Federal GIS Conference February 9–10, 2015 | Washington, DC Best Practices for Collecting User Requirements Gerry Clancy Glenn Berger Requirements Provide direction for program success Why Requirements are Important? Early mistakes lead to costly fixes Features and Functions Used in a Typical System 20% - Often or Always Always Often 7% 13% Never 45% Sometimes 16% Rarely 19% 64% - Rarely or Never Standish Group Study Reported at XP2002 by Jim Johnson, Chairman Build for Value Requirements evolve over time s r u o H Months Where do Requirements fit? Waterfall implementation Source: Vikas Thange Blog Where do Requirements fit? Agile implementation Involve the right people • Align requirements gathering with project approach (COTS, • Custom, Agile etc.) Business Stakeholders Analysts Invest adequate time • Project Manager Key Users IT Dept Requirements Requirements Fundamentals It is an art not a science Business What Benefits? Meet Goals Increase Productivity Derive Benefits Streamline Processes Reduce Costs Performance What NOT how Functional Quality of Service Usability Clear Quality Define workflow “How Well?” Testable “What?” Operational “What Constraints?” Standards Infrastructure Solution Concept Leverage COTS components Types of Requirements Business, Functional/Technical, COTS Use Cases Scenario Prototyping Walkthroughs COTS First Workshops User Stories Surveys Document Analysis Interviews Requirements Collection Potential techniques COTS COTS Custom Components System • Custom • Custom • Orchestrates build to meet system COTS to business using some meet goals COTS business elements goals Custom Development COTS Software Configuration COTS First Approach Leveraging existing technologies