Training activity information
Details
Complete preliminary analysis including requirements gathering exercise and analysis
Type
Developmental training activity (DTA)
Evidence requirements
Evidence the activity has been undertaken by the trainee.
Reflection on the activity at one or more time points after the event including learning from the activity and/or areas of the trainees practice for development.
An action plan to implement learning and/or to address skills or knowledge gaps identified.
Considerations
- Systems development life cycle (SDLC)
- Considerations for the technical, scientific and clinical basis of the systems development solution being addressed
- Use cases
- Actors and stakeholders
- Functional and user requirements documentation
- Patient data security
- Safety and business risk
- Regulation and governance
- System users
Reflective practice guidance
The guidance below is provided to support reflection at different time points, providing you with questions to aid you to reflect for this training activity. They are provided for guidance and should not be considered as a mandatory checklist. Trainees should not be expected to provide answers to each of the guidance questions listed.
Before action
- What are the specific aims of this preliminary analysis and requirements gathering exercise?
- What do you already know about requirements gathering and analysis techniques? What specific insights do you hope to gain from engaging in this requirements gathering exercise and analysis?
- What different approaches to the development of an enterprise-wide business architecture and the relevance of such architectures to systems design and requirements gathering might be relevant to consider?
- What different tools available to a systems analyst to elicit, analyse and record requirements are you aware of?
- How will you prepare for the requirements gathering exercise (e.g., reviewing documentation, preparing questions)?
- What possible challenges might you face during the requirements gathering process (e.g., stakeholder disagreement, unclear requirements), and how might you handle them?
- What information do you need to know about the system or stakeholders before starting the activity?
In action
- What are you currently doing to complete the preliminary analysis and gather requirements?
- How are you approaching the requirements gathering exercise (e.g., interview techniques, document review)? Why are you using this approach?
- What decisions are you making about which stakeholders to engage with or which analysis techniques to apply as the activity progresses?
- What aspects of the requirements gathering and analysis process feel intuitive based on your prior knowledge, and what areas require more conscious effort?
- How is your work progressing in relation to the intended outcome of performing and documenting a system requirements-gathering exercise and developing a specification of requirements?
- How effective are your current actions in eliciting and analysing the necessary information?
- What challenges are you encountering in understanding stakeholder needs or documenting requirements clearly?
- What can you learn about requirements gathering and analysis as this activity unfolds?
- How does this activity connect with what you already know about systems analysis or project methodologies?
- How are you adapting your approach based on the information you are gathering and the dynamics of the situation?
- Are there alternative methods you could be considering for eliciting requirements or analysing the data?
- Do you require any support or guidance from your training officer or colleagues at this point to overcome any challenges?
- Are you ensuring that your approach remains within the scope of your practice and the objectives of the training activity?
On action
- Begin by summarising the key aspects of the preliminary analysis and requirements gathering exercise you completed. What were the main requirements you identified? What methods did you use for gathering requirements? What were the key features of your analysis? What challenges did you observe during the requirements gathering and analysis process?
- Consider the skills or knowledge you developed or improved through this activity. What did you learn about the process of preliminary analysis and requirements gathering in the context of clinical systems? Were there any unexpected findings or challenges during your analysis? What did you learn from these? How did any reflection you did during the activity (reflect-in-action) influence how the requirements were gathered or analysed? How does the ability to conduct thorough preliminary analysis and requirements gathering relate to the development of suitable clinical systems?
- Identify any areas for continued development as a result of this activity. How can you apply what you have learned about requirements gathering and analysis to future projects? What specific actions or ‘next steps’ will you take to incorporate what you have learned? What support or resources might you need to further develop your skills in this area, such as specific analysis techniques or communication strategies with stakeholders?
Beyond action
- Looking back at the preliminary analysis and requirements gathering exercise you completed, how does your current understanding of systems analysis and requirements specification compare? Have you been involved in other requirements gathering exercises or analysis tasks since this training activity? How does your approach now compare to your initial experience? If you discussed this training activity with your training officer or peers, has their feedback or perspective altered your understanding of the challenges involved in this process? Revisit your reflect-on-action notes for this training activity. What aspects of the preliminary analysis or requirements gathering now seem more or less significant in light of subsequent learning in the module?
- How has your ability to conduct preliminary analysis and gather requirements influenced your approach to subsequent system development or design-related tasks? Have you applied the skills learned in this activity when attending project meetings or discussing system needs with healthcare professionals? How did this initial experience prepare you for understanding the importance of stakeholder involvement in system development, as highlighted in the learning outcomes of the module? Has this experience informed how you critically appraise a systems design/development plan to determine suitability of existing services?
- What analytical, communication, and stakeholder engagement skills did you develop through this training activity that will be valuable in future systems development projects? What actions will you take to further develop your skills in requirements elicitation and analysis? How might the ability to effectively gather and analyse requirements contribute to your future ability to select and apply appropriate systems development and project management methodologies?
Relevant learning outcomes
| # | Outcome |
|---|---|
| # 1 |
Outcome
Perform and document a system requirements-gathering exercise and develop a specification of requirements. |
| # 2 |
Outcome
Critically appraise a systems design/development plan to determine suitability of existing services. |