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The Requirements ProblemChapter 1

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Standish Group Research Research paper at:

http://www.standishgroup.com/sample_research/chaos_1994_1.php (1994)

31.1% of project get canceled before they ever get started 52.7% of projects will cost 189% of their original estimates The failure to produce reliable software to handle baggage at

the new Denver airport is costing the city $1.1 million per day 16.2% of software projects are completed on-time and on-

budget

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IT executive managers on their opinions about why projects succeed

Project Success Factors % of Responses1. User Involvement 15.9%2. Executive Management Support 13.9%3. Clear Statement of Requirements 13.0%4. Proper Planning 9.6%5. Realistic Expectations 8.2%6. Smaller Project Milestones 7.7%7. Competent Staff 7.2%8. Ownership 5.3%9. Clear Vision & Objectives 2.9%10. Hard-Working, Focused Staff 2.4%Other 13.9%

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IT executive managers on their opinions about why projects are challenged

Project Challenged Factors % of Responses1. Lack of User Input 12.8%2. Incomplete Requirements & Specifications 12.3%3. Changing Requirements & Specifications 11.8%4. Lack of Executive Support 7.5%5. Technology Incompetence 7.0%6. Lack of Resources 6.4%7. Unrealistic Expectations 5.9%8. Unclear Objectives 5.3%9. Unrealistic Time Frames 4.3%10. New Technology 3.7%Other 23.0%

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Relative Cost to Repair a Defect at Different Life Cycle Phases

.1-.2

.5

2

5

20

Analysis

Design

Coding

Unit Test

Acceptance Test

Maintenance

1

Unit cost of 1 is assigned to effort required to detect and repair an error during the coding stage, then the cost to detect and repair during the requirements stage is 5 to 10 times less

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Key Points

Goal of software development is to develop quality software–on time and on budget–that meets customer’s real needs

Project success depends on effective requirements management

Requirements error are the most common type of systems development errors and the most costly to fix

A few key skills can significantly reduce requirements errors and thus improve software quality

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Intro to Requirements ManagementChapter 2

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What is a Software Requirement? Software capability needed by the user to solve a

problem to achieve an objective [Dorfman] System Requirements define what the system is

required to do and the constraints under which it is required to operate [Sommerville]

Software capability that must be met or possessed by a system…to satisfy a contract, standard, specification, or other formally imposed documentation [Dorfman]

(1) A characteristic that a system or software item is required to possess in order to be acceptable to the acquirer. (2) A binding statement… Requirements are expressed using the word “shall”. [IEEE/EIA J-STD-016]

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Types of Software Applications

Information systems and other applications developed for use within a company.

Software developed and sold as commercial products.

Software that runs on computers embedded in other devices, machines, or complex systems.

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Requirements Management Systematic approach to:

Elicit Organize Document

Process that establishes and maintains agreements on the changing requirements of the system Engineering Review Boards Change Control Boards

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Requirements Elicitation

• Assess the business and technical feasibility for the proposed system.

• Identify the people who will help specify requirements and understand their organizational bias.

• Define the technical environment (e.g., operating system, telecommunications needs) into which the system or product will be placed.

• Identify “domain constraints” (i.e., characteristics of the business environment specific to the application domain) that limit the functionality or performance of the system or product to be built.

• Define one or more requirements elicitation methods (e.g., interviews, focus groups, team meetings).

• Solicit participation from many people so that requirements are defined from different points of view.

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Requirements Analysis and Negotiation

Analysis categorizes requirements and organizes them into related subsets; explores each requirement in relationship to others; examines requirements for consistency, omissions, and ambiguity; and ranks requirements based on the needs of customers/users.

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Requirements Analysis and NegotiationAs the requirements analysis activity commences, the following

questions are asked and answered:

Is each requirement consistent with the overall objective for the system/product?

Have all requirements been specified at the right level of abstraction?

Is the requirement really necessary or does it represent an add-on feature that may not be essential to the objective of the system?

Is each requirement bounded and unambiguous? Do any requirements conflict with other requirements? Is each requirement achievable in the technical environment

that will house the system or product? Is each requirement testable, once implemented?

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Requirements Specification The System Specification is the final work product

produced by the system and requirements engineer. The System Specification also describes the information (data and control) that is input to and output from the system.

A specification can be a written document, a graphical model, a formal mathematical model, a collection of usage scenarios, a prototype, or any combination of these.

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Requirements Validation

Requirements validation examines the specification to ensure that all system requirements have been stated unambiguously; that inconsistencies, omissions, and errors have been detected and corrected; and that the work products conform to the standards established for the process, the project, and the product.

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Requirements ValidationThe following questions represent a small subset of those that might

be asked:

• Are requirements clear? Can they be misinterpreted?• Who is the source of the requirement? Has the final statement of

the requirement been examined by or against him/her?• What other requirements relate to this requirement? • Does the requirement break any domain constraints?• Is the requirement testable? If so, can we specify tests to

implement the requirement?• Is the requirement traceable to any system model that has been

created?• Is the requirement traceable to overall system/product objectives?

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Problem Domain & Solution Domain

Needs– in user

terms

Features – a service provided

by the system that fulfills a need

Problem Domain

Solution DomainSoftware requirements

– more specific

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Key Points A requirement is a capability that is imposed on the

system Requirements management is a process of

systematically eliciting, organizing, and documenting requirements for a complex system

Our challenge is to understand users’ problems in their culture and their language and to build systems that meet their needs

A feature is a service that the system provides to fulfill one or more stakeholder needs

A use case describes a sequence of actions, performed by a system, that yields a result of value to a user