Technical Workshops |

Esri International User Conference San Diego, California

How to Successfully Collect, Analyze and

Implement User Requirements

Gerry Clancy Glenn Berger

July 24, 2012

Requirements Gathering

• Why are requirements important • Putting requirements in context with your project • Fundamentals • How to examples

- COTS based - Web app for visualization

• Tools • Lessons learned • References • Discussion

Why are Requirements Important?

• They will define if you have a successful project

• Define what will be built • Foundation for acceptance • Affect everyone • Most difficult errors to fix if found

late in project lifecycle

Requirements 56% Design

27%

Other 10%

Code 7%

Origin of Development Errors

Who Should be involved?

• Customer - Sponsor, key users, and stakeholders - IT Team!

• Implementation Team - Business analyst, technical lead, architect - Project Manager, Quality assurance/test

specialist • Consider using a facilitator

Putting Requirements in Context

Iterative Approach to Requirements

Build for some Requirements

Build for some Requirements

Build for some Requirements

Feedback Feedback

Release to Customers Source: Agile & Iterative Development. Craig Larman

Agile Iterations

Requirements

Design

Implement

Test

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Requirements Validation Process

Business Workflows Detailed

• Objectives • Solution Concept

• Workshops • Interviews

• Existing • Future • Interfaces • Configuration

• Functional

• Performance

• Usability • Security

Work from the general to the specific…..

Requirements Fundamentals

• It is an art not a science • Involve the right people • Align requirements gathering with project

approach (COTS, Custom, Agile etc.) • Overall Plan to spend 20-30% of time on

requirements effort • In iterative process – requirements in every

iteration • Customer needs to be involved and approve

requirements!

View Requirements from Multiple Perspectives

• Business • Non-functional • Functional • Solution (COTS) Concept

Business Requirements

• Requirements should always address a business need • Business requirements are usually high level/vision type

statements • The benefits to the business should be clear

- Adding revenue - Cost savings - Automation - Create new products - Support customer service - Integration or streamline processes

Non-Functional Requirements

• Typically focus on how well the system must perform • Types of nonfunctional requirements

- Interfaces with other systems - Infrastructure - Usability, accessibility - Integration/Interoperability - Operational (e.g., 24/7 uptime) - Performance - Security requirements - Maintenance and system administration - Documentation - Standards

Functional Requirements

• Describe what the system should do from the end user perspective

• Requirements should - Describe WHAT not HOW - Only contain one requirement - Be unambiguous, measurable, and achievable - Be “testable” - Map back to the scope of work

• Requirements form the basis for - Software design and application development activities - Testing and acceptance activities

1

Functional Requirements

• Requirements must model workflow - Use Case models - Written from a user perspective - Links functional and non-functional requirements - Help traceability throughout the different phases of

requirements, design, development, and deployment

Use Cases

Business Processes, Use Cases, Domain Model Customer requirements need to be placed in context

• Business Process - Collection of related activities that serve a business

need - Can be visualized as a flow chart

• Use Case - Describes a system from the user’s point of view - Described through text as a sequence of events - More granular than business processes - Traceable to functional requirements

• Domain Model - Defines the entities that participate in the system

Update Data

Browse and Query Data

Create Reports

Administer Application

Administer Data

Data Browser

Manage Display

Editor

Sys Admin

Requirements

ID Requirement

32 User must be able to search for images using a point buffer

… …

ID Type Functional Area Requirement Original Requirement

101 F Desktop Client \ Discovery \Search Filter

User must be able to specify an area of interest by selecting a point feature on the map and inputting a radius (square buffer)

User must be able to search forimages using a point buffer

102 F Desktop Client \ Discovery \Search Filter

User must be able to specify an area of interest by drawing a point on the map and inputting a radius (square buffer)

User must be able to search forimages using a point buffer

104 F Desktop Client \ Discovery \Search Filter

All coordinate entry should support both decimal degree (DD) and degrees/minutes/seconds (DMS) input

