Often forgotten or trivialized, good requirements gathering can make or brake your project. This session will give you techniques and tips on how to effectively get to the core of the requirements, identify ways of prioritizing them and explains some core concepts of Functional and Technical design elements. Based on years of experience gathering requirements (and working with them!) Femke & Tim will take you through some of the real life examples they've come across and a lot of do's & don'ts they have run into. Tying them into practice and theory that can help you get your projects off to a better start. This session was presented on March 30th 2015 in Gent Belgium during the http://Engage.ug usergroup event by Tim Clark & Femke Goedhart

1. Bus03: Zen and the art of
requirements gathering
Why getting to
“In time, On budget and In scope”
is easier if you start out right
1#engageug

2. • Business Consultant
• Silverside
• @FemkeGoedhart
• http://femkegoedhart.com
Tim Clark Femke Goedhart
2#engageug
• Director of Prof. Services
• Teamstudio
• @TimsterC
• http://tc-soft.com

3. • And now for something completely different…
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4. 4#engageug
Roleplay #1

5. 5#engageug

6. 6#engageug
10 Cosmic truths about
requirements gathering
From
‘More about software requirements’ by Karl E. Wiegers
More about Software Requirements 2006, Karl Wiegers

7. 7#engageug
#1: If you don’t get the requirements right,
it doesn’t matter how well you execute the
rest of the project
More about Software Requirements 2006, Karl Wiegers

8. Development Work
Development
60%
Rework
40%
Shull et al. 2002, GAO 2004

9. Influence Of Requirements On Rework
Rework
40%
Other
25%
Leffingwell 1997
Requirement
Errors
75%

10. #2 Requirement development is a discovery
and invention process, not just a collection
process
10#engageug More about Software Requirements 2006, Karl Wiegers

11. Expectation Gap
Time —>
Expectation gap
Software Requirements third edition, Karl Wiegers & Joy Beatty

12. Time —>
Expectation gap
touch pointtouch point
Software Requirements third edition, Karl Wiegers & Joy Beatty

13. Cone of uncertainty
13#engageug Boehm 1981

14. #3 Change happens
(so does sh*t)
14#engageug More about Software Requirements 2006, Karl Wiegers

15. • Get sign off, before you move on
• Manage the refinement of requirements
• Change management process for RFCs
15#engageug

16. Start With The Why
Vision & Scope document
User requirements document
Software requirements specification
WHY
HOW
WHAT

17. Increasing Levels Of Details:
Vision & Scope document
User requirements document
Software requirements specification
Business
requirement
Business rules
User
requirement
Quality
Attribute
External
interfaces
Functional
requirement
System
requirement
Constraints
Non-Functional
requirement
Software Requirements third edition, Karl Wiegers & Joy Beatty

18. 1x
Cost Of Rework

19. 1x
Cost Of Rework
5-10x

20. 1x
5-10x
100x
Boehm 1981; Grady 1999; Haskins 2004
Cost Of Rework

21. • So do you really need an RFC process ???
21#engageug

22. Roleplay #2
22#engageug

23. #4 The interests of all stakeholders intersect in
the requirements process
23#engageug More about Software Requirements 2006, Karl Wiegers

24. Analyst
Other
Stakeholders
Customer
User
Developer
Tester
Project
Manager
24#engageug More about Software Requirements 2006, Karl Wiegers

25. Office politics – org chart
Influencers
Decision
Makers
Sponsor Fred Jones
Tamsin
Smith
Rajesh
Patel
Alma
Simmons
Nigel
Falstaff
Finlay
McDonagh
25#engageug

26. • Direct users
• Indirect users
• Stakeholders
• Sponsors
• Acquirer
• Management
• Compliance auditor
• Suppliers
• Regulatory body
• Quality assurance
• Etc, etc…….
Who will use it?
Who will depend on it?
Who has a stake in it?
Who will own it?

27. #5 Customer involvement is the most critical
contributor to software quality
27#engageug More about Software Requirements 2006, Karl Wiegers

28. • Identify user classes
• Select product champions
• Build prototypes
• Agree on customer rights & responsibilities
28#engageug

29. 29#engageug

30. #6 The customer is not always right, but the
customer always has a point
30#engageug More about Software Requirements 2006, Karl Wiegers

31. • Be critical, play devils advocate
• Be open
• Be realistic
…..and get the customer to see reason
31#engageug

32. Roleplay #3
32#engageug

33. 33#engageug

34. 34#engageug
?

35. 35#engageug
?

36. 36#engageug
!

