47 Writing Skills courses in Nottingham delivered Live Online

Ever wondered what it takes to publish your own children’s book? Join Alexandra Fowler of Cornish Books and get started now!

This is a 4-day course where students will be exploring sci-fi stories. 🚀 👽 The children will be analysing engaging sci-fi stories and discussing characters, settings and plots. 👽 Students will also create their own imaginative sci-fi settings, and design their own alien! It will be a fantastic opportunity for children to build their confidence and skills in writing, all while having fun! Please note: this course is for 4 days and will take place on the following days: Saturday 21st December at 10am UK / 2pm UAE/ 6pm HK Monday 23rd December at 12pm UK / 4pm UAE/ 8pm HK Tuesday 24th December at 11am UK / 3pm UAE/ 7pm HK Friday 27th December at 10am UK / 2pm UAE/6pm HK If you cannot attend a lesson for any reason, Mollie will record it and send you a link to watch the session via the Zoom cloud. 

Duration 3 Days 18 CPD hours This course is intended for This course is intended for beginner to intermediate business and requirements analysts who are looking to improve their elicitation and requirements writing and documentation skills. This course is also a great fit for technical writers, product and software testers, project managers, product owners who work closely with business analysts or who perform some for of business analysis themselves. Overview Understand the role of the business analyst and core competencies for performing successfully Discuss the criticality of business analysis and requirements for successful project outcomes Understand the main professional associations and standards supporting business analysts in the industry Discuss the common problems with requirements and explore approaches to address these issues Obtain a clear understanding of the various requirements types and the significance for eliciting each type Demonstrate your ability to identify stakeholders Explore various methods for understanding and analyzing stakeholders Discuss and apply good planning practices to requirements elicitation efforts Obtain knowledge and understanding of over 15 current and commonly applied elicitation techniques Understand how to progress from elicitation to analysis to documentation Write well-formed and validated requirements Gain understanding of the best practices for writing quality requirements Learn the technical writing techniques that apply directly to writing requirements documents Discuss writing pitfalls, risks that impact requirements, and how to address them Learn best practices for communicating and collaborating with stakeholders, sharing the results of elicitation and the resulting documentation Learn approaches for validating requirements Understand the difference between validating requirements and validating the solution With elicitation serving as a major component of the requirements process, it is imperative that business analysts maintain high competency levels in elicitation practices and technique use to help organizations overcome the requirements related challenges faced on projects. Regardless whether you are a practitioner just starting off your career in business analysis or whether you have been performing the role for some years, this course will provide insight into the latest thoughts on elicitation and writing effective requirements and present a number of current techniques that are being applied on projects across industries today. Review of Foundational Concepts Definition of a business analysis Definition of business analyst BA role vs. PM role Business analysis competencies Benefits of business analysis Purpose for having a BA standard IIBA?s BABOK© Guide and PMI?s Practice Guide in Business Analysis Business analysis core concepts Discussion: Project challenges Understanding Requirements Common problems with requirements Understand the problem first Define the business need Situation statements and moving to requirements Understanding requirement types Business requirements Stakeholder/User Requirements Solution Requirements Functional Requirements Non-Functional Requirements Assumptions and Constraints Discussions: Requirement problems, business needs, and identifying non-functional requirements Discovering Stakeholders Definition of a stakeholder Stakeholder types Identifying stakeholders Performing stakeholder analysis Stakeholders and requirements Tips for identifying stakeholders Grouping stakeholders Creating a RACI model Tips for analyzing stakeholders Documenting results of stakeholder analysis Workshop: Discovering stakeholders Preparing for Requirements Elicitation Planning for elicitation Benefits of elicitation planning What do you plan? The elicitation plan Setting objectives for elicitation Determining the scope for elicitation Establishing pre-work Determining the outputs for the session The iterative nature of elicitation Elicitation roles Elicitation planning techniques Discussions: Who to involve in elicitation, planning impacts, and unplanned elicitation Workshop: Planning for elicitation Conduct Requirements Elicitation Elicitation skillset Types of elicitation techniques Using active listening in elicitation Techniques for performing elicitation Benchmarking/Market Analysis Brainstorming Business Rules Analysis Collaborative Games Concept Modeling Data Mining Data Modeling Document Analysis Focus Groups Interface Analysis Interviews Observation Process Modeling Prototyping Survey or Questionnaire Workshops Write Effective Requirements Elicitation and Analysis Requirements related issues Implications of bad requirements Elicitation and documentation Writing skillset Documenting requirements Modeling requirements Defining the project life cycle Impact of project life cycle on documentation Requirements specifications Characteristics of good requirements Guidelines for writing textual requirements Structuring a requirement Writing pitfalls Traceability Requirements attributes Risks associated to requirements Discussions: Project Life Cycle and Correcting Poorly Written Requirements Workshops: Documenting Requirements and Identify Characteristics of Good Requirements Confirm and Communicate Elicitation Requirements Business analysis communication Requirements communication Communication skills The 7 Cs Timing of communication Planning communication Importance of Collaboration Planning collaboration Documenting communication/collaboration needs Confirming elicitation results Verify requirements Characteristics of good requirements (revisited) Requirements checklist Requirements validation Signing off on requirements Discussions: Responsibility for Communication, Eliciting Communication Needs, Validation Signoff Workshops: Communicating Requirements and Obtaining Signoff Evaluate the Solution Business analyst role in solution evaluation Why solutions under perform What we are looking for in solution evaluation When does solution evaluation occur Performing solution evaluation Planning solution evaluation Metrics that might exist Evaluating long term performance Qualitative vs. quantitative measures Tools & techniques used in solution evaluation Comparing expected to actuals When solution evaluation discovers a variance Tools/techniques for analyzing variances Proposing a recommendation Communicating results of solution evaluation Discussion: Addressing Variance Wrap up and Next Steps Useful books and links on writing effective requirements BABOK© Guide Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide Additional course details: Nexus Humans BA04 - Eliciting and Writing Effective Requirements training program is a workshop that presents an invigorating mix of sessions, lessons, and masterclasses meticulously crafted to propel your learning expedition forward. This immersive bootcamp-style experience boasts interactive lectures, hands-on labs, and collaborative hackathons, all strategically designed to fortify fundamental concepts. Guided by seasoned coaches, each session offers priceless insights and practical skills crucial for honing your expertise. Whether you're stepping into the realm of professional skills or a seasoned professional, this comprehensive course ensures you're equipped with the knowledge and prowess necessary for success. While we feel this is the best course for the BA04 - Eliciting and Writing Effective Requirements course and one of our Top 10 we encourage you to read the course outline to make sure it is the right content for you. Additionally, private sessions, closed classes or dedicated events are available both live online and at our training centres in Dublin and London, as well as at your offices anywhere in the UK, Ireland or across EMEA.

