Requirements

And Issues Definition

May 20, 2008

Ron Nichols, PMP

IT Management and Strategy Consultant

Joye Technology Group, LLC

Mission Statement

To assist organizations in delivering

technology solutions to improve business

profits.

Technology is an Enabler

What’s The Big Deal With Requirements

According to the PMI

90% of all IT projects FAIL

not on time

over budget

do not satisfy customer needs

80% of project failures are caused by poor requirements

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Goals for Tonight

Hermann Brain Dominance Indicator

Where do you think from?

How does that impact requirements and issue definition

Requirements Insights

Why are requirements so hard to correctly identify?

What can you do to be better at requirements gathering?

Issue definition Insights

How do you identify the issue and not the symptom?

Added benefits

Self Awareness

Communication

Meeting facilitation

Interpersonal communication

Personal Life Joye

group

SCOPE CREEP

Fact?

Fiction?

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Scope Creep – Fact or Fiction

Fiction Project = Initial Requirements + Approved

Change controls

If requirements are not defined such that it is clear whether

a customer request is in scope or necessitates a change

control, the requirements are too ambiguous. Scope

creep is ambiguity used to someone's advantage.

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A person's brain, both conscious and subconscious,

controls the perspective through which a person gives and

receives communication, perceives and solves problems,

and addresses tasks that are to be completed.

More has been learned about the brain in the past 20 years

than in the previous 20 centuries.

New fields are being spawned that will uncover even more

information. Neuro Behavioral Genetics

Introduction to Your Brain

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Weighs about 3 LBS

Contains 12 trillion neurons

Each neuron can connect with 100,000 adjoining

neurons to form a synapse. It would take 10.5 million

miles of zeros to list the number of possible

combinations.

A synapse allows neurons to transmit data from one neuron

to another neuron.

About 10% of your brain is used for conscious

thought

Amazing Facts - BRAIN

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Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument

Facts Logic

Statistics

Analysis

Problem Solving

Analyze

Future Vision

Risk

Conceptual

Free form

Strategize

Form Plans

Rules

Details

Structure

Organize

Feelings Empathetic

Expressive

Sensory

Interpersonal

Personalize

Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument

SKILLS Analysis, Evaluation, Qualification,

Technical, Financial, Critical assessment

STYLE Rational, Thorough, Precise, Logical,

Authoritative

CAN APPEAR Rigid, Ruthless, Cold, Calculating,

Limited by need for proof

SKILLS Innovation, Vision, Lateral thinking,

Synthesis, Strategic thinking, Catalyst

for change

STYLE Exploring, Imaginative, Adventurous,

Experimental

CAN APPEAR Unfocused, Impulsive, Rash, Oblivious

of deadlines, Vague, Given to tangents

SKILLS Organization, Implementation, Accuracy,

Administration, Operational planning,

Practical tasks, Completion

STYLE Careful, Methodical, Procedural,

Reliable, Predictable, Disciplined,

Detailed, “Doer”

CAN APPEAR Nit picking, bossy, stuck in a rut, boring

SKILLS Customer relations, teaching / training,

communication, anticipating needs, team

awareness

STYLE Caring, friendly, sociable, empathetic,

humanistic, emotional

CAN APPEAR Over sensitive, Un-businesslike,

Sentimental

Road blocks to requirements and issues

Projects and issues are created from a business opportunity or from an existing problem.

Problem solvers are usually the ones that gather requirements or define an issue

A person tends to assume that everyone thinks the way they think

“Black holes” exist in all of us

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What’s so hard about it?

Characteristics needed Red (need cooperation, communication, empathy)

Yellow (what and why)

Green (have to produce a requirements document)

It’s always different There are no checklists!

The customer does not always know what they

need

Human Nature We assume that everyone sees things from the

same perspective that we do.

We all have “black holes”

We jump to “how” Joye group

So What's the Answer?

Educate. Educate. Educate.

Talking about the bottom line is a great attention getter. No

matter what the opportunity or the problem being addressed,

spending time to make sure the requirements are well defined

saves money in the long run.

Create two projects instead of one, or at least two deliverables

Use the right parts of your brain when you gather requirements

or define an issue. LEAVE BLUE OUT OF THE RAINBOW!

Ask the questions. Shed light on the black holes. Investigate.

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So What's the Answer?

Be skeptical! Of yourself, of your customer, of the environment,

of everything.

Eliminate ambiguity.

"How" should only be used with regard to the way a process

works, NOT with regard to a solution.

Answer the question, "How will IT and the customer agree that the

project is done?”

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Requirements gathering & Issue definition in a nutshell

Stay away from blue!

Focus on “what” and “why”

Avoid ambuiguity

Avoid “how”

Be skeptical

Badger, badger, badger

Added benefits

Self Awareness Which part of your brain do you usually think from?

Can you overcome your own roadblocks?

Define the requirements for each task you perform

Communication – meeting facilitation What do you want to accomplish during the meeting?

What parts of the brain does the group need to use to meet the meeting goals?

Communication – interpersonal Where are you thinking from?

Where does the person you are communicating with think from?

How can you span the gap?

Personal life impact

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Avoid Unnecessary Trouble

People are like turtles, can’t move any direction with their

heads tucked in their shell.

Use the colors to focus rather than personalize

Let people put themselves into a corner

Requirements and Issues

Definition

May 20, 2008

Ron Nichols, PMP

IT Management and Strategy Consultant

Questions