Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
minor input into the overall requirements. Questionnaires can also be used when you have
to gather input from dozens, hundreds, or thousands of people.
6: Prototyping
Prototyping is a relatively modern technique for gathering requirements. In
this approach, you gather preliminary requirements that you use to build an initial version
of the solution -- a prototype. You show this to the client, who then gives you additional
requirements. You change the application and cycle around with the client again. This re-
petitive process continues until the product meets the critical mass of business needs or for
an agreed number of iterations.
7: Use cases
Use cases are basically stories that describe how discrete processes work. The
stories include people (actors) and describe how the solution works from a user perspect-
ive. Use cases may be easier for the users to articulate, although the use cases may need to
be distilled later into the more specific detailed requirements.
8: Following people around
This technique is especially helpful when gathering inform-
ation on current processes. You may find, for instance, that some people have their work
routine down to such a habit that they have a hard time explaining what they do or why.
You may need to watch them perform their job before you can understand the entire pic-
ture. In some cases, you might also want to participate in the actual work process to get a
hands-on feel for how the business function works today.
9: Request for proposals (RFPs)
- If you are a vendor, you may receive requirements
through an RFP. This list of requirements is there for you to compare against your own cap-
abilities to determine how close a match you are to the client's needs.
10: Brainstorming
On some projects, the requirements are not "uncovered" as much as
they are "discovered." In other words, the solution is brand new and needs to be created as
a set of ideas that people can agree to. In this type of project, simple brainstorming may
be the starting point. The appropriate subject matter experts get into a room and start cre-
atively brainstorming what the solution might look like. After all the ideas are generated,
the participants prioritize the ones they think are the best for this solution. The resulting
consensus of best ideas is used for the initial requirements.
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