requirements management the key to

b 1

Requirements Management

the Key to Keeping Scope In Check

2© 2009 International Institute for Learning, Inc.

Tonight’s Presentation

Business Analysis - The Process The Business Analyst - The Role Traceability - a Necessity Controlling Scope through Requirements

Management – Change Requests Tools


The Business Analyst Process

RequirementsPlanning

GatherInformation

Requirements Plan /

CommunicationPlan

BusinessRequirements

Document

EnterpriseAnalysis

Feasibility StudyBusiness CaseProject Charter

SOW

AnalyzeInformation

Validate Information

Req. definition complete

FunctionalRequirements

SRS

Requirements are born!

Baselinedand

Version Control

Manage Requirements

Req. definition Incomplete

User Acceptance

Testing

TransitionSolution

End

Requirements Phase

Traceability


Definition of a Requirement

1. “A condition or capability needed by a stakeholder to solve a problem or achieve an objective.”

2. “A condition or capability that must be met or possessed by a system or system component(a product) to satisfy a contract, standard, specification, or other formally imposed document.

3. A documented representation of a condition or capability as in 1 or 2 above” Source: The IIBA BOK v1.6


The Life of a Requirement

Concept PhaseBusinessRequirementsNeed, Problem orOpportunityJustificationProject CharterFunding: Business Requirements

Solution RequirementsDescribes the characteristicsthat meet the businessand stakeholder requirements: - Functional - Non-Functional - Implementation

Stakeholder Requirements:

Needs of a stakeholder and theirinteraction with thesystem

How

WHATWHY

Requirements Phase


Business Analysts Act to Bridge “States”

IIBA BOK, R1.6, p. 9

Problem

Solution

Business Analysts: • Elicit• Analyze• Communicate• Validate

“current state”

“desired state”

IIBA BOK provides the materials

needed to build and maintain the

bridge.


The BA Manages Client Expectations

Through traceability and requirements change management the BA manages the client expectation of the resulting solution

Business IdeaNeed

Backward Backward ForwardForwardRequirements

Design/Code

Test Cases


Is Traceability Necessary?

Question: Would you feel more confident about the quality of your food if it could traced from retail to the source?

US food producers have traceability systems to trace food from retail to key points in production process, and some are robust enough to trace food to the exact field where the food was grown.

US food producers have traceability systems to trace food from retail to key points in production process, and some are robust enough to trace food to the exact field where the food was grown.

In Canada there was a listeriosis outbreak that eventually killed over 20 people. The source of the contamination was traced to two slicing machines.

Source: http://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/AER830/


Traceability Matrix Example A traceability matrix is a two-way mapping

of requirements numbers against design, code (configuration items), release, and test reference

Helps to ensure requirements aren’t missed, removed or added without approval

Helps to trace issues to source


Traceability and SDLC Documents

The degree to which a relationship can be established between two or more products of the development process, especially products having a predecessor-successor or master-subordinate relationship to one another (draft update to IEEE-STD-729, November 30, 1989)

Project CharterScope

StatementRequirements

Design Specification

Code

Code

Test Documents


Who Should Manage Traceability?

According to the business analysis professional association, in version 2 of the BABOK®, the business analyst should trace requirements and work with the project team to trace them to other project work products.

Business Process

Business Rule

Test Case


The Benefits of Traceability

Links downstream work products to the purpose for which they were created

Provides a process to confirm that the requirements gathering process is complete

Ensures that project work is not authorized for items that are outside of project scope

Increases quality on all projects sizes and types Provide valuable metrics for the project Enables stakeholder notification during the change

management process

Source: IIBA, The Business Analyst Body of Knowledge, Rel 1.4, 2005, p163


Requirements Change Management

“To improve is to change, to be perfect is to change often.” Winston Churchill (1874-1965) British politician

RQM

BusinessUnderstanding of need and solution

Change requests as Business Knowledge increases

Project Timeline


The Business Analyst’s Role in Change Management Impact analysis to the requirements and the

solution Identify and communicate the change impacts to

all stakeholders, business, organizational, solution transition impacts

Use traceability matrix to assist in analysis Modify requirements document to reflect solution

and new version Assess solution scope against the request


The Manage Part of Change Management

“I get up every morning determined to both change the world and have one hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning my day difficult?” E. B. White (1895 – 1985)

Business Analysts use some techniques to manage changes:• Requirements Prioritization

• Benefit, Risk, Cost

• Impact Analysis


Requirements Prioritization

Ensures the functionality with the most value is implemented when timelines become short

Helps to manage competing demands Helps PM to manage time, cost and resources and

move lower-priority requirements to later phases, releases

TIP: “Avoid ‘decibel prioritization’, in which the loudest voice heard get top priority, and ‘threat prioritization’, in which stakeholders holding the most political power always get what they demand.”

