Organise walkthrough sessions
You are far more likely to get sign off if you organise walk through sessions. It will also provide a chance to ensure understanding and to make amendments promptly to avoid delays. If the stakeholder is confident they don’t need a walk through that is fine but they should be offered one.
Use a feedback log
Use a feedback log for obtaining feedback. Ideally ask reviewers to fill out a feedback form to save time collating yourself.
A feedback form should contain the following columns for the reviewer to fill out:
- Reference Id
- Document reference
- Feedback
- Feedback from
- Feedback date
- Whether feedback is an observation, a change required or a question
The last bullet point is really essential for understanding what the reviewer wants from the feedback they have given. It can be difficult to tell otherwise whether the reviewers expectation is that the document needs to change as a result of the feedback to get sign off from them.
This is also a great tool for communicating feedback received from all stakeholders especially if there are any conflicts where different stakeholders have contradicting feedback. This makes it easier to give the problem back to the stakeholders to resolve between them or for getting a final decision from the sponsor.
The feedback form should contain an additional 2 columns to be populated by the business analyst. These are:
- Has document been updated as a result of the feedback Y/N
- Business analyst comments
This will let the reviewers know whether their feedback has resulted in the document being changed and why.
Having a feedback log also provides an audit trail of all of the feedback. This is useful if there are any challenges later on. Otherwise it can be difficult if the feedback was scribbled on annotated copies of the documentation to trace why and who made the change.
Ask for sign off over email with a deadline date
Always ask for sign off over email. It is not acceptable to take no reply as assumed sign off.
Provide a deadline date on the email and chase up if the deadline is missed to find out the reasons why. If it is due to time then ask them to provide what date they can meet. Also offer an additional walk through.
Give the reviewer an opportunity to specify whether they will sign off the document based on the feedback they have given being addressed. Also ask whether sign off is given without them having to review the document again or whether they need to review the changes that have been made first.
Understanding caveats
If it will help them try to establish if sign off would be easier if they specify caveats in their sign off. If a stakeholder has worries that can’t be controlled or addressed until later in the project then they may be more comfortable giving sign off with the caveats that concern them.
Thoughts? Questions? Please share in the comments.
If you have found this article useful then you might like my book – The Business Analysis Handbook – Techniques and Questions for better Business Outcomes. The book is available from www.koganpage.com and all major print and e-book retailers.
