Mastering Software Project Requirements

Barbara Davis is President of RQX Global Training & Consulting, LLC, an organization that provides technology management and profit management solutions for projects, resources, portfolios, and IT services. Mrs. Davis is a proven thought leader and expert in business analysis, project management, and various aspects of IT management and business. She has been a champion of business analysis and technology standards and infrastructure for the past 13 years, during which time she developed the world's first university accredited business analysis diploma program, proprietary resource maturity and requirements methodologies, and a global online business analysis training program. Prior to entering the technology field, Barbara gained more than 15 years of functional business experience in operational management, project management, change management, and training. She currently works with Fortune 500 companies to align business analysis services, critical projects, and operational infrastructure to ensure successful outcomes in the face of conflict and very challenging circumstances. Davis is also an international speaker and author of Managing Business Analysis Services: A Framework for Sustainable Projects and Corporate Success (2012).

"I highly recommend making this book part of your analyst's toolkit. It provides tried and true solutions for situations that BAs run into every day. After reading, I applied lessons learned from the "Setting and Managing Expectations" section on a current project, and was able to successfully align project expectations." -- Caprice White, Business Analyst "BC Liquor Distribution Branch"; "Mastering Software Project Requirements is an eye-opening look inside the world of requirements analysis that outlines the main reasons software and IT projects fail, and then shows how to succeed. It explains why requirements analysis is much more than just a list of features, and details multiple strategies and tactics to create the right requirements for any project." -Vincent Serpico, CEO, Spotlight Software; "Mastering Software Project Requirements is a fabulous book that should appeal to and provide value for novices and experts alike. The breadth of what it covers is pretty remarkable for a book this size. While I found literally every section had something very useful to offer, the chapter on 'Establishing Metrics and Benchmarks' is particularly interesting and brimming with potential. This is an area that is so incredibly important ("you can't control what you can't measure" - DeMarco), and yet so rarely do you open a book on business analysis or requirements these days and find anything significant on the topic. True to form, the author lays out a pragmatic approach for establishing a requirements measurement framework that any organization could adopt - regardless of their maturity in the area.After taking you through a journey from 'Defining the Business Need, Vision, and Mission' all the way through 'Elicitation', 'Analysis', 'Specification' and 'Validation' of the solution requirements, you then find a fantastic section on how all these requirements practices are adjusted/bent/shaped/twisted when applied in contrasting real-world situations. One thing is obvious when reading this book-the author is relating lessons that were learned the hard way, and is doing the reader a favor by passing them on. If you're a business analyst, new to the role or experienced, do yourself a favor - and read this book." -Tony Higgins, VP Product Marketing, Blueprint Software Systems

