Uncovering your stakeholders "Actual" requirements

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Uncovering your stakeholders "Actual" requirements

• - Carter Engelhart

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Sources of information and study

• Watermark Learning, Inc. (PMI Global Congress
  2007 Atlanta) - http//www.watermarklearning.com/
• Book Managing Software Requirements (a unified
  approach) Dean Leffingwell and Don Widrig

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Introduction

• The importance of the Requirements discovery
  process (written and otherwise)
• Business vs. Project Requirements
• Uncovering Actual stakeholder expectations is
  key to the overall success of your project.
• Tools Questioning (specific/probing),
  Brainstorming, Feedback(echo), Use Case/Graphic,
  Collaborative/Team development,
  open-communication.

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Client/Stakeholder Interviews

• Avoid Begging the question (wouldnt you agree
  that.)
• Stay focused on the problem
• Research the organizational context and how the
  product or service will fit in.

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Client/Stakeholder Interviews

• Target all communication towards how the project
  will solve the business problem (preferably tied
  to strategic plan)
• Create a comfortable/collaborative environment
  between you and your customer.
• Always be on the look out for the unspoken
  expectation, requirement, etc.

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Tools

• Team Building
• Business Modeling (helps people better understand
  Business Processes)
• Traceability Matrix (ties requirements to
  associated work products)
• Restate the Business Need at all meetings and
  conference calls
• Active Listening (echo back what has you heard).
  A technique to stay focused on the speaker.
• Avoid acting on Assumptions
• Filter stakeholder input and prioritize accepted
  input.

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Business Modeling

• According to the book Managing Software
  Requirements- a unified approach, the purpose of
  Business Modeling
• To understand the structure and dynamics of the
  organization
• To ensure that customers, end users, and
  developers have a common understanding of the
  organization.

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Business Modeling via UML Approach Business
Use Case

• According to the book Managing Software
  Requirements- a unified approach, a Business Use
  Case provides a Model of intended functions of
  the business and is used to identify roles and
  deliverables in the organization
• Business use case models describe business
  processes (tells what a business process will do
  rather than how to do it).
• Detail associated with a Business use-case model
  is contained within a Business use-case
  specification document.

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Business Modeling via UML Approach Business
Use Case

• A business object model focuses on how the
  business process will be done (interactions
  between people and groups)
• Business use case models describe business
  processes (documents workflow)
• http//www.ibm.com/developerworks/rational/library
  /360.html
• http//osiris.sunderland.ac.uk/cs0hed/cifm04/usec
  asespecificationandexample-ATMwithdrawal.rtf

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Traceability Matrix

• Links requirements to work products
  (features/deliverables
• http//www.jiludwig.com/Traceability_Matrix_Struct
  ure.html
• http//www.ehow.com/how_2077277_create-requirement
  s-traceability-matrix.html

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Discussion / Feedback