PEGA OBJECTIVES AND REQUIREMENTS

Mukesh

Objectives

– Explain the value of a clearly defined business objective.

– Write a SMART business objective.

– List five attributes of a business objective.

– Describe the process to define business objectives.

Purpose of business objectives Business objectives are statements that describe business results. They help organizations identify specific and feasible ways to accomplish results.

Business objectives serve as the basis for decision making throughout analysis, design, and development of the Pega application

Business objectives describe short-term, intermediate, and long-term outcomes.

Short : Describe the initial expected changes after implementing certain activities or interventions. Examples include changes in knowledge, skills, and attitudes.

Intermediate : Describe interim results that provide a sense of progress toward reaching the long-term objective. Examples include changes in behavior, norms, and policy.

Long : Describe outcomes that are achieved only after the program has been in place for some time. Examples include changes in mortality, morbidity, and quality of life

SMART OBJECTIVES

Writing SMART business objectives helps you define the value of the Pega application for the business .

To measure and report on business value, include Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in your business objectives.

Examples of action verbs include limit, reduce, increase, and update.

Specific business objectives

Use clear language to describe what must be delivered.what needs to be done -- "What do we want to accomplish?" the results of the work to be done --- "How will we know we have achieved our goal?“

SMART OBJECTIVESMeasurable business objectivesspecific measures we use to determine if we are successful in achieving the business goalsUse verbs, specific conditions, and included Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Achievable business objectives

Achievable means that stakeholders are in agreement that an objective is attainable.

SMART OBJECTIVES

Relevant business objectivesIdentify business objectives that add value to the business and are relevant to the Pega solution.

Time-boundInclude time-bound end points and check points in the business objective.

SMART OBJECTIVES - Template

Example:Business Objective: Reduce customer response times from 24 hours to 12 hours by 3Q18.In this example, note that there is a baseline metric and a desired result.Each objective will link to one or more requirements. Here is a sample requirement for this objective.

Requirement: Each customer will receive an email response no later than 12 hours after the timestamp for their initial phone call. The email includes customer name, address, phone number and the time of the customer call.What: Customer response time is defined. This is a Service Level Agreement.After you create requirements, you create specifications. The specification describes application functionality.

Specification: As a customer service representative, I want to respond to customer inquiries within 12 hours so I can….Who: Customer Service RepresentativesTask: Respond to customer inquiries within 24 hoursOutcome: Resolve the customer support issue

Reduce customer response times from 24 hours to 12 hours by 3Q18.

Knowledge Check

– Is the following business objective measurable?

Reduce customer support calls for cancelled rental car reservations by 30 percent by the end of the 4th quarter.

– List three action verbs to use in a business objective.

– Explain why it is a good practice to include metrics in business objectives.

our project stakeholders have given you a list of business objectives. Which objective is a SMART objective?

A. Offer products and services that are priced competitively.

B. Increase sales by 30% by 2Q19.

C. Deliver project on time and on budget.

D. Convert 35% of leads to customer within 30 days of initial contact by 4Q17.

Your goal is to work with stakeholders to review an existing list of requirements and identify SMART business objectives. Which statement is a SMART business objective?

A. Increase customer satisfaction.

B. Limit customer response times to no more than 24 hours so we can increase our NPS by 5 points by 4Q17.

C. Customer responses must be sent no later than 24 hours after the initial customer call to the service center.

D. As a customer service representative, I want to respond to customer inquiries within 24 hours so I can...

Your goal is to work with stakeholders to define SMART business objectives and obtain sign off. Which two statements describe the benefits of business objectives. (Choose Two) 

A. They describe the operations, definitions and constraints that apply to an organization.

B. They describe modifications needed for an existing implementation; either before or after release.

C. They measure the amount of progress achieved toward a specific goal and can be reported on during application development.

D. They define the value of the Pega solution to the business.

Requirement Analysis

– Describe three requirements analysis activities.

– Describe the purpose of a requirement.

– Explain how DCO relates to requirements analysis.

– Describe five attributes of a "good" requirement.

– Write a clear, concise requirement in a manner that can be tested and confirmed.

– Categorize a group of requirements.

Key activities to Analyze requirementsRequirements analysis determines exactly what is needed to solve a particular business problem.

Identify stakeholders : Stakeholders are defined in terms of interest in, impact on and influence over the proposed solutionProject stakeholders include sponsors and Pega application championsBusiness stakeholders determine functionality and evaluate delivered solutions.

Elicit requirementsA requirement is an event, condition, or function that must be satisfied and trackedA requirement can be functional (a capability) or non-functional (a quality or constraint).As you identify requirements, focus on stakeholder needs. Technical requirements will be considered after you have identify the high level business requirements for the application.

