22.02.08 - Req. Gathering
User Stories
Have a list of actors - with 'representations' as personas Have use cases - functions they will do Now bring them together and add the why to it
As a role, I want goal/desire so that outcome
Highly common in Agile Teams. Single sentence - to represent a single requirement
- a role (actor/stakeholder etc)
- goal/function/action/use case
- an effect/outcome/motivation - the WHY behind the WHAT
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
Concise and Clear | Difficult to use in BIG projects |
Little maintenance | Loose detail and formality |
Creates clear requirements checklist | Done describe process or tasks or context |
Breaks down project into chunks and can rank for importance |
Documenting Requirements
Requirement vs Specification
Requirement - What a stakeholder needs to be able to do Specification - What the software must do to meet the requirement above
Functional vs Non-Function
Functional | Non-Function |
---|---|
Functions the user to achieve something (requirements) | Constraints on what the user needs to do (requirements) |
Functions the software will include (specification) | Constraints on how well the system performs (specifications) |
Functional requirement has should in it
Investigating/Validating Requirements
Investigation Techniques
All about the questions you ask Its rarely enough to accept the initial answer to a question because that should highlight more things to ask about
Use the initial questions you had from the brief
- to set investigation goals, choose a technique to best learn about these things
Surveys
Good for contacting lots of people, getting a majority view Bad for actually understanding something in detail
Top Mistakes:
- Sending a badly made questionnaire
- Can be designed well to extract a good answer
- Reinvent the wheel
- Well tested proven surveys can use
- Perceived Ease of Use Scale, usability questionnaires etc
- 2 part questions, leading questions, surveys are too long
Interviews and Focus Groups
Gives you the freedom to ask follow up questions
- Strong interviews have 2 characteristics
- Open minded, unbiased, ready to listen
- Gets interviewee to be relaxed and chatty and involved
- Get people to do more than just talk
- Must have a plan for the interview, otherwise it will fall through
Interviews vs Focus Group
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
More people at once | Possible Conflict |
Faster coverage of users | Can get a 'dominant speaker' |
Discuss differences | Takes longer to discuss per Q |
Ideally 2 organisers so one can note take
Observations
Allows you to see the things people didn't say People are not good at realising everything that's important for you to know
Technology Tours
Helps you identify what things 'your new software' will work with The kind of setup and scenario it will be used with, e.g. on a whiteboard
Ethnography
No better way to learn than doing Targeting specific tasks, or roles in the company.
Overall Strategy
Most mistakes are because people don't have a strategy One method can help understand the results of another
If system shall do this, its a requirement
Summary
Requirement: What a stakeholder needs to be able to do Specification: What the software must do to meet the requirement above Functional: What it will make user achieve(Req)/Functions the software will include (Spec) Non-functional: What the user needs to do(Req)/How well the system performs (Spec)