BCS Certificate in Requirements Engineering

Understanding Customer Requirements

Candidates learn the ways to managing requirements in an organization
The course is accredited by BCS and part of the International Diploma
Delegates learn from experienced and certified faculty
The certification provides high level jobs and subsequently better salaries in the respective field

Today Business Analysis is becoming a field much sought after by any business and Business Analysts are in demand as such. The Business Analyst needs to learn a range of techniques to benefit them so that they can be used to identify, analyse and document business system requirements within a context framework for requirements engineering. Stakeholders who wish to gain or improve their skills in business system requirements investigation and specification can also benefit. We at Pentagon Training believe in providing these skills to our delegates so that they can accomplish the required tasks of their job profile. This course is a part of the Core modules which needs to be completed as a part of the International Diploma in Business Analysis.

Who should take this course

This BCS Certificate in Requirement Engineering is meant for those delegates who want an indepth knowledge of Business Analysis. They can be business managers and their staff,business change managers,Business analysts, and project managers. Those hoping to acquire the BCS Diploma in Business Analysis can also attend. The BCS Certificate in Requirements Engineering is one of the four modules that are covered under the BCS International Diploma Program.

Prerequisites

There are no special prerequisites for the said course. The delegates would, however, find themselves in good stead if they have some knowledge of business analysis basics.

The Roles And Responsibilities Of Key Stakeholders In The Requirements Engineering Process
Application of A Range Requirements Elicitation Techniques
Requirements Elicitation Techniques - Uses And Relevance To Given Situations
Documenting And Prioritizing User Requirements For An Information System
Problems with Requirements
Improving Requirements Documentation

Key Learning Points

Tutor Support

Courseware

Course Overview

Requirements stakeholders in order to make sure that different perspectives are fulfilled by the requirements and that conflicts are negotiated in such a way that they become the opinion of all.

Requirement Engineering

The course is targeted to those people ambitious to acquire the skills for establishing system requirements.

Exam:

The Exam Fees is not covered/ included in the course fees and has to be paid while registering for the exam.
The exam can only be taken after completing the BCS Certificate in Requirement Engineering course.

Course Content

Introduction to Requirement Engineering

Framework for Requirements Engineering
Rationale for Requirements Engineering and the problems with requirements
The Definition and Characteristics of Requirement
The Characteristics of a Requirements Engineering Process
The Problems of Defining Requirements
The Requirements Engineering Framework
Requirement Engineering Activities
Importance of Requirements Planning and Estimating
Business Rationale and Input
Business Process Analysis Model and Inputs into ‘The Define Requirements’ Stage
Business Case in Project Life-Cycle
Terms of Reference/ Project Initiation Document/ Project Charter–business objectives, project objectives, scope, constraints (budget, timescale, standards), sponsor (authority), resources and assumptions

Hierarchy of requirements

Building the hierarchy through decomposition of requirements
Categories of requirements within the hierarchy
General business requirements, including legal and business policy
Technical policy requirements
Functional requirements
Non-functional requirements, that include performance, availability, robustness, usability, robustness, access, security, archiving, backup and recovery

Stakeholders in the requirements process

The definition of the term ‘stakeholder
Role and Contribution of Project Stakeholders to the requirements engineering process
- Project Manager
- Business Analysis
- Solution
- Developer
- Testers
- Architects
Role and contribution of Business Stakeholders to the requirements engineering process
- Project Sponsor
- Subject matter expert
- End users and managers
- Role and Contribution of External stakeholders to the requirements engineering process
  - Customers
  - Regulators
  - Suppliers - products and services

Requirements Elicitation

Knowledge types –tacit and non-tacit(explicit)
Elicitation techniques
- Interviews
- Workshops
- Observation
- Formal/informal
- Shadowing
- Focus groups
- Prototyping
- Scenarios
- Document Analysis
- Special purpose records
- Questionnaires
- Activity sampling
Understanding the applicability of techniques

Use of models in Requirements Engineering

The purpose of modelling requirements
- Generating questions
- Cross checking for consistency and completeness
- Defining business rules
Modelling the business context for the system using a context diagram that identifies the inputs and outputs of the system
Developing a model to represent the system processing requirements .Use case diagrams – actors, boundaries, associations, use cases
Interpreting a data model based upon the system data requirements Class diagram –classes, simple associations, multiplicities, attributes

Requirement documentation

Documentation styles and levels of definition
- User Stories
- Use Cases
- Requirements List
- Requirements Catalogue
Requirements Catalogue
Identifier
Name
Description
Acceptance criteria
Source
Owner
Rationale/Benefits
Related non-functional requirements
Priority
Type (functional, non-functional, general, technical)
Related requirements/documents
Author
Version control/status
Change history
Resolution
Requirements Document
Introduction and Background
Business Process Models
Function models (use case diagram) of defined requirements
Data model (class model) of defined requirements
Requirements catalogue
Glossary

