Elicitation is the act of obtaining information. Specifically, in relation to business analysis elicitation is the process of getting information about a business so that the BA is better able to generate requirements and recommendation.

Much of a efficient elicitation processes revolve around stakeholders and managing collaboration, including interviews, surveys, workshops, experimentation and direct 1 on 1’s. Any gathering of information including independant research can be described as elicitation however.

Effective elicitation will result in better information being presented to you, better information means the BA is going to be able to conduct better overall analysis and therefor present more informed and ultimately more effective recommendations.

Equally import is the fact that effective elicitation often leads to stakeholders feeling more engaged in the process and having more buy in on the resulting work. This in conjunction with the better recommendation in general mean that great elicitation results in both happier stakeholders and better work.

There are a few core elements of effective elicitation which run across all the types of elicitation.