user requirements is a fallacy

User Requirements

is a FallacyVIJAY GEORGE

2016 SAN ANTONIO INNOTECH

MAY 11, 2016

Do users know what they want?

Is it really a fair ask?

What are you really asking …

What you ended up with

Paradigm shift

Business Case and Governance

Requirements

Development Cycle

User’s role

IT’s view of the Business

Business Case and Governance

Business case usually doesn’t day

make it work like it’s worked for the

last 20 years

We tend to assign project SMEs

from those knows the current

system really well

Without Leadership and

Governance they will steer toward

what they know

Importance of Change

Management

Requirements and Features

Long feature list hardly used…

Feature List

Usa

ge

Long memory of what

happened in back in ’99

I better get it now since it will

be another 10 years before

they listen to me again

Proud of what they have created over the years

How we traditionally build software

Define Build Test Deploy

Lessons from the startup world…

MVP

Experiencing it changes the

requirements

Things change

Users learn

Development team learn

Evolutionary nature of Change

User’s role in the system

We tend to try to translate the

physical experience into the

requirements for the system

User is not outside the system

Virtual changes the physical

experience

Human Computer Interface has to

be experienced

User experiences of the system will

be different

Leave room to learn through

experience

IT’s view of Business: Customer Service

Is that a good idea?

Partnership

A better idea … IT is an integral part of the business

not separate that needs alignment

Most IT project are business

transformation projects not just a

technology installation

Clear trade-offs help the business

make better choices

Trusted Partner vs. Service Provider

Why is everyone moving to Agile

Turn bigger projects into smaller

cycles

Developers have to demo along

the way

User’s experience changes the

requirements

Recognizes the human part of the

system

User and Developer part of the

same team

Waterfall and Agile

Paradigm shift

Business Case and Governance

Leadership and Change Management

Requirements

MVP and evolution through experience

Development Cycle

Iterative teams with developers / users

User’s role

Recognize the human is an Integral part of the system

IT’s view of the Business

Partner and Trusted Advisor