Session slides as delivered on March 18th 2014 at Engage in Breda, The Netherlands by Sophie Lavignac-Le Madec & Femke Goedhart
Abstract: The basis of any good project is good requirements. Knowing what it is you are going to build / get determines whether your project will be a success or a flat out failure. In reality though the requirements phase is often trivialized or even forgotten. This session will give you tips & tricks as well as explain to you the basic techniques on how to effectively get to the core of the requirements, identify ways of prioritizing them and explain some core concepts of Functional and Technical design elements. Coming from a requirement gathering as well as development & customer point of view Femke & Sophie will take you through some of the real life examples they have come across and a lot of do's & don'ts they have seen (and despaired over)
24. WHO ELSE?
• Direct users
• Indirect users
• Stakeholders
• Sponsors
• Acquirer
• Management
• Compliance auditor
• Suppliers
• Regulatory body
• Quality assurance
• Etc, etc…….
ElicitationRequirements DevelopmentRequirements Engineering
Who will use it?
Who will depend on it?
Who has a stake in it?
OWNER
32. SMART
• Specific
• What? Why? Who? Where? Which?
• Measurable
• How much? How many? Is it quantifiable?
• Attainable
• Can it be achieved with the resources & facilities available?
• Relevant
• Does it relate to the project vision & scope?
• Timely
• Can I set a date to it?
AnalysisRequirements DevelopmentRequirements Engineering
43. WRITE IT DOWN
• Build prototypes
• Provide demo’s of similar functionality
• Models & Diagrams
• Draw out process- and workflows
• Mockups of screens & forms
• Use cases, function descriptions
• Tell it as a story:“a day in the life of…”
SpecificationRequirements DevelopmentRequirements Engineering
51. PLAY IT BACK!
“I ‘ve heard that…”
“I understand you want…”
“You expect it to…”
etc. etc…
ValidationRequirements DevelopmentRequirements Engineering
52. ROLE
Check your personal feelings at the door
but don’t forget to keep an eye on project
scope & constraints!
ValidationRequirements DevelopmentRequirements Engineering
58. – Douglas Hofstadter
“Hofstadter's Law:
It always takes longer than you expect, even when you
take Hofstadter's Law into account”
Change managementRequirements DevelopmentRequirements Engineering
59. MANAGE CHANGES
• Set up a formal RFC (Request For Change) process
• Register all changes and use version control
• Translate into effect (impact on time, costs & end result)
• (Re-)Prioritise
• Communicate
• Sign off on changed requirements
Change managementRequirements DevelopmentRequirements Engineering
60. WRAP UP
• Treat Requirements Gathering as if it’s a project on its own
• Assign or free up enough resources
• Evaluate afterwards (improvements for future projects)
• Incorporate an outsiders view
• Don’t set it in stone…. things change, just make sure you manage it!
• Be open… you might be pleasantly surprised!