PRJ566 Project Planning and Management Scope

Managing Client Expectations Need to recognize a ‘want’ vs a ‘need’ Start gathering the requirements of the system Identify the functionality of the system Translate the functionality into use cases

Requirements Gathering Need to find out: Functionality What are the activities the system needs to perform? How is the user to interact with the system? Are other systems to interact with the system? Data needs What information is needed?

Requirements Gathering What is the analyst determining? Scope of the System Who is going to use the system? What is the new system going to do? What information does the system need to have available? How large is this system going to be? How small is the system going to be ?

Requirements Gathering Scope of the System Functional Technical Data Requirements Requirements Requirements

Requirements Gathering Functional Requirements Describes what a system does or is expected to do Includes: Descriptions of the processing which the system will be required to carry out Details of the inputs into the system from paper forms and documents or the interactions between people and the system or transfers from other systems Details of the outputs that are expected from the system in the form of printed documents and reports, screen displays and transfers to other systems

Requirements Gathering Technical Requirements Describes the aspects of the system that are concerned with how well it provides the functional requirements. Includes: Performance criteria Anticipated volumes of data Security requirements

Requirements Gathering Data Requirements Describes what information the system is going to need or produce – really a part of Functional and Technical Requirements Includes Details of the data that must be held in the system

Requirements Gathering Techniques for Gathering Requirements Interviews Prototypes Questionnaires Observation Reviewing existing documentation Review Strategic and Tactical Plans Other Methods

Interviews Primary technique for fact finding and information gathering Most effective way to understand business functions and business rules Usually requires multiple sessions Usually conducted with customers/clients/users Clients are not always able to express their requirements clearly  it is up to the analyst to ask the right questions to help the client express their requirements

Interviews Questioning Strategies Top Down How can order processing be improved? How can we reduce the number of times that customers return items they’ve ordered? How can we eliminate shipping the wrong products? High-level: very general Medium-level: moderately specific Bottom UP Low-level: very specific

Interviews Questions Open ended questions Encourages unstructured responses and generates discussion Useful when you need to understand a larger process or to draw out opinions or suggestions from the person being interviewed

Interviews Questions Closed ended questions Limited or restricted response – a simple definitive answer Used to get information that is more specific or when you need to verify facts

Interviews Sample interview questions Open-ended Closed-ended What do you think about the current system? How do you decide what type of marketing campaigns to run? Closed-ended How do customers place orders? How many orders to you receive a day?

Observation An effective way to gather requirements if obtaining complete information was not effective through other fact finding techniques (I.e. interviews and questionnaires) Or An effective way to verify information gathered from other fact finding sources (such as interviews)

Observation Observation can be done by having the analyst observe the client from a distance (without actually interrupting the client) or by actually doing the work of the client Should be carried out for a period of time and at different time intervals, not just once so that analyst can observe different workloads and to ensure that what client does is consistent over different periods of time

Observation Allows the analyst to follow an entire process from start to finish Can upset the client if they feel threatened by new activity going on around them – the client may behave differently from what they normally do

Reviewing existing documentation Most beneficial to new employees or consultants hired to work on a project Types of documentation that is reviewed: Company reports Organization charts Policy and Procedures manuals Job Descriptions Documentation of existing systems

Reviewing existing documentation Allows the analyst to get an understanding of the organization prior to meeting with employees Allows the analyst to prepare questions for either interviews or questionnaires (other fact finding techniques)