Everyone hates it! Check it!

Today, I’m diving into a really long and boring topic 😄, or as they say, an unpopular one!

No one enjoys this!

Remember back in school, when you were told to double-check your work before finishing? To find mistakes and make sure you did your best at the time? But oh, how you didn’t want to do it, because it delayed the moment you could run outside to play?

Or before leaving home — check if you’ve turned off the water, gas, or lights. I used to do that!

When making a payment — double-check the card number.

Or before travelling — ensure you’ve packed all the important things, documents, and tickets.

Or before crossing the street — ensuring no car is coming.

And of course, before sending an email — double-check if you attached the files you mentioned!

And lastly, before posting a story, ensure there are no typos!

Honestly, I hate checking things, because it feels like slowing down or going backwards when I just want to rush ahead.

I’ve noticed that most people don’t like it either.

It’s dead boring, and you really don’t want to do it.

But in Business Analysis, reviewing requirements helps reduce the number of “gotchas” from the team: “This doesn’t make sense,” “That can be interpreted two ways,” or even “There’s a whole missing piece of logic.”

BABOK even highlights this step as a task for Business Analysts.

So, let’s look at the benefits of Requirements verification:

• Reduces the number of questions during development and cuts down unnecessary communication.
• Saves time supporting the team and lets you move on to the next requirements.
• Improves the quality of your requirements.
• Increases confidence and completeness.
• Boosts trust within the team.

The next thing is “What should you check?”

Having your own checklist can speed up the process! Running through it will be quick. What is worth to include in the checklist?

Add your weak spots, like verifying the correct gateways in BPMN. Include things you always forget, things the team constantly asks for, or project-specific needs like the pixel count on screens or a certain speed level.

What to review:

• Typos, copied but not corrected sections, sentences left unfinished.
• Check against INVEST or BABOK’s quality characteristics.
• Verify that notations are used correctly and logically.
• Ensure that the same entity is described consistently across different models.
• Confirm that the requirements align with internal standards and contain all agreed attributes and links.

Very often, self-checking isn’t very effective because you’re inside the matrix. It would be best if you had someone from the outside. So, let’s throw a requirement review party! Hand over your requirements for feedback from others. Everyone’s getting caught and blessed 😄. Here’s a guide on who to catch for feedback.

Types of Reviews:

• Self-check: Reviewing your work.
• Peer Review: Asking a colleague (business analyst) to see if everything’s clear, to spot any duplicates, or to raise questions.
• Multiple Colleague Reviews: Having different colleagues review independently.
• Team Review: Asking the team to see if everything makes sense and gather their questions.

Note: A review or check is not done with the client; with the client, we conduct alignment and approval!