Business Analysis and Requirements Elicitation: What the BABOK Guide Covers

Requirements elicitation is the part of business analysis where an analyst draws information out of stakeholders so that a change can be understood before anything is designed or built. The International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA) publishes the BABOK Guide, which sets out how it treats elicitation and the rest of the discipline. This post explains what IIBA's public pages say about business analysis, the BABOK Guide's structure and its Elicitation and Collaboration knowledge area. For a wider look at the role in finance, see our post on business analysis CPD for finance professionals.

A caution before we start: much of the BABOK Guide text sits behind IIBA membership or purchase, so we rely on IIBA's public pages and its Business Analysis Standard, and we say where detail is not publicly visible.

What IIBA says business analysis is

IIBA's page "What is Business Analysis?" in the BABOK Guide section states that "business analysis is the practice of enabling change in an enterprise by defining needs and recommending solutions that deliver value to stakeholders". The publicly visible part of the page links to a separate section titled "Who is a Business Analyst?".

What the BABOK Guide is

IIBA's BABOK page describes the BABOK Guide as "the globally recognized standard for the practice of business analysis". The page refers to BABOK Guide v3 and says it defines six knowledge areas, which it describes as groupings of tasks. It also says the latest version includes a concept model that unifies terminology and five perspectives, and it describes a separate business analysis competency model.

On access, the page says the guide can be bought from the IIBA bookstore, that the online KnowledgeHub requires IIBA membership, and that a BABOK Guide glossary is available at no cost. The page does not give a publication date for v3.

How the guide is organised

IIBA's KnowledgeHub contents page lists the structure as follows:

• Introduction and key concepts: purpose, what business analysis is, the Core Concept Model, key terms, a requirements classification schema, stakeholders, and requirements and designs.
• Knowledge areas (chapters 3 to 8): Business Analysis Planning and Monitoring; Elicitation and Collaboration; Requirements Life Cycle Management; Strategy Analysis; Requirements Analysis and Design Definition; and Solution Evaluation.
• Underlying competencies (chapter 9): analytical thinking, behavioural characteristics, business knowledge, communication, interaction, and tools and technology.
• Techniques (chapter 10): 50 techniques, from Acceptance and Evaluation Criteria to Workshops.
• Perspectives (chapter 11): Agile, Business Intelligence, Information Technology, Business Architecture and Business Process Management.

IIBA's Business Analysis Standard, a shorter public document, says the knowledge areas are a way of grouping tasks and do not imply a sequence. It describes 30 tasks across the six knowledge areas and says that most tasks are not sequential and several can run at the same time.

Elicitation and Collaboration: the five tasks

The Elicitation and Collaboration knowledge area has five tasks. IIBA's public summary of the area says it "describes the tasks that business analysts perform to obtain information from stakeholders and confirm the results". The Business Analysis Standard (version 2.0, copyright 2025) gives each task a purpose statement:

• Prepare for Elicitation: to understand the scope of the elicitation activity and select appropriate techniques, and to plan or procure supporting materials and resources.
• Conduct Elicitation: "to draw out, explore, and identify information relevant to the change".
• Confirm Elicitation Results: to check the information gathered during an elicitation session for accuracy and consistency.
• Communicate Business Analysis Information: to ensure stakeholders have a shared understanding of business analysis information.
• Manage Stakeholder Collaboration: to encourage stakeholders to work toward a common goal.

The Standard's task card for Conduct Elicitation lists "unconfirmed elicited information" as the output of that task; checking that information is the purpose of the separate Confirm Elicitation Results task. It also lists benchmarking and market analysis, document analysis, interviews, focus groups and workshops as techniques, and notes that the BABOK Guide contains the full list. The card says eliciting good information is both a skill and an art, and describes the goal as building knowledge about the change as quickly and accurately as possible.

Elicitation versus collaboration

The Standard's introduction to the knowledge area describes elicitation as how information is derived or drawn from stakeholders, and collaboration as two or more people working together to achieve a common goal. It says practitioners need strong competency in communication skills and interaction skills. Our reading: elicitation is about getting information, while collaboration is about people working together toward a common goal.

Practical approach: elicitation in a finance setting

The following is our suggestion, not IIBA text. It maps the five tasks onto a typical finance change, such as redesigning a month-end reporting process.

• Prepare: list who is affected (preparers, reviewers, auditors, system owners), decide which techniques suit each group, and book time with them.
• Conduct: combine document analysis (existing reports, policies, process notes) with interviews or a workshop, and write down what you hear exactly as stated.
• Confirm: play the notes back to the people who gave the information and correct inconsistencies before treating anything as a requirement.
• Communicate: share one agreed version with all stakeholders so the team is working from the same understanding.
• Manage collaboration: keep a record of who has been consulted, who has not, and what is outstanding.

Because the Standard stresses that tasks are not strictly sequential, expect to move back and forth. New information from a workshop may send you back to preparing for another round.

Certifications IIBA lists

IIBA's certifications page lists seven certifications in two groups. The core group is the Entry Certificate in Business Analysis (ECBA), the Certification of Capability in Business Analysis (CCBA) and the Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP), described as foundational, experienced and advanced respectively. The specialised group covers agile analysis, business data analytics, cybersecurity analysis and product ownership analysis. This guide makes no statement about fees or exam format; check IIBA directly for current requirements.

A business analysis certification is one option among several for people moving into project and change roles. Our guide to project management qualifications in Dublin covers the project management side, and our overview of CPD training for finance professionals in Dublin may help you think about how analysis skills fit a wider development plan.

What this guide does not cover

IIBA's KnowledgeHub pages for sections such as 4.1 Prepare for Elicitation and 4.2 Conduct Elicitation show only a short purpose statement publicly; the body text requires registration. This guide therefore does not describe the BABOK Guide's inputs, outputs, elements or technique descriptions, and does not describe any technique beyond naming it.

Learnsignal's offices are off Baggot Street in Dublin, and we offer in-person training from there. For current details, see our CPD pages.

Frequently asked questions

What is business analysis according to IIBA?

IIBA's public page states that business analysis is the practice of enabling change in an enterprise by defining needs and recommending solutions that deliver value to stakeholders.

How many knowledge areas does the BABOK Guide have?

Six: Business Analysis Planning and Monitoring, Elicitation and Collaboration, Requirements Life Cycle Management, Strategy Analysis, Requirements Analysis and Design Definition, and Solution Evaluation.

What is the difference between eliciting and confirming requirements?

The Business Analysis Standard's task card for Conduct Elicitation describes its output as unconfirmed elicited information. Confirm Elicitation Results is the separate task of checking the information gathered for accuracy and consistency with other information.

Is the full BABOK Guide free to read?

IIBA's page says the guide can be purchased and that KnowledgeHub access requires membership. A glossary is free. Some public IIBA pages, such as the Business Analysis Standard, summarise the tasks.

If you take one thing from the guide's approach, let it be this: treat what stakeholders tell you as unconfirmed until you have checked it.