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Getting the Scope and Business Requirements

Right!

Presented By: Sonya Hawkins

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Discuss Scope

Discuss Requirements

Today’s Discussion

“The work that needs to be accomplished to deliver a product or results with the specified features and functions.”

Project Scope

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Project Management Triangle

TIME COST

SCOPE

QualityResource

s

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Scope Creep

TIME COST

SCOPE

QualityResources

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Thoroughly understand the project vision

Understand your priorities and the priorities of the project drivers.

Define your deliverables and have them approved by the project drivers.

Break the approved deliverables into actual work requirements.

Scope Control Starts Day One!

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The purpose of doing the project.

Project Scope

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“The most difficult part of requirements gathering is not

documenting what the user ‘wants’; it is the effort of helping users figure out what they ‘need’ that can be successfully provided

within the cost and schedule parameters available to the

development team.”

Steve McConnell Software Project Survival Guide. Redmond, Washington. :Microsoft Press, 1998

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Getting The Requirements Right!

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The cost of rework is typically 45% of a project's cost.

There is as much as a 2000:1 cost savings from finding errors in the requirements stage vs. in the maintenance stage of the life cycle

Reducing requirements errors is the single most effective action developers can take to improve project outcomes.

Requirement Risks

Young, Ralph R., 2001

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Separate the “What” from the “How”

The “what” refers to the requirements – what is needed to solve the problem

The “how” refers to how the solution will be designed and implemented.

Requirement Principle

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Attainable Complete Correct Feasible Necessary Traceable Understandable

Consistent Measurable and testable

Prioritized Unambiguous Verifiable Does not define solution

Requirements Should Be……

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Unclear, imprecise, incomplete

Conflicting

Difficult to predict impact and

feasibility

A Misunderstood “Need” Leads to an Unsatisfied “Requirement”

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“The product shall switch between displaying and hiding non-printing characters instantaneously”

OR “The user shall be able to toggle between

displaying and hiding all HTML markup tags in the document being edited with the activation of a specific triggering condition”

Example 1

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“Charge numbers should be validated online against the master corporate charge number list, if possible.”

OR “The system shall validate the charge number

entered against the online master corporate charge number list . If the Charge number is not found on the list, an error message shall be displayed and the order shall not be accepted.”

Example 2

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The website shall be user friendly and load fast.

How would you re-write…………..?◦ Can you measure?◦ Can you test?◦ Can you verify you satisfied this requirement?

Example 3

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Understand the Scope of the project

Define the Requirements for the

project to be a success

Lastly

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Questions