Record requirements in Pega 7Requirements and objectives in Pega become the foundation for the application.

Purpose of Requirement Analysis– You communicate with business stakeholders to identify specific application capabilities and resolve

ambiguity in requirements

– Technical considerations should not drive business requests for functionality

– It is sometimes difficult for stakeholders to describe their business needs. Ask questions to clarify input and discover implied requirements.

What does the new application need to do?

What is the end result?

What are the key capabilities you hope to have?

Which capabilities are the most important for you?

What information needs to be reported on?

Your stakeholder answers to these questions will prompt additional questions and will help define the application requirements

Tips for Writing Good RequirementA good requirement describes desired behaviour in a clear and concise manner, is understood by business and technical audiences, and is written in a manner that can be tested and confirmed.

VerifiableInclude information that allows someone to test the requirement in the Pega application

Ex. The user views available vehicles by price. The user views available vehicles by make. The user views available vehicles by model. The user views available vehicles by location.

Tips for Writing Good RequirementClear and conciseWrite a brief summary sentence for the requirement.Keep additional sentences short (no more than 30 to 50 words)Use active voice, with proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Use unambiguous language to avoid misinterpretationDo not include definitions, descriptions, and justifications. Use terms consistently and define them in a glossary or data dictionary

CompleteProvide all of the information necessary to define the corresponding feature. Clearly define a benchmark that can be used to compare the resulting configured rules.

ConsistentUse consistent terminology and syntax in your requirements so that solution architects can quickly identify related requirements and functionality. Write each requirement so that it does not conflict with or contradict other requirements. Use the same terminology across all requirements to limit confusion. Adhere to organizational standards for all descriptions, such as user roles or tasks.

Tips for Writing Good RequirementTraceableTraceable requirements allow us to understand how a requirement specifies a feature that satisfies a client need. If a requirement cannot be mapped all the way back to a business need, it does not need to be included in the scope. Each requirement is linked to the corresponding specification and related rules in Pega to assess application progress.

ViableA good requirement can be satisfied within the scope of application development. The development team should be able to satisfy a good requirement within the project schedule and budget, using available technology and staff.

NecessaryThe requirement should state behaviour that is essential to the operation of the application. The requirement describes functionality that must be in scope to meet the business objectives. Omitting the requirement may lead to a deficiency within the application.

Tips for Writing Good RequirementSolution-freeWrite requirements that relate to business needs and operations. Do not mention solutions. This allows the business or system architect responsible for satisfying the requirement to decide how best to achieve the desired behaviour.

GranularityChoose an appropriate level of granularity for your requirements. A helpful granularity guideline is to write individually testable requirements. Avoid long narrative paragraphs. Check to see if multiple requirements are included in a single statement. If your requirement includes either the "and" or the "or" conjunction, break the requirement into muliple.

SingularAvoid redundant requirements. Watch out for cut-and-paste errors. Review your requirements for duplicates. The table below lists examples of singular requirements.

UnderstandableA requirement is understandable if both business and technical stakeholders have a shared understanding of the business context and intended meaning. Requirements are understandable if you do not have to ask additional questions for clarification.

Category of RequirementBusiness rule requirement identifies the rules that define, constrain, and enable organizational operations.

Change control requirement documents a modification needed for a Pega application. This modification may occur before or after release.

Enterprise standard requirement documents enterprise or industry standards to be included in the Pega solution.

Functional requirement describes what a software system should do to meet the needs of the business.

Non-functional requirement places constraints on how the system operates. Non-functional requirements specify criteria that may be used to judge the operation of the system.

Category of RequirementBusiness rule requirement identifies the rules that define, constrain, and enable organizational operations.Associated with a step in the process — either manual or automated — to identify desired system behavior.f you break business rule requirements down to a single condition and a single conclusion, you can more easily see errors and omissions.

The examples in the following table describe a single condition leading to a single conclusion.

Rule Example

Promotion If it is December, then the December to Remember campaign is active.

Regulatory If the employee is terminated, then the employee cannot log in to the system.

Security If the user is authorized, then the user may approve the expense reimbursement.

Credit score If the person has a credit score below 650, then the person cannot be auto-approved for a loan.

Category of RequirementChange control requirements Change control requirements describe changes that impact the Pega application. The change may be relevant for a new Pega application or an existing one.

The table below lists examples of change control requirements.

Change control Example

Automate printingReplace existing manual system to print distribution paperwork with automated solution.

Credit check Change credit score verification functionality to new credit score web service.

Category of RequirementEnterprise standard requirementsEnterprise standard requirements document any enterprise or industry standard to which our application must adhere, such as a specific data format for information.

The table below lists examples of enterprise standard requirements.

