If our projects are different, methodologies are different and the people are different, why would we expect our requirement tools to be the same across projects? In any given organization, you’ll likely find multiple methodologies including Waterfall, Agile and some ERP variant for SAP and purchased package implementations. With a toolbox approach, project teams can use a variety of tools and techniques to define business requirements.
A better tactic is to use a toolbox approach. PMOs and other project management professionals love to see teams use a common requirements tool. The requirements-gathering process and all the associated tools, templates and techniques isn’t a one-size-fits-all model.
CHOOSING BUSINESS PROCESS MODELING SOFTWARE SOFTWARE
If you ask your software teams about how they gather requirements, you’ll likely get varied responses: from doing some actual mind reading to participating in requirement management workshops using different templates and tools. (I won’t even get on my soapbox about functional and nonfunctional requirements yet.) IT teams are often given a document template and told to “go gather requirements” with the expectation that the document will be implementation-ready in a week. Project teams can make bad assumptions, focus on the how instead of the what and incorrectly describe requirements. The reality is that gathering requirements is a lot of work. Sound familiar? Gathering requirements is complicated All of these requirements need to be formally captured in a mammoth document that will be used for future sophomoric squabbles over a game of “he said, she said.” The process usually involves the software team assuming that business customers will communicate everything that their hearts desire as succinctly as possible.īusiness customers have a tendency to expect software teams to be mind-readers, and to deliver a solution based on unspoken, malformed or unknown requirements.
Gathering software requirements can be as much fun as trying to count function points or code a webpage using a vi editor.