• PREFACESECTION I: IDENTIFYING & UNDERSTANDING THE BUSINESS SOLUTIONCHAPTER 1: IDENTIFYING THE SOLUTION Defined Verses Undefined Solution Starting Points Defining the Business Need, Vision & Mission Managing to the Exception Understanding Business Architecture Benefits Realization PlanningCHAPTER 2: STAKEHOLDER INVOLVEMENT & MANAGEMENT The Seinfeld Approach to Requirements Setting & Managing Expectations Beyond RACI: Getting Sponsors, Business Owners and User Groups Involved RACI Matrix Why Some People Contribute and Others Don't Why Opportunity Alone Does Not Equal Contribution and Increase Participation Types of Participation Creating the Right Conditions and Environment Increases Participation Informational Activities Input FunnelsSECTION II: REQUIREMENTS PLANNING & MANAGEMENTCHAPTER 3: THE EVOLUTION OF REQUIREMENTS ON A PROJECT Inherent Project Risks to Requirements Risks from Project Inception Risks from Project Resources 5 Critical Requirements Steps That Get Missed: What Business Analysts Are Not Doing (Consistently) Research Gap Assessment (vs. Gap Analysis) Ambiguity Management Requirements Validation Facilitated Sign-Off Quantifying Effectiveness of Requirements Activities The Golden Rules of Requirements Attributes of Great RequirementsCHAPTER 4: REQUIREMENTS MANAGEMENT & DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY Developing a Requirements Management Strategy Planning Requirements Management Preparing for Requirements Management Requirements Management Activities Tools and Techniques for Requirements Management Traceability Change Control Ambiguity Management Requirements Management Tool Naming & Numbering ConventionsCHAPTER 5: ESTABLISHING METRICS & BENCHMARKS Inputs for Metrics and Benchmarking Outputs as Quantifiable Results Measuring Requirements Effectiveness Calculating the Requirements Effectiveness Index Calculating the Requirements Quality Index Calculating the Requirements Productivity Index Business Priority & Criticality Functional Complexity Estiminating Requirements ActivitiesSECTION III: ALL THINGS REQUIREMENTSCHAPTER 6: ELICITATION From Business Objective and Problem, to Scope and Requirements Inputs & Outputs of Elicitation Knowing Where to Find Sources for Requirements Why Each Source Is Valuable in Elicitation Tribal Knowledge Project Scope Project Charter Project Plan High Level Requirements Business Architecture Documentation Enterprise Architecture Documentation What Information Is Collected During Elicitation? The Risks of Excluding Business Analysts in Implementing COTS How Is This Information Used During Elicitation? What Artifacts and Deliverable Will Be Created In Elicitation? High- to Mid-Level Requirements Evolution (Refinement) Tools and Techniques for Defining the Future State Business Process Modeling Business Rule Scope and Dependencies Who Will Use the Artifacts and Deliverables From Elicitation? How Are the Artifacts and Deliverables from Elicitation Used? Tasks & Activities of Eliciting Requirements Joint Application Development (JAD) SessionsCHAPTER 7: ANALYSIS Inputs & Outputs for Analysis How Is This Information Used During Analysis Business Process Models Current State Definition Future State Definition Outline Business Architecture Enterprise Architecture What Artifacts Are Created During Analysis? Scenario Definition Gap Analysis Cause and Effect Tables Who Will Use the Artifacts & Deliverables? How Will the Artifacts & Deliverables Be Used? Gap Analysis Scenarios Activity Diagrams Use Case Definition Outlines Cause and Effect Tables Exit Criteria For AnalysisCHAPTER 8: SPECIFICATION Writing Testable Requirements Inputs/Outputs of Specification What Artifacts and Deliverables are Created in Specification? Requirements Document Who Signs Off on Low Level Requirements? Finalized Business Rules Business Rules Refinement Use Case Definition/Refinement Who Will Use the Artifacts and Deliverables from Specification? How the Artifacts and Deliverables from Specification can be Utilized - Contributed by James Canter Tasks and Activities of the Specification Stage Business Rules Low-Level Requirements Document Individual Requirement Structure Updating Use Cases Future State Definition Refinement Exit Criteria for SpecificationCHAPTER 9: VALIDATION Inputs & Outputs of Validation What Artifacts & Deliverables Are Created in Validation? Who Signs Off on Validation? Requirement Traceability Tasks & Activities In Validation Assessing Business Criticality and Priority Techniques for Validating Requirements Cause & Effect (Decision) Tabling Scenarios Use Cases Ambiguity Reviews and Tracking Tools and Techniques for Ambiguity Reviews Ambiguity Workshops Numbering Requirements Facilitated Sign-Off of Requirements Exit Criteria for Requirements ValidationSECTION IV: IN CONTEXT OF PROJECT & ARCHITECTURE METHODOLOGIESCHAPTER 10: IMPLICATIONS OF AGILE ON REQUIREMENTS Misconceptions About Agile Impacts of Agile on Requirements Strengths of Agile Risks of Agile SDLCCHAPTER 11: IMPLICATIONS OF WATERFALL ON REQUIREMENTS Misconceptions About Waterfall Impacts of Waterfall on Requirements Using Waterfall to Manage Change Change Management Change Control Strengths of Waterfall Risks of Waterfall SDLCCHAPTER 12: IMPLICATIONS OF WAGILE ON REQUIREMENTS Misconceptions About WAgile Impacts of WAgile on Requirements Strengths of WAgile Risks of WAgile SDLCCHAPTER 13: IMPLICATIONS OF TOGAF ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE ON REQUIREMENTS Misconceptions About TOGAF Impacts of TOGAF on Requirements Strengths of TOGAF EA Methodology Risks of TOGAF EA MethodologyCHAPTER 14: HOW BUSINESS ANALYSIS CAN LEVERAGE DO-178C AVIATION ENGINEERING SPECIFICATIONS DO-178 Framework Software Planning Process Software Development Process Software Requirements Process Software Design Process Software Coding Process Integration Process Traceability Correctness, Confidence and Control Process Verification Configuration Management Quality Assurance Transferrable DO-178 Elements (Applicability & Implications To Commercial Software) Strengths of DO-178APPENDIX A: WRITING EFFECTIVE EMAILSAPPENDIX B: SAMPLE DOCUMENT TEMPLATES Ambiguity Log Content Sample BA Deliverables and Artifacts Index Content Sample Business Rules Content Sample Change Control Log Document Content Sample Current State Document Content Sample Future State Definition Document Content Sample GAP Analysis Content Sample High Level Requirements Document Content Sample Requirements Document Content Sample Requirements Risk Assessment Document Content Sample