Elicitation and Gathering of Requirements - Requirements Engineering and Management for Software Development Projects - page 35

one iteration where as an ill-prepared person would need multiple iterations to
obtain the same amount of information.
3. Prepare a set of questions to ask to aid in the structured elicitation of
information—Whether it is from our existing knowledge of the domain or
from the study of literature and demos of similar software products, as well as
from the gaps identified, we need to prepare a set of questions to guide us in
conducting each of the interviews effectively. We need to prepare questions in
such a way that each question would elicit information about one topic at a
time. We can also ask corollaries as necessary to ensure completeness of the
provided information. We record the questions in a format or template designed
for conducting the interviews so that we can log the information received
against the relevant question. It pays rich dividends if we get the question set to
a peer review and implement the feedback and thereby improve the quality of
questions. On each topic, in order to have complete information, we need to
ask:
a. The trigger that activates the process
b. The inputs for the process (data items)
c. The outputs/deliverable of the process (data items)
d. The validations that need to be carried out on the inputs to ensure that
proper inputs are fed to the process
4. Prepare formats and templates to capture information efficiently—We
need to prepare the formats and templates for capturing the information
effectively during the course of the interview. It is tempting to go into a per-
sonal interview with only white paper scribbling pad, pencil and an eraser.
Doing so, we would waste, not only our time but also of the interviewee. It is
normal in these days to use a laptop for capturing information during interview.
Paper-based templates and formats are passé. Create special folders for cap-
turing the information. Copy the formats and templates into those folders. Fill
in the prepared questions into those formats and templates as appropriate.
Arrange a peer review to ensure preparedness before we actually begin the
interview. A suggested template for capturing the process information is given
as Table 3.1 . This may be used while carrying out personal interviews to
capture the process information.
5. Fix appointments with the identified executives—most executives providing
information for capturing the requirements do prefer to plan the session so that
they can arrange their schedule and ensure that no interruption is caused. You
may call the executive and fix up the date and time of interview. Sometimes,
you may need to speak with the secretary, especially when you are trying to
interview senior management personnel. You may use email or a corporate
calendar also to fix up an interview, if the concerned executive is comfortable
with such an arrangement. In today's automated environments, you may need
to put up a request for an appointment on the organization's calendar system.
Whatever be the method may be, ensure to set-up the appointment so that when
you arrive for the interview, the executive is ready to give you the information.