Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Conversion projects involve modifying the existing system by keeping same
hardware and software platforms to implement some major changes in the envi-
ronment. Euro conversion and Y2K projects are excellent examples of this kind of
projects. In the recent times, the introduction of Sarbanes-Oxley statute and the
IFRS (International Financial Reporting System) have caused the existing systems
to be converted to be compliant with the requirements of these statutes.
The execution of these projects has common software engineering cycle:
1. Develop/purchase a tool that migrates/ports/converts the existing code to the
new platform. When a new software platform is released, it usually includes a
migration tool for migrating code from older versions. Similarly for porting and
conversion also, tool vendors quickly come up with tools. But it has been the
experience that most tools do not complete migration/porting/conversion to the
extent of one hundred percent. They do leave some gray areas untouched.
These remaining pieces of code need to be migrated/ported/converted by hand.
2. Test the code/manually inspect the migrated/ported/converted code and modify
any code that has not been fully migrated/ported/converted by the tool.
3. Subject the new code to applicable quality control activities.
4. Implement the new system in place of the older system.
Now in these projects, requirements engineering or management has a small role.
The requirements are available publicly and tools are also mostly, available. The
functionality of the product/system remains unaltered. Therefore, no templates or
processes are described here for the establishment of requirements for these projects.
5.9 Establishment of Requirements in Agile
Development Projects
Agile is a philosophy rather than a single software development life cycle. Many
software development methodologies are shown under the umbrella of agile
methodologies. Some of them are XP (Extreme Programming), Scrum, DSDM
(Dynamic Systems Development Method), Clear Case, Feature-driven develop-
ment, Test-driven development and so on. The philosophy is stated in the agile
manifesto, thus:
1. Value individuals over processes and tools
2. Value Working software over comprehensive documentation
3. Value customer collaboration over contract negotiation
4. Value responding to change over following a plan
In line with the above philosophy, agile adherents do not encourage docu-
mentation and keep it to the minimum. However, ''user story'' is used as the main
technique for recording requirements. True to agile philosophy again, no template
is used for documenting the user story. As the phrase indicates, it is a story
narrated by the user to describe the problem for the proposed product/system.
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