User must be able to search forimages using a point buffer

… … … … …

Business Processes Use Cases Domain Model

Customer Requirements

Revised Requirements

Solutions Based (COTS)

Focus Group

Blank Slate

Document Analysis

Requirements Gathering Techniques

Prototyping

Interviews

Observations

Interface Analysis

Brainstorming

Requirements Workshops

Reverse Engineering

Surveys

A COTS Requirements Approach Leveraging the existing platform

• Similar to Evolutionary Prototyping • Focus on meeting business goals not software

engineering - Configures and extends COTS - Reduces developing software

• Use demonstrations and workshops - Educate the user - How does COTS solve the business problem - What is the COTS workflow

COTS First Approach

Custom

Custom built to meet business goals

Emphasis on software development

Design based on detailed functional requirements

Considerable development time / effort

Static system

COTS Components

Custom system, using some COTS elements

Emphasis on component-based software development

Design based on detailed functional requirements

Reduced development time / effort

Some capability evolves with COTS releases

COTS system

Orchestrates COTS to meet business goals

Emphasis on workflows and configuration

Design based on business goals and COTS capability

Minimized development time / effort

Evolving system with COTS releases

Custom Development Configuration

Benefits of a COTS First Approach

• Maximizing commercial off the shelf software in a GIS system

• Immediate capability… continually improving via COTS release cycles

• Users engaged early to define “real” requirements • Improved communication via demonstration as

opposed to interpretation of documentation • Users become exposed to system capabilities – de-

mystifies technology • Accelerated project lifecycle and reduced time to

deployment

COTS First Approach - Example

• Modernizing Data Production • High Level Business Requirements

- Solution should provide the capability to task and manage data production workgroups throughout enterprise

- Solution should provide the capability to add new features to the geospatial database using a distributed data editing environment

- Solution should provide the capability for access, sharing and use of feature data via web services

COTS First Approach - Example

User Engagement and Demonstrations

Non-Functional

Requirements

Business Requirements

• IT standards • OS • RDMBS • Network

• Resource centers • Template GDB’s • Sample workflows • COTS Capabilities

• Track and Manage • Distributed editing • Web Service

sharing and access

Logical Data Model

COTS First Approach - Example

High Level Business Requirements Solution should provide the capability to add new features to the geospatial database using a distributed data editing environment

Detailed Requirements

Solution should provide user the capability to define a checkout replica based on user defined parameters

Solution should provide user the capability to synchronize changes from the checkout replica to the parent

Solution should guide the user through a semi-automated procedure using WMX to simplify procedure for synchronizing checkout to parent

Constrained Network Bandwidth

Multi-User Editing Environment

User Skill Level Two-way

Replication?

Extensions Version Editing?

Workflow?

Checkout / Check-In?

ArcGIS Server

ArcGIS Desktop

Requirements Workshops Getting at the “Real” Needs

• Do your homework! • Hold several workshops and keep them short • Focus on key requirements early

- Architectural Impacts - High business value

• Included in each iteration and combined with some development or programming

• Engage various stakeholders and users • Potential strategies

- User Stories - UI on Paper - Use Cases - Mind Maps

Requirements Workshops Removing Uncertainty

Requirements Workshop - Example

• Web Application for Submitting Data Request • High Level Business Requirements

- Solution should allow anyone in the public to submit a request for service via a web application.

