Hosted by Chandra Wobschall and Paul Houtkooper

In Episode 32 of The JDE Connection podcast, we had a fantastic conversation with Susan Moore from the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA). The topic? One that’s a challenge for many of us in the product development and business analysis world: how to elicit requirements.

What is Eliciting Requirements?

Susan kicked off the episode by reminding us that eliciting requirements isn’t just about gathering a list from stakeholders and moving forward. It’s more like detective work—finding out what’s really needed, even when your customer might not know how to express it. Something we could both relate to. In our roles, we’ve faced this situation countless times where we ask, “What do you want?” and get met with a vague answer or even a fully formed solution that doesn’t address the root problem.

One key insight we all agreed on during this episode is that good elicitation starts with listening. It sounds simple, right? But it’s much more nuanced. Susan emphasized that it’s not just about the words people say, but the emotions and body language that come with them. It’s often in those unspoken cues that we uncover the real needs behind the request. This resonated with us, as emotional intelligence plays a huge role in how all of us approach the people we work with.

Digging Deeper

Chandra had a great point about asking “what’s your end goal?” as one of her go-to questions to dig deeper. It’s not about challenging your stakeholders or saying “you’re wrong.” Instead, it’s about understanding what they truly want to accomplish, which can help uncover solutions they may not have considered.

We also had a laugh about how our customers sometimes come to us with solutions instead of problems. Sound familiar? We have both had users bring forward detailed solutions, thinking it was the requirement itself. What do we do in those moments? We ask questions—lots of them. We try to backtrack to understand their end goal and validate what they’re truly aiming to achieve. This helps us figure out the right solution, not just the one they think they need.

This episode was live, and our audience was fully engaged in our discussion. They submitted several questions for us to address during the episode including:

• How does a business analysis job begin after you join the company?
• How to handle tough/rude stakeholders when gathering requirements?
• How do we translate implicit needs into explicit requirements?
• How do you so ‘no’ in a nice way?

As you can tell, there was no shortage of interest, and we could have gone on for several hours exploring all the nuances of the art of eliciting business requirements.

The Magic

We wrapped up by agreeing that eliciting requirements is as much about relationships and trust as it is about technical expertise. You need to create a safe space where stakeholders feel comfortable sharing their ideas and even their emotions. It’s in that space where the real magic of requirement gathering happens.

We hope you’ll give this episode a listen. It’s important to remember, your skills are never static—there’s always something new to learn, and we’re all in this journey together.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us with your ideas, suggestions, or questions at [email protected].

Until next time, stay curious!

Missed an episode? Check out the full episode list!

Learn More

Quest Oracle Community is where you learn. Ask questions, find answers, swap stories and connect to other JD Edwards customers and product experts in the JD Edwards Community, where you can also check out what’s happening in the Business Analyst SIG.