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Chapter 4 of Babok Guide focuses mostly on the tasks that Business Analysts perform to obtain information from stakeholders. Elicitation and Collaboration can be both planned or unplanned. It is mainly composed of the following points.

1. Prepare for Elicitation
2. Conduct Elicitation
3. Confirm Elicitation Result
4. Communicate Business Analysis Information
5. Manage Stakeholder Collaboration

Now let’s get into the details of each point and understand how it can be applied to our day to day life. 

4.1 Prepare for Elicitation

Business Analysts by performing various activities prepare for Elicitation by defining the desired outcome of the activities. Below are the elements that are to be considered while preparing for Elicitation.

Sl no.	Elements	Description
1	Understanding the scope of Elicitation	1.Business Analysts understand the scope of Elicitation activity to respond if the activity is fulfilling the intended scope. 2.Factors such as business domains, stakeholder locations, strategy or solution approach etc helps Business Analysts determine the type of Business Analysis Information that needs to be discovered during elicitation activity.
2	Select Elicitation Technique	1.To conduct elicitation activities multiple techniques are used depending on factors such as cost and time constraints, information sources and access etc. 2.When selecting elicitation techniques, business analysts factors like techniques commonly used in similar initiatives, techniques specifically suited to the situation, the tasks needed to prepare, execute and complete each technique.
3	Set Up Logistics	Logistics for each elicitation activity include identifying factors like the activity goals, participants and their roles, scheduled resources, including people, rooms and tools, location, communication channels, techniques, and languages used by stakeholders.
4	Secure Supporting Material	Business Analysts identify sources of information that are needed to conduct the elicitation activity such as documents, historical data, organizational policies, regulations and contracts etc.
5	Prepare Stakeholders	1.There might be situations when Business Analysts may need to educate stakeholders on how an elicitation technique works and what information needed. 2.Eliciting through research or exploration may be a solo activity for the business analyst and not require preparing other stakeholders.

4.2 Conduct Elicitation

The purpose of Conduct Elicitation is to draw out, explore and identify information relevant to change. 

Collaborative,Research and Experiments are the three common types of elicitation. 

Collaborative: Collaborative Elicitation involves direct interaction with stakeholders.

Research: Research Elicitation involves studying information from various sources that are not directly known by stakeholders involved in the change. Data analysis of historical data is one such research activity which helps the Business Analysts to identify the trends or past results. 

Experiments: Experimental Elicitation is one such activity that is carried out that cannot be drawn from people or documents. 

Elicitation conduction includes the following elements.

Sl no.	Elements	Description
1	Guide Elicitation Activity	1. The prime focus for this particular element is to ensure that the Intent of the particular element is met, that is to get the desired output of the elicitation activity performed by the business analyst.  2. Factors like the elicitation activity goals, scope of the change, What forms of output the activity will generate, what are the representations the activity results will support how the output integrates into what is already known, who provides the information, who will use the information and how the information will be used as the factors which are considered by the business analyst during this particular elicitation. 3. In some cases some stakeholders also decide some pointers which are out of the signed off  scope and during this time, the items which are out of scope are taken into the next phase of the project.
2	Select Elicitation Technique	Elicitation activities are iterative.In case the early station activities are unplanned it is the role of a business analyst to capture it or document it so that it can be used as a reference in future.

4.3 Confirm Elicitation Result

By collaborating with stakeholders, usually business analysts capture all the requirements and ensure that there are no errors, omissions, conflicts and ambiguity. This helps the team to meet the expectations of the stakeholders, however it also depends on stakeholders to be clear about their requirements. 

Following are the elements considered in this particular activity.

Sl no.	Elements	Description
1	Compare Elicitation Result Against Source Information	There can be various sources of the requirements and it is the duty of the business analyst to follow with the stakeholders and ensure that the information provided is as per the requirement before aligning the resources for the project work.
2	Compare Elicitation Result Against Other Elicitation Result	1. Business analyst compare the elicitation results against against other elicitation result so that they do not find any inconsistency. 2. In case they find any inconsistency then they collaborate with the respective stakeholder to eradicate the ambiguities so that all the stakeholders present in the project can have a mutual understanding as to what we are heading towards with respect to the outcome or with respect to the solution.

4.4 Communicate Business Analysis Information

Communicating business analysis information is the way to ensure that all the stakeholders were going to get affected directly or indirectly by the solution proposed have the mutual understanding. it is not necessary that just informing the stakeholders via emails or via documentations or via flowchart that the stakeholders will understand. Business analysts engage with the stakeholders to document the confirmation of the stakeholders on the proposed solution so that it can be used as the future reference when they will be working on the next phase of the respective project. 

Below are the elements which are considered while communicating business analysis information to the respective stakeholders. 

Sl no.	Elements	Description
1	Determine Objectives and Format of Communication	1.The primary objective of determining and formatting the communication done between the business analyst and the stakeholder is to ensure that people are always aligned and also well informed.  2. For example if a business analyst is capturing requirements then it has to be presented in a flowchart and also it has to be documented enough in words. the documents then floated out in the mail so that it can be signed off but at the same time if any communication happens between the business analyst and the other state holder then the communication is formatted as a minutes of the meeting and sent on email for people to remain well informed.  3. Formal documentations, Informal documentations, presentations three primary ways a business analyst formats the communication.
2	Select Elicitation Technique	1.The idea behind this particular elicitation element is to give the stakeholders a proper level of understanding of the information the business analyst is having with respect to the requirement. 2.They are given a chance to review it and to state they want to add anything extra information on to that which can help in the solutioning as well . Group collaboration individual collaboration or any non verbal activity such as emails are the three ways a business analyst used to conduct this activity.

4.5 Manage Stakeholder Collaboration

As a business analyst managing stakeholder collaboration is one of the key point and a key skill with helps them to grow in the field. The idea behind managing stakeholders is to ensure that all the people who are working in a particular project are clear about the goal there working for. 

Below are the elements which help in managing the stakeholder collaboration in the best possible way.

Sl no.	Elements	Description
1	Gain Agreement on Commitment	1. To agree on the resource alignment stakeholders and business analysts collaborate and go through the information so that the project gets initiated at earliest. 2.Skills like effective communication negotiation and conflict resolutions are the keys which helps the business analyst in performing this particular element of elicitation.
2	Communicate Business Analysis Package	1.Business Analysts ensure that factors such as stakeholders interest, involvement of right SMEs, maintenance of commitments are not hindering the project in any way. 2.Risks such as delayed approval, lack of focus of the involved stakeholder should be called out.

Chapter 4 of the BABOK Guide culminates in emphasizing the paramount significance of collaborative elicitation, strategic analysis, and comprehensive requirements management. It navigates the intricate requirements life cycle, advocating for meticulous definition and continuous evaluation of solutions. 

The chapter underscores the pivotal role of business analysts in understanding, prioritizing, and effectively communicating requirements. By adhering to these principles, professionals can adeptly contribute to organizational success by delivering tailored solutions that precisely align with business objectives.