Success with Requirements
Volume 2 :: Number 9 :: 2008
ISSN: 1936-3583
Welcome to our Newsletter
How do you tackle requirements for off-the-shelf (COTS) software? How do you make smart choices to ensure a good fit? What questions should your ask? How should you represent the requirements?
Many of our clients employ a default strategy of "buy before build", that is, explore COTS solution options before attempting a custom development project. This month, requirements guru and EBG Consulting Sr. Associate Mary Gorman shares good practices to use when for COTS solutions. I hope you find it informative!
Please email me with suggestions for upcoming Success with Requirements topics.
~ ellen
Ellen Gottesdiener,
President and Principal Consultant
EBG Consulting, Inc.
http://www.ebgconsulting.com
President and Principal Consultant
EBG Consulting, Inc.
http://www.ebgconsulting.com
In this issue:
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When you're shopping for commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software, you can run afoul of the law of unintended consequences: buying too little or too much, buying something that doesn't work with the stuff you already have, or spending more than you meant to. Faced with a multitude of software products, what's a time-pressured, distracted shopper to do? The key is to ask the right questions.
Making a list, checking it twice
The first step is to identify the need, pain, or opportunity that motivates your COTS shopping. You need to understand your business goals and objectives and clearly define the scope of the effort.
Here are specific questions you should ask.
Here are specific questions you should ask.
What? Uncover key functions by asking what organizational functions you might want to automate. Then draw a relationship map, with directed lines representing the flow of information and products among the functions.
Who? Who comes in contact with the functions? Add the external customers to the relationship map along with flows. Who can serve as an adviser on subjects such as regulations and business rules? Who will be a provider of software and integration services? Be sure to include them.
What features will be included? What are the definitions of terms you use? It's not too early to capture the organization's vernacular (i.e., do you refer to your targets as customers, clients, or members?) in a glossary. Depict key terms in a conceptual data model to show their relationships at a high level.
How? You ask this question to understand the major business processes in scope. A process map (also called a swimlane diagram) shows the sequence of processes across the various functions. This model can include the flows to and from external customers, providers, and systems that you identified on the relationship map.
When? This question is to elicit events that trigger the business processes shown in your process map - that is, when something happens in your organization. One answer might be to define the states of a key term. For example, an invoice's states might be "pending shipment," "delivered," "paid," and "canceled." States verify the processes on your process map and can reveal missing processes. Also, don't forget about temporally initiated events (such as issuing paychecks on the same day each month).
Your COTS shopping list should be based on the "to be" views of your requirements. In contrast, your "as is" business models will help when you implement your COTS application by identifying how users need to adapt to the new software.
All in the details
User requirements models provide details for the shopping list and are essential for analyzing the gap between your needs and the COTS solutions.
To clarify the system's environment, ask, "What?" and draw a context diagram to show the actors' interactions with the COTS solution. Use your conceptual data model to capture additional details, such as essential data attributes. This model represents the data requirements that the COTS software must support.
To elicit events and states of significant data entities, ask, "When?" You need to know which specific events the COTS product must respond to, including responses that involve interfacing systems. This activity will uncover data you may have missed as well as potential business rules.
Model the answers to the "how" question by using stories or scenarios that describe specific instances through the events.
Ask, "Why?" to learn the rules, regulations, or legislation that must be enforced in the selected product.
To clarify the system's environment, ask, "What?" and draw a context diagram to show the actors' interactions with the COTS solution. Use your conceptual data model to capture additional details, such as essential data attributes. This model represents the data requirements that the COTS software must support.
To elicit events and states of significant data entities, ask, "When?" You need to know which specific events the COTS product must respond to, including responses that involve interfacing systems. This activity will uncover data you may have missed as well as potential business rules.
Model the answers to the "how" question by using stories or scenarios that describe specific instances through the events.
Ask, "Why?" to learn the rules, regulations, or legislation that must be enforced in the selected product.
Don't forget your nonfunctional requirements:
Quality attributes such as performance, reliability, security, interoperability, and usability
Design and implementation constraints such as your database management system (DBMS), browsers, operating system, and other aspects of your technical architecture
External interface specifications (human-computer, report, system-to-system, hardware-to-system)
You need to prioritize all the requirements from both the business and the technical perspective.
Shop till you
Use your shopping list to identify and evaluate candidate packages. Have vendors execute your scenarios in demos to show how their COTS product will deliver your high-priority features, data, and rules. Remember to grade the candidates on user as well as nonfunctional requirements.
Then when you implement the selected COTS package, use your list to structure your project plan, placing early emphasis on interfaces with other systems. Your requirements models, especially the scenarios and business rules, are the basis for preparing test cases. Study your "as is" and "to be" process flows to identify where and how users' work will change. This analysis will help you make plans for easing the inevitable challenges that users face with new software.
Then when you implement the selected COTS package, use your list to structure your project plan, placing early emphasis on interfaces with other systems. Your requirements models, especially the scenarios and business rules, are the basis for preparing test cases. Study your "as is" and "to be" process flows to identify where and how users' work will change. This analysis will help you make plans for easing the inevitable challenges that users face with new software.
Your Turn
Do you have experience to share about shopping for COTS software? What works for you? What doesn't? I'd love to hear from you. Write me at mary@ebgconsulting.com.