Karl Wiegers, Software Requirements 2nd. Edition Microsoft Press


Approaches to Prioritization

Ask questions: Is there some other way to satisfy the need that this requirement

addresses? What would happen if this requirement isn’t implemented right

away? How would the deferral of the requirement affect the user

community?

Use Priority Scales High – Must be in the first release Medium – The business needs the functionality however can

wait if necessary – can be implemented in the next release Low – The user can live without the functionality and it can be

implemented in later releases


Prioritization – Value, Cost, Risk

You can use a prioritization matrix.

Relative Weights: 1 1 1 1

Feature or Function (don't mix them use either feature or

function or use case)Relative Benefit

Relative Penalty

Total Value

Value %

Relative Cost

Cost %

Relative

RiskRisk % Priority

<List each feature, requirement, or use case to be prioritized 1 2 3 15.8 50 37.0 1 14.3 0.308

in these cells, one item per cell. Copy and insert additional 3 1 4 21.1 22 16.3 3 42.9 0.356

rows as needed; the formulas will adjust automatically.> 4 1 5 26.3 7 5.2 2 28.6 0.780

6 1 7 36.8 56 41.5 1 14.3 0.661

Totals 14 5 19 100.0 135 100.0 7 100.0 2.104

Source: http://www.processimpact.com/goodies.shtml


Prioritization on Basis of Value

Have the business estimate the benefits that each requirement provides them (e.g. rate 1-9)

Working with the business and I.T. estimate the penalty if the requirement isn’t included. Assess based on quality issues, legal, compliance, function loss that would affect productivity, harder to add capability later, other issues such as marketing, corporate communications

Ask the business/I.T. to weight the requirements Ask, is the cost a factor? Calculate using spreadsheet

Value%

(cost% * cost weight) + (risk % * risk weight) Priority =


Or You Could Use …


Managing Requirements Scope Creep

Once the requirements are baselined then a change request process should be activated

Change process manages scope creep According to Capers Jones (1996) requirements

for information management can grow at an average rate of 1% per month – after requirements baseline

Say NO Freezing requirements

doesn’t work (K. Wiegers)


Change Control Process

Receive ChangeRequest

EvaluatedImpact Analysis

EvaluateChange

TechnologyTime, Resources,

Cost

ChangeDisposition

Next Phase, Future

Release

End

[more informatin]

Y Y

[more informatin]

[more informatin]

Y

ChangeAppropriateBaselines

Test DocumentsVersion Control

ChangeRequirements

DocumentVersion Control

No

NO

Business Analyst

PM & Project Team

Approver (Change Control)


Change Control Process

Determine a Change Control policy List the roles and responsibilities – it is

suggested that the BA be the first line in the request process

Change statuses Entry / Exit Criteria Determine change request items Reporting and metrics regarding changes


Change Request What needs to change:

Interface DataDocumentationOther

CHANGE TYPE: New Requirement Requirement Change Design Change Other:

REASON: Legal: Market: Performance:

Customer Request: Defect: Other:

Details: (include as much information as possible include examples)


Impact Analysis by the Business Analyst

Review for the following:

Implications of the Proposed Change System Elements Affected by the Proposed Change Requirement conflicts Impacts to organization, users, processes,

business rules, data Then estimate effort Estimate affects regarding benefits, penalty, and

solution risk


Assessment by Project Team

PM should assess for impact to project Resources needed, cost, and time Complete assessment and make a recommendation to

approver BA should be a liaison

with requestor Approver evaluates

determines Y or N or later If yes all documents are updated and

affected parties advised. No matter what the disposition the requestor

is advised


After Disposition of Request

Manage the change activities Gather metrics about:

Number of change requests received Number of requests from sources Type of requests Reason for requests Disposition of requests When requests received


Tools to Manage Requirements

Checklists Spreadsheets (excel) Automated Tools

Compuware Optimal Trace Borland – Caliber IBM/Telelogics – Doors Other Free tools

Lighthouse Top Team Analyst Tracer


Contact Information

Web: www.iil.comE-mail: [email protected]: 1-416-889-0496

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Version 1.0IIL


Resources

Tools: http://www.softreq.com/tracer http://www.jiludwig.com/Requirements_Manage

ment_bTools.html Prioritization Matrix: http://

www.processimpact.com/goodies.shtml

Checklists and documents www.iil.com

(available with this presentation as a download)