A writing workshop to release stress, explore our shadows and reveal our creative force.

Duration 1 Days 6 CPD hours Overview In writing, it is important to make sure your message is easy to understand, that you have included all the necessary information, and that the points are expressed clearly. In business writing, it is also essential to convey information in a professional and courteous manner using proper formatting. Learn how to perfect your business writing in this one-day workshop. This one-day workshop will help you teach participants how to: Write and proofread your work so it is clear, concise, complete, and correct. Apply these skills in real world situations. Use language that is courteous. Understand the proper format for memos, letters, and emails. Determine whether your writing can be easily understood by your intended audience. Learn how to perfect your business writing in this one-day workshop.While there are many types of business writing, this workshop will provide tools to write effective memos, emails, and letters, as well as briefly touch on reports and proposals. The 4 C?s: Clear, Concise, Complete, and Correct Good writing must be clear, concise, complete, and correct. In this session, learn how to write with these principles in mind. Manners and Courtesy Courtesy is an important part of good business writing. During this session, participants will learn ways to make their writing respectful and polite. Writing Memos Memos are another challenge that many writers face. Participants will look at parts of a memo and complete a fun exercise. Writing Effective E-mails Mostly everyone today uses email to communicate at work and at home. This session will give participants some tips on writing effective emails and managing email. Reports and Proposals Reports and proposals are two important types of business writing. In this session, an overview of the steps involved with writing these pieces is presented. Writing Business Letters This session reviews the steps for writing a business letter, types of letters, and the parts of a business letter. Participants then examine samples of business letters to determine the type and the parts of each letter. Readability Index The readability index determines the difficulty level of a written piece. Participants will apply the index to a sample and to their own work. Proofreading Participants learn about checking the grammar, spelling and punctuation in their written pieces, and then review their pre-assignment. Reviewing Your Writing In this session, participants complete a final review of their piece of writing. Workshop Wrap-Up At the end of the workshop, students will have an opportunity to ask questions and fill out an action plan.

