Elicitation techniques for uncovering process pain points
Key Takeaway
Interviews often miss how people really work. When interviews give you only general answers, observe users where they work. Contextual inquiry, the most popular observation method, reveals the workarounds and pain points that interviews miss.
Elicitation means drawing out information from stakeholders and other sources. It is the main way a consultant discovers requirements. You need it because the real details of how work gets done, and where it hurts, usually live in people's heads rather than in documents. Techniques such as interviews, observation and process mapping bring those pain points to the surface so the team can prioritize and fix them.
What elicitation is
Elicitation is the main path to discovering requirements and design information. Elicitation can mean talking with stakeholders directly, researching topics, experimenting, or simply being handed information.
You need elicitation because many business and technical requirements are seldom written down. Unlike researching a school paper in a library, a consultant often has to pull the facts out of the people who do the work.
Elicitation is not a one-time step, because it happens during every interaction with stakeholders and during your own analysis. Early findings often trigger more elicitation to fill gaps or add detail, so stay open to new information for the whole project.