- The types of service requests is expected to be along the following lines:

- Indicate where a pot hole is located - Indicate if a tree on public lands needs trimming - Indicate if there is a trash or graffiti problem

- Solution is expected to streamline the process of how the public provides this information

- Solution should not require GIS system expertise

Requirements Process

• Generate Use cases based on workflows - Informal vs. Traditional

• Allocate use cases to iterations • Model initial set of use cases to domain models • Mockup GUI • Verify with key users • Do not be judgmental

- Need to prioritize - Break things into manageable units

- What can be in the initial phase

- What is critical to most end users

2

Informal Use Case

Use Case No.: 001 Description: Submit service request

1) User is prompted for name and contact info. 2) User can select ‘no’ 3) User is prompted with service types: tree trimming, pot

hole, trash overflow, graffiti or other 4) If ‘other’ user is prompted for comments 5) User is prompted to assign priority (H,M,L) 6) User is prompted to enter location via street

intersection, street address or identification on a map 7) System provides tracking number to user 8) User is prompted if they want to be notified 9) Upon work order completion user is emailed or

contacted that issue has been resolved

Traditional Use Case

Use Case No.: 001 Description: Submit service request Prerequisite: User has access to City Website Outcome: New work order is submitted

1) User is prompted for name and contact info into the ‘Contact Name’ and ‘Contact Number’ fields of the Submit Service Request form

2) The ‘Service Types’ field is activated and the user selects from a drop down: tree trimming, pot hole, trash overflow or other

3) User can provide comments in the ‘Service Type Comments’ field

4) User is prompted to assign priority (H,M,L) based on the ‘Service Request Priority’ radio button

5) User is prompted to enter location via street intersection, street address or identification on a map

6) ……..

Use Case No.: 001-01A

Use Case No.: 001-02A

01A-3) User does not provide comments 01A-4) User is prompted comments are required 01A-5) Work order is not created and user is notified

02A-5) User selects ‘On a Map’ 02A-6) System presents map of city 02A-7) User clicks a location on the map 02A-8) The system closes map

User Interface Mock-up

What Tools Do You Need?

Planning

Project Environment Deploy

Implement

Requirements Validation

Common Tools § MS Office § Share Point

Common Tools § Team Foundation

Server (TFS) § Enterprise Architect § MS Office § JIRA

Common Tools § Team Foundation

Server (TFS) § Enterprise Architect § Subversion § OnTime

Common Tools § ANT § Maven

Microsoft Team Foundation Server (TFS)

Microsoft Team Foundation Server (TFS)

JIRA

JIRA

Essential Documentation

• Use cases that describe workflows • Detailed list of requirements • Traceability matrix

- From use cases to requirements - From requirements to scope

• Breakdown into software releases - Allocate complete workflows

• Customer must approve!

Obtaining Customer Approval

• Invest plenty of time to secure requirements acceptance - Prepare review materials - Invest in a site visit to present - Do not just deliver a document!

• Obtain written acceptance before proceeding with design

Requirements Gathering – Things to Avoid

• Avoid long lists of requirements contained in a spreadsheet—this is only one piece of the process

• Do not be judgmental • You are going to get requirements that are mutually

exclusive • Avoid requirements that are ambiguous

- “System must be able to create map outputs”

• Avoid requirements that describe HOW (unless you are using COTS approach)

- “System will make maps using ArcGIS”

Lessons Learned

• Fit requirements process to overall methodology • It is an art • Do not start with a blank slate • Requirements means different things to different

people • Needs to be very interactive and iterative • Involve IT team early • Solid requirements gathering lead to successful

projects

Original Customer Requirement

• Need dog for companionship and household protection.

Requirements Document Submitted to User

• Dog must be over 30 lbs. • Dog must be male. • Must play well with family, but capable of looking menacing

Approved

Delivered Product for Testing Phase

References

• Esri project methodologies - www.esri.com/services/professional-services/methodology.html

• Agile & Iterative Development: A Manager’s Guide by Criag Larman, Addison-Wesley ,2003

• Software Requirements (2nd Edition) by Karl Wiegers, Microsoft Press, 2003

• Use Case Driven Object Modeling with UML by Doug Rosenberg and Matt Stephens, Apress, 2008

• Writing Effective User Cases, A Cockburn, Addison-Wesley, 2001

• Agile Development with ICONIX Process by Doug Rosenberg, Matt Stephens, and Mark Collins, Apress, 2005

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