Post on 31-Dec-2015
description
Chapter 4
Collecting Requirements
What do you want to know?
What is the problem area?How does the business you approach it?Is the data available?Who will use the results?Who cares?
ROMC
RepresentationsOperationsMemory AidsControls
Interviews
Individual or groupRoles Lead Interviewer Scribe
Pre-interview researchQuestionnaireAgendaUser PreparationWrite-up
Interview Roles
Lead Interviewer(s): direct the questions and adapt to the
conversation
Scribe: take notes. interject if the lead interviewer misses
something. write up the session
Observer (not more than two) observe – not participate
Tape recorders
Cannot really replace peopleAsk firstMay make subjects nervousRequire listening to the meeting twice
Subjects (pp. 116 – 117)
Business Executive What are the business issues? What is your vision?
Business Manager or Analyst What are your measures of success? What data do you use? What analysis do you typically do?
Data Audit Data quality or quantity issues? Potential roadblocks (political or technical)? How is ad hoc analysis conducted?
Caveats
The one question to never ask is “What do you want in your computer system?” That is your job, not theirs.
You need to be brave enough to ask executives what keeps them up at night?
The interview team needs to resist the temptation to focus only on the top 5 reports or top ten questions.
Continually manage expectations.
The interview process
Introduce everyone: make everyone feel comfortable.Introduce the subject Remember your role Verify communication Define terminology Establish peer basis: know
interviewees vocabulary and business understanding
The interview process (cont.)
Be flexible be prepared to schedule additional
interviews respect your interviewees time and
reschedule if needed
Avoid burnout don’t schedule too many at once leave time between sessions
Manage Expectations
The interview process (cont.)
Wrap up the interview Summarize Ask for permission to call back Get documentation
Write up the interview soon (2 hours to 2 days)
Requirements Findings Document (Business Case)
Establishes the relevance and credibility of the data warehouse project.
Ties the business requirements to the realistic availability of data.
Facilitated sessions
Each one takes more time than interviews, but may generate moreRequires an experienced facilitatorRequires an initial understanding of the user areaParticipants feed of of each others ideasParticipants can negotiate disagreements