learning

A Noteworthy Issue

We would like to pause in our ongoing ramblings regarding the composition and structure of business analysis to address a topic that is near and dear to our hearts – and we hope, to yours as well. The topic is learning how to be a BA.

As faithful followers of the Noiseletter are aware, we at the Requirements Solutions Group launched an initiative earlier this year to attempt to see how far we could push the boundaries of learning technologies into the wonderful world of the Web. We think that we have in the meantime gathered enough information to make a worthwhile contribution to your understanding of this evolving media.

As a reminder (or for those who did not know), RSG offers two flavors of Internet-based training, “Virtual Workshops” and “On-Demand Training”. Since there is a general lack of consistent terminology in the e-learning universe, we need to explain our terms.

Live e-Learning

A “Virtual Workshop” is a real-time, instructor-led class that is presented on the web using teleconferencing for audio. This is also referred to in the industry as a “live e-learning” event.  We have made it  as close to classic classroom instruction as the internet allows.

There are 2 major ways in which RSG distinguishes itself from other so-called live e-learning offers:

1. To enable an interactive learning environment, we limit the size of our public virtual workshops to a maximum of 8-10 participants. This small group setting allows us to make the experience more personal and allows each student more time for one-on-one with the instructor.
2. The programs are built around examples and as many exercises for the students to experience the techniques as possible. In addition, we share the results of everyone’s responses to the exercises. Some are reviewed during the class but everyone receives an email version at the end of the day to study at their leisure.  

Based on feedback from our students, we have done well. Our virtual workshops are considered unusually interactive. You can judge for yourselves how well this has been received. Here are 3 excerpts from past students’ evaluations:

• “Excellent. I have copies of everything and can refer to it if I ever need to.“
• “The WebEx™ tool was very effective for online training.  I have used it in the past but not as interactively as we did in class. It was cool.“
• “The small class worked well using the format.  . . .  The instructor was excellent and made it very easy to ask questions allowing us to get the most out of the class.“

You can see the current schedule of public, virtual workshops in the left panel of this Noiseletter or on our website.

Self-Paced Offers (On Demand web-based Training

Our “On-Demand Training” (also known as “self-paced) offers anytime, anywhere access for business analysts and subject matter experts to selected topics. This is similar in nature to CBT (Computer-Based Training) in that the instructor narrative is recorded (as well as visible for reading)  It is the most immediate mode of training since you can take the class wherever and whenever you like. The only requirement is access to the Internet and (if you like to listen to audio) speakers or a headset. Each module (we call them knowledge nuggets) of learning complete a skill that can be immediately applied.

1. Each nugget is narrated, so you can listen to the instructor’s presentation. The tool we use for presenting the training provides an outline and transcript of the presentation with electronic search capabilities. The narration expands the slide (visual component) as opposed to simply reading the slide content.
2. We do not consider static “True/False” and simple multiple-choice checkboxes to be the height of human-machine interaction. Each “Knowledge Nugget” offers a variety of interactions that reinforce the skills we are presenting in safe, controlled exercises that offer instant feedback that explains why we consider one answer preferable to another.

Our On-Demand offers are growing. We have just released the first complete series of knowledge nuggets which cover “Rules for Writing an Effective Business Requirement”. We broke the topic down into three separate nuggets. Each 1-2 hour nugget offers value by itself but the value increases dramatically when all three are taken in sequence. Click on the name of a nugget to get more detailed information

The first nugget, “Stating Your Business Requirement (Rules 1 – 3)”, helps subject matter experts or business analysts write requirement sentences that are well-structured, focus on the business need, and are in-scope. The second, “Clarifying Your Business Requirement (Rule 4)” helps the author of the statement improve its understandability for others by removing ambiguity and subjectivity. The third nugget “Making Your Business Requirement Testable (Rule 5)” presents techniques for improving the measurability of a requirement statement (whether you wrote the original or not) which increases the probability that the developers will understand – and deliver – what you ask for. A powerful by-product of the fifth rule is that when you ask how will you measure or know that a requirement has been achieved, it reveals additional information about the requirement.

Proper Positioning

Web-based training in business analysis tools and techniques is obviously not going to satisfy everyone. Some people prefer the personal touch that is only possible in a live classroom. We do not consider these new venues as replacements for live instructor-led training, we see them much more as offering additional venues for learning or reinforcing concepts and ideas. For smaller and geographically separated groups where the cost of bringing students and instructors into a common location is cost-prohibitive, they do offer a viable alternative. Many people are finding that they prefer this mode of training because of the comfort of being able to take the training from their home or desk on their own schedule.

In any event, as a skill-building organization, we at RSG are committed to finding new and better ways to grant people everywhere access to our training. We are proving that current Internet technology is indeed another viable option and we look forward to seeing you in the virtual universe sometime soon.

A Final Thought

This edition of the Noiseletter has taken a slightly different flavor and we are concerned that it could be misconstrued. We are actually trying to point out the potential uses of the Internet from the perspective of how to learn to be a business analyst, but we also think that using this tool to learn new skills can have an impressive side-effect. If you experience the use of tools such as WebEx™ in a training setting, it just might trigger some thoughts in you as a BA regarding how you might be able to use the same tool in your requirements gathering efforts.

In the end, we decided that the risk of this being perceived as a pure marketing device was overshadowed by the potential benefit we see as possible for you, our target audience. We trust that you percieve this piece as the entertaining and informative mode of presenting topics near and dear to your hearts that it was intended to be. Thank you for your time.

Tom Hathaway and Dan Myers
Managing Partners

Future Feature: "Requirements Management and Traceability"