Requirements Analysis

Prioritising and packaging requirements for delivery
Organising requirements
Requirements filters
Characteristics of a good requirement
Removing duplicated requirements
Reconciling overlapping requirements
Identifying and negotiating conflicts between requirements
Removing ambiguity
Ensuring feasibility(technical, business and financial)
Ensuring testability
Ensuring traceability
Prototyping requirements
Verifying requirements

Requirements Validation

Agreeing the requirements document
Types of reviews
- Informal reviews
- Structured walkthroughs (author-led review)
- Technical reviews
- Inspections
Stakeholders and their areas of concern

Requirements Management

Dealing with changing requirements
The sources of change
Change Management
Configuration management
The importance of traceability
- Vertical traceability (to business objectives)
- Horizontal traceability (from origin to deliver)
Traceability and ownership
Requirements Engineering support tools
- CARE Tools (Computer Aided Requirements Engineering)
- CASE Tools (Computer Aided Software Engineering)

Requirement Engineering

The candidates appearing for the BCS exam must bring some kind of photographic evidence to show at the examination hall to the invigilator.BCS allow additional time for candidates having some kind of disability or whose native language differs to that of the examination paper. For details refer to the BCS Reasonable Adjustments Policy which is available to view on the BCS website. If you believe you qualify for this then please notify the Exam Administration team at least two weeks prior to the exam. Delegates failing to do so and provide evidence when requested, may not be allowed the additional support.

About Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow is largest city located in Scotland and third largest in the United Kingdom. Earlier, it was a part of Lanark shire which is now one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Glasgow is located on River Clyde in country’s west central lowlands. People of Glasgow are referred as Glaswegians. Glasgow developed from a small rural settlement on River Clyde. Glasgow had become largest seaport in Britain. In the 18th century, it became a major centre of Scottish Enlightenment. From the 18th century, Glasgow has grown as one of the Great Britain’s central hub of trade including West Indies and North America. Glasgow focused on its heritage to attract tourists from various countries. Tourism is also a source of employment in Glasgow. In 1980, Hunter Ian Art Gallery was opened. In 1983, Collection of Burrel went on display in a museum in Pollock House grounds. In 1985, Scottish Exhibition and Conference centre was built. Clyde Auditorium was also added in 1997.

In the period of 1980’s and 1990’s, traditional manufacturing industries of Glasgow dropped. Service industries grew in Glasgow like retail, tourism and finance. In 1990 Glasgow School Museum of Education was opened. St Mungo's Museum of Religious Life and Art was opened in the year 1993. In 1999, Buchanan Galleries Shopping centre and Clyde Maritime centre was opened. In early 21st century, Glasgow thrived. IMAX cinema was opened in 2000 and Clyde Arc Bridge in 2006. At present, the population of Glasgow is 588,000.

Education

Glasgow has four universities within 1.5km area of city centre. These universities are a major centre of academic and higher research. Name of the Universities are:

University of Glasgow

University of Strathclyde

Glasgow Caledonian University

The University of West of Scotland

Saltire centre located at Glasgow Caledonian University is one of the busiest university libraries in the UK. Three further education colleges are there in the city that includes Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Glasgow School of Art and Teacher training courses. In 2011 Glasgow had around 53,470 students which is higher than any other town in Scotland. Many live away from home in Dennistoun, Shawlands and West End of City. City council handles 29 secondary schools, 149 primary schools and three special schools. Special schools including Glasgow Gaelic school, Glasgow school of sport and Dance school of Scotland. Glasgow has various independent schools like Hutchesons Grammar School which was founded in 1639. Hutchesons Grammar School is one of the oldest school institutions in Britain. The oldest school in Scotland are Glasgow Academy, Kelvinside Academy, High School of Glasgow, Fernhill School and Craigholme School.

Economy

Glasgow has the largest economy in Scotland and third highest GDP per capita of any city in the UK. The city itself provides 410,000 jobs in over 12000 companies. Between 2000 and 2005 around 153,000 jobs were created and growth rate reached 32%. The annual economic growth rate of Glasgow is 4.4% and is now second to London. Dominant industries like shipbuilding, heavy engineering gradually got replaced. Major manufacturing industries in the city are Clyde Blowers, Linn Products, William Grant and Sons, Aggreko, Weir Group, Whyle and Mackay, Albion Motors, British Polar Engines and Edrington Group. Glasgow was once a most important city in the UK for manufacturing which generated great wealth for the city. Glasgow is now the second most popular foreign tourist destination in Scotland. In the 21st century, some call centres in Glasgow grew substantially. City’s primary manufacturing industries include engineering, construction, shipbuilding, brewing and distilling, printing and publishing, chemicals, textiles and new growth sectors like software development, biotechnology and optoelectronics.