Further Reading
Further Reading
Gorman, Mary. "Events to the Rescue," StickyMinds Original, October 2006.
Gorman, Mary. "Ready, Fire, Aim: How Timely Interface Analysis Reduces Risk in Software Projects," StickyMinds Original, November 2007.
Gottesdiener, Ellen. "Good Practices for Developing User Requirements," Crosstalk, March 2008.
Author's note: This article was adapted from a column published in June, 2008 on Stickymind.com.
Gorman, Mary. "Ready, Fire, Aim: How Timely Interface Analysis Reduces Risk in Software Projects," StickyMinds Original, November 2007.
Gottesdiener, Ellen. "Good Practices for Developing User Requirements," Crosstalk, March 2008.
Author's note: This article was adapted from a column published in June, 2008 on Stickymind.com.
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Join EBG Consulting Senior Associate Mary Gorman for a webinar on business rules and data requirements on Thursday, October 2nd at 2:00 EST. Here is the info again. I hope you will attend!
Title: "Business Rules and Data Requirements: Pulling in Tandem for Success"
Date: Tuesday, October 2nd 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM EDT
Brief description: Requirements expert and mentor Mary Gorman explores ways to effectively elicit and analyze business rules and data to help you deliver a balanced set of requirements.
Practitioners will learn the value of going beyond process requirements (often detailed in use cases or stories) to explore functional requirements specified in business rules and data requirements. Gain an appreciation of how analyzing data and rules, in tandem, improve the completeness and quality of your customer needs.
What you will learn by attending:
Brief description: Requirements expert and mentor Mary Gorman explores ways to effectively elicit and analyze business rules and data to help you deliver a balanced set of requirements.
Practitioners will learn the value of going beyond process requirements (often detailed in use cases or stories) to explore functional requirements specified in business rules and data requirements. Gain an appreciation of how analyzing data and rules, in tandem, improve the completeness and quality of your customer needs.
What you will learn by attending:
How process requirements trace to data and business rules
Appropriate timing for modeling data and business rules
What skills are needed to model data and business rules
The risks of single-dimension requirements
Webinar sponsor: IIR USA, host of the November Project World & World Congress for Business Analysts Conference in Orlando. Both Mary Gorman and Ellen Gottesdiener will be presenting at this event.
How do I register?: Go to https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/561652152 and use priority code EBGIIR2.
How do I register?: Go to https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/561652152 and use priority code EBGIIR2.
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1. Mary Gorman will present a free webinar entitled "Business Rules and Data Requirements: Pulling in Tandem for Success" (see above).
2. Paul Reed will be presenting tutorials and classes at Project Summit/Business Analysts World in San Francisco, the week of October 13th.
3. Ellen Gottesdiener and Mary Gorman will be presenting tutorials and classes at Software Development Best Practices in Boston the week of October 27th.
4. Ellen and Mary will be presenting tutorials and classes at Project Summit/Business Analysts World in Boston the week of October 27th.
2. Paul Reed will be presenting tutorials and classes at Project Summit/Business Analysts World in San Francisco, the week of October 13th.
3. Ellen Gottesdiener and Mary Gorman will be presenting tutorials and classes at Software Development Best Practices in Boston the week of October 27th.
4. Ellen and Mary will be presenting tutorials and classes at Project Summit/Business Analysts World in Boston the week of October 27th.
5. Ellen will be presenting several tutorials and classes at Agile Development Practices in Orlando, the week of November 10th.
6. Mary will be presenting tutorials and classes at Project Summit/Business Analysts World in Chicago, the week of November 10th.
7. Ellen and Mary will be presenting tutorials and classes at Project World/World Congress for Business Analysts in Orlando the week of November 17th. We are pleased to pass along to you and your colleagues a 20% discount to join us at the event. Your special discount code is SPKRM2020EG when registering.
6. Mary will be presenting tutorials and classes at Project Summit/Business Analysts World in Chicago, the week of November 10th.
7. Ellen and Mary will be presenting tutorials and classes at Project World/World Congress for Business Analysts in Orlando the week of November 17th. We are pleased to pass along to you and your colleagues a 20% discount to join us at the event. Your special discount code is SPKRM2020EG when registering.
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Each month we provide a few resources we think are worthwhile. The resources below are related to this month's topic on COTS and requirements.
The Software Engineering Institute (SEI) has developed an Evolutionary Process for Integrating COTS-based systems (EPIC), a methodology for acquiring, engineering, and managing COTS systems. You can read an overview of EPIC on the SEI site.
Soren Lauesen describes research on COTS selection when the software solution needs to integrate with other products.
The Software Technology Support Center's Journal, Crosstalk, features an in-depth article by David Cook: Issues to Consider When Acquiring COTS.
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Last month we launched our new Media page to offer you a growing list of podcasts and webinars for your listening and viewing. Examples of media include:
Webinar on how to capture performance requirements (Paul Reed)
Webinar on adapting requirements practices (Ellen Gottesdiener)
Podcast on a variety of requirements topics (collaboration, the IIBA, and more) (Ellen Gottesdiener)
For your Success with Requirements eNewsletter subscriber discount (10%) on our 8-course self-paced eLearning training curriculum, Foundation for Requirements Development and Management use code: FRSWR04 when you register here.
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