37. 37#engageug https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmCxtWrRQJ8

38. #7 The first question an analyst should ask
about a proposed new requirement is,
“is this requirement in scope?”
38#engageug More about Software Requirements 2006, Karl Wiegers

39. Context diagram
Cafeteria
Ordering
System
Menu
Manager
Patron
Order
Process
Meal
Deliverer
Payroll
System
39#engageug DeMarco 1979, Karl Wiegers 2003

40. MOSCOW
Requirement M S C W
Insert multiple order lines x
Create an export of closed orders x
Allow to copy order details to
allow quick registration
x
Allow for inserting personal notes
on orders
x

41. MOSCOW
Requirement Costs M S C W
Insert multiple order lines $ 100 x
Create an export of closed
orders
$ 1500 x x
Allow to copy order details to
allow quick registration
$ 250 x
Allow for inserting personal notes
on orders
$ 100 x x

42. EISENHOWER DECISION MATRIX
Urgent Not Urgent
Important
Crises
Deadlines
Problems
Relationships
Planning
Recreation
Not Important
Interruptions
Meetings
Activities
Time Wasters
Pleasant
Activities
Trivia

43. PRIORITISE
Urgent Not Urgent
Important Must! Should
Not Important Could
Won’t
(Nice to have)

44. #8 Even the best requirements document
cannot – and should not – replace human
dialogue
44#engageug More about Software Requirements 2006, Karl Wiegers

45. Time —>
Expectation gap
touch pointtouch point
Software Requirements third edition, Karl Wiegers & Joy Beatty

46. #9 The requirements might be vague, but the
product will be specific
46#engageug More about Software Requirements 2006, Karl Wiegers

47. Make it “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?

48. A picture is worth more than a 1000 words
Requirement
The current solution that Xxxxx have created in the Xxxxxxxx, XX depot is that they complete a spreadsheet that is shared across all members of the depot. This is effective but is a lot of work to enter all data for each delivery or collection. It’s also dependent
on each driver having a smartphone with a data connection to access the Google spreadsheet while out at each delivery/collection site. The photos that are currently brought back are then uploaded at the office and there is a final task to match the photo with
the delivery record.
The requirement is to have a system for the depot dispatcher to be able to assign jobs to each truck for the day and also be able to assign ad-hoc deliveries or collections while the driver is out on their route.
The drivers needs to be able to select which truck they are assigned to and then see the jobs that are assigned to that truck. Once they have arrived at the delivery site, they need to be able to take photographs of the site as they arrive, the materials delivered
to site and then the site as they leave. Also the ability to capture a signature and receiver’s name or to record that there was no one on site to receive the delivery.
Solution
The proposed solution is that there will be two streams of development but a single Notes/Domino .nsf for each depot. One stream will be for the dispatcher side of the application and based on a desktop browser and one for the driver’s version of the
application that will be capable of running in Teamstudio Unplugged on iPhone or Android mobile devices. The dispatcher’s screen would be able to take a delivery schedule item and place it onto a truck’s route. The system would know the gross weight of
each delivery and the max laden capacity of each vehicle and therefore not allow any one truck to be over loaded. Each driver will be able to readjust the delivery schedule based on his/her local knowledge of the route and be able to drag and drop each item
on their route schedule. Once the driver has delivered their goods they can update the dispatcher by running a sync of the system so that the central database is updated with the collected information. The driver starts the process by selecting which vehicle
they are assigned to and then gets to view the deliver schedule. Once they have organized it to their liking the driver can set off to the first delivery. At the delivery the driver clicks on the job card and is asked to take a photo of the scene to record the original
state of the delivery environment. Once the goods have been delivered to site then the driver can take another photo to record the good on-site. He/She can then gather a delivery signature from the person receiving the goods or just click ‘No Signature’ if
there is no one there. Just before leaving the driver takes a last photo and to show the delivery environment after the delivery has been made to prove that no damage has been caused during the time of delivery. This is all sent back to the controller so that
they have an understanding of the delivery status and the site status before, during and after delivery. The Dispatcher also knows how far along he schedule his driver is at any given point. They also have all the information required should a customer call to
question a delivery status or goods left by the driver.
The sketches that follow are Teamstudio’s concept images for this application and will be subject to change when discussed with the customer during the initial phase of the development project.
48#engageug

49. #10 You’re never going to have perfect
requirements
49#engageug More about Software Requirements 2006, Karl Wiegers

50. Cone of uncertainty
50#engageug Boehm 1981

51. 51#engageug
Questions ?

52. Bibliography
• Software Requirements (Third Edition)
Karl Wiegers & Joy Beatty
ISBN: 978-0-7356-7966-5 (Microsoft Press)
• More About Software Requirements (Best Practices)
Karl Wiegers
ISBN: 978-0-7356-2267-8 (Microsoft Press)
• Mockup tool: http://balsamiq.com/
52#engageug

53. • Business Consultant
• Silverside
• @FemkeGoedhart
• http://femkegoedhart.com
Tim Clark Femke Goedhart
53#engageug
• Director of Prof. Services
• Teamstudio
• @TimsterC
• http://tc-soft.com