Requirement Business need

Customer statements are generated in SAP format. Specific format for statements

Website home page for each rental car location includes company logo. Corporate branding guideline

Category of RequirementFunctional requirementsA functional requirement describes what a software system should do. A function is a set of inputs, outputs, and associated system behavior.

The table below lists examples of functional requirements (note the consistent sentence structure).

Requirement Release

User filters new cars by make Release 1.0

User filters used cars by make Release 1.0

User selects new car Release 1.0

System sends email when user requests a quote. Release 1.0

User filters used trucks by make Release 2.0

User filters Certified Pre-Owned trucks by make Release 2.0

Category of RequirementNon-functional requirements

Non-functional requirements describe the behavior of the system as it relates to system functionality. They augment the functional requirements of a solution.

Non-functional requirements often include a constraining attribute.

Whenever possible, include metrics in the non-functional requirement to make it verifiable.

The table in the next slides includes examples of non-functional requirements.

Non-functional ExampleUsability Alarms can be set to display on the user interface and play as audio files.

Performance User receives email no more than 12 hours after requesting a quote.Availability System must be available 99.9 percent.Reliability Redundant system with real time failover.Scalability System is able to accommodate 5 million users (baseline 2 million).Data Migration Historical data is uploaded in bulk one time.Certification Solution must comply with NERC CIP version 5 regulations.

Security Payment transactions are submitted securely.

Permissions Users have read, write, and/or delete access, depending on role.

Operational During outages, calls are routed to the backup call center.System The system is available 24/7.Compliance Customer transaction data is archived for seven years.

Delivery The website will be rolled out in stages. The first release will be for MA, NH, ME, VT, NH, and CT.

Licensing There are no licensing requirements for release 1.0.

Capturing requirements in Pega

– When you initially enter a requirement in Pega, you may not know many details. At a minimum enter a Name, Short Description, and Description.

– During Grooming/Elaboration sessions you can add detail to the requirements.

To add a requirement to your application:

– In Designer Studio, click Designer Studio > Application > Profile > Requirements to open the Requirements landing page.

– Click Create Requirement. The Add/Edit Requirement page displays.

– Note: If the customer is using an external repository you may enter an External Requirement ID to link to the repository.

– We can also attach documents that support the requirement:

Knowledge Check

1. Who determines functionality for an application:

– business stakeholders, project sponsors, or developers ?

You are the Business Architect on a new project. Your stakeholders have given you a list of 700 requirements. These requirements are a year old, but are very important to the customer. What should you do with this information? (Choose Three)

A. Listen and clarify things people tell you.

B. Enter the requirements into Pega.

C. Categorize each requirement in Pega.

D. Meet with key stakeholders to learn why the requirements are important.

E. Write a detailed description of the requirement.

F. Review requirements to make sure that they are not repetitive.

Select the statements that best describe the purpose of requirements analysis. (Choose Two)

A. Prototype updates to existing applications.

B. Replicate legacy functionality.

C. Determine what is needed to solve a particular business problem.

D. Describe how particular groups of stakeholders will interact with an application.

E. Ensure that applications do not become obsolete quickly.

Select the answer that best describes how to follow DCO when analyzing requirements. 

A. Talk to multiple stakeholders to get a clear understanding of what must be done.

B. Enter information directly into Pega.

C. Keep things simple. Write short, concise requirements.

D. Synthesize input from stakeholders.

E. Work to build consensus across stakeholder groups.

You are meeting with your team to review a list of existing requirements. Which requirement is verifiable and testable? 

A. On time and on budget. The project must be finished on time within budget.

B. The user is locked out of the application after three unsuccessful log on attempts.

C. Multiple access locations. The user can access the application from any location.

D. User friendly interface. The UI must be user friendly and have professional appearance.

The requirements are in Pega. You are working with stakeholders to categorize each requirement. Which of the following is a Business Rule requirement? 

A. Alarms are initiated from alarm web service. They are no longer initiated from the alarm database

B. Export report formats. Reports may be exported in PDF, csv or xlsx format.

C. Manager approves expense reimbursement. If the manager is authorized then he may approve expense reimbursement requests.

D. Email notification for password change. System sends email to notify user that their password has been changed.

The stakeholder has asked you to add the following requirements to the release. All but one of the following requirements must be rewritten for clarity. Which requirement is clear and concise?

A. The application is scalable and can easily be modified for future updates and enhancements.

B. Customer service representatives should be able to view all customer invoices. Update the billing database to add Mexico before migrating to the new application.

C. View account balance. User should be able to view the real time balance for their online brokerage account.

D. Expense report approval. The manager should be able to approve expense reports and see all of the receipts associated with each report, as well as the hotels where employees stayed.

Thank You