This very practical session is designed to enable participants to improve the impact, clarity and accuracy of their reports. It focuses equally on the two key areas - structure and writing technique. This course will help participants: Scope reports based on objective and intended readership Write a structured report Use the Fog Index to ensure readability Write grammatically correct and well-punctuated text Review and edit their work. 1 Introduction Objectives and overview Introductions and personal aims 2 What makes a good report? Practical activity and feedback 3 Before you start The planning process and scoping a report Organising information Key report headings What goes where? Writing practice and review 4 Writing tips and techniques Clear English and use of language Grammar and sentence structure Refresher in punctuation Writing in the third person The Fog Index - and how to measure readability 5 Pulling it all together Reviewing and proofing 6 Review Summary of key learning points Action planning

The aim of this programme is to help attendees create better quality technical documents in an organised and efficient manner. It will give those new to the topic an appreciation of how to approach the task professionally whilst those with more experience will be able to refresh and refine their skills. The programme comprises three complementary one-day modules: The programme presents a structured methodology for creating technical documents and provides a range of practical techniques that help delegates put principles into practice. Although not essential, it is strongly advised that delegates for modules 2 and 3 have already attended module 1, or another equivalent course. Note: the content of each module as shown here is purely indicative and can be adapted to suit your particular requirements. This course will: Explain the qualities and benefits of well written technical documents Present a structured approach for producing technical documents Review the essential skills of effective technical writing Demonstrate practical methods to help create better documents Provide tools and techniques for specification and report writing Review how technical documents should be issued and controlled Note: the content of each module as shown here is purely indicative and can be adapted to suit your particular requirements. Module 1: Essential skills for technical writers 1 Introduction to the programme Aims and objectives of the module Introductions and interests of participants 2 Creating effective technical documents What is technical writing? how does it differ from other writing? Key qualities of an effective technical document Communication essentials and the challenges faced by technical writers The lessons of experience: how the best writers write The five key steps : prepare - organise - write - edit - release (POWER) 3 Preparing to write Defining the document aims and objectives; choosing the title Understanding technical readers and their needs Getting organised; planning and managing the process Integrating technical and commercial elements The role of intellectual property rights (IPR), eg, copyright 4 Organising the content The vital role of structure in technical documents Deciding what to include and how to organise the information Categorising information: introductory, key and supporting Tools and techniques for scoping and structuring the document Creating and using document templates - pro's and con's 5 Writing the document Avoiding 'blinding them with science': the qualities of clear writing Problem words and words that confuse; building and using a glossary Using sentence structure and punctuation to best effect Understanding the impact of style, format and appearance Avoiding common causes of ambiguity; being concise and ensuring clarity Using diagrams and other graphics; avoiding potential pitfalls 6 Editing and releasing the document Why editing is difficult; developing a personal editing strategy Some useful editing tools and techniques Key requirements for document issue and control Module 2: Creating better specifications 1 Introduction Aims and objectives of the day Introductions and interests of participants The 'POWER' writing process for specifications 2 Creating better specifications The role and characteristics of an effective specification Specifications and contracts; the legal role of specifications Deciding how to specify; understanding functional and design requirements Developing the specification design; applying the principles of BS 7373 Getting organised: the key stages in compiling an effective specification 3 Preparing to write a specification Defining the scope of the specification; deciding what to include and what not Scoping techniques: scope maps, check lists, structured brainstorming The why/what/how pyramid; establishing and understanding requirements Clarifying priorities; separating needs and desires: the MoSCoW method Useful quantitative techniques: cost benefit analysis, QFD, Pareto analysis Dealing with requirements that are difficult to quantify 4 Organising the content The role of structure in specifications Typical contents and layout for a specification What goes where: introductory, key and supporting sections Creating and using model forms: the sections and sub sections Detailed contents of each sub-section Exercise: applying the tools and techniques 5 Writing the specification Identifying and understanding the specification reader Key words: will, shall, must; building and using a glossary Writing performance targets that are clear and unambiguous Choosing and using graphics Exercise: writing a specification 6 Editing and releasing the document Key editing issues for specifications Issue and control of specifications Module 3: Writing better reports 1 Introduction Aims and objectives of the day Introductions and interests of participants The 'POWER' technical writing process for technical reports 2 Creating better reports What is a technical report? types and formats of report The role and characteristics of an effective technical report Understanding technical report readers and their needs The commercial role and impact of technical reports Getting organised: the key stages in compiling a technical report 3 Preparing to write reports Agreeing the terms of reference; defining aims and objectives Being clear about constraints; defining what is not to be included Legal aspects and intellectual property rights (IPR) for reports Preparing the ground; gathering information and reference documents Keeping track of information: note making, cataloguing and cross referencing Tools and techniques for developing a valid and convincing argument 4 Organising the content The role of structure reviewed; some typical report structures Who needs what: identifying the varied needs of the readership What goes where: introductory, key and supporting sections Creating and using model forms: the sections and sub sections Detailed contents of each sub-section Exercise: applying the tools and techniques 5 Writing the report Planning the storyline: the report as a journey in understanding Recognising assumptions about the reader; what they do and don't know Converting complex concepts into understandable statements Presenting technical data and its analysis; the role of graphics Presenting the case simply whilst maintaining technical integrity Exercise: writing a technical report 6 Editing and releasing the report Key editing issues for technical reports Issue and control of technical reports