Requirements Structure 2.0

1. Requirements Structure 2.0 Clark Elliott Instructor With debt to Chris Thomopolous and Ali Merchant Original Authors

2. Project Overview Overview: What are you building? (in “one” sentence!) Why? (in “one” sentence!) Business Objective What is the business plan? Competition? Money figures? Etc. “Three” sentences. Benefit What need do you fill? Why do we care? “Three” sentences.

3. Project Overview Due Diligence – already done? What have others done? What can you use of what they have already done? Why is yours better? Assumptions. What users, system, software, market, education level, etc. assumptions are you making? Stakeholders. Who will be involved in this project? What is their stake in it?

4. Project Overview Constraints What will limit development, how will it affect the final product, and what are necessary strategies. Three Columns: (a) constraint (b) impact (c ) strategy Example: (a) Education level of users wrt. Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (b) Cannot use abbreviated screens (c ) cut less important modules from tutorial to make up time.

5. Project Overview Risk Management What could go wrong? What risks are we taking in making assumptions about unknown futures? Three columns: Specific Risk Potential Impact Mitigation Strategy Risk Management plan and discussion

6. Project Group Management Management strategy -- discussion Process by which conflicts are identified and resolved in the group Proactive tasks of the management team Polling for problems Schedule slippage/serendipity predictions Progress reports Accountability model Acknowledgement model Agenda management – who, how, when, where?

7. Project Roles What are the defined responsibilities / roles / subgroups in the project?

8. Client / Developer Management Process by which conflicts are resolved. Formal description of assumptions regarding language, calendar, costs, etc. Liaison role – who, how, when, where? Negotiator role – who, how, when, where?

9. Client / Developer Management Formal description of process for changes to requirements after freeze date. Allowed or not? Meet between dev. and client? Formal steps in the process? Negotiation procedure? Small changes?

10. Communications management For each of dev. group and client/dev.: Where is “address book” kept? Regular meetings and agenda? How often is email checked? Newsgroup management? Project “workbook”?

11. Communications management For project group: Website management Time log agreements and posting rules Skill set communication (internal only?) Subgroup communication model

12. Communications management For project client / dev. team: Exclusions from client – internal only Channel for feedback from client Informal communications between lower level development team / client team workers? Meeting time? Channel for dynamic problems / serendipity from client regarding project

13. Scope Change Management What is the original scope of the project? How are changes to the scope of the project handled?

14. Business Processes What business processes are being captured in the project? How are the processes defined? How do we verify that the business processes have been implemented? Review session? Client? Development team?

15. Technical Scope What are the technical components of the infrastructure? If the scope increases / decreases, how will the infrastructure change?

16. Project Phases What are the phases in project development? E.g., requirements, plan, design, test plan, implementation, scope review, mid-point client review, bug fixing, alpha/beta releases, documentation, maintenance cycle, training, etc.

17. Business Requirements To implement the correct business processes, what business requirements must be met? There is overlap with functional requirements, but these are more global. For example, one might want to state some of these in the negative as in, e.g., that the software must not be something a competitor could steal and use.

18. Functional Requirements Full, explicit listing, possibly with three or more hierarchical levels Careful description of what functions the software and extended system must perform on the users’ behalf. In other words, what must the users be able to get from the system? What help can they count on from using this system? What problems will it solve for them, and exactly how?

19. Technical Requirements Full, explicit listing, possibly with three or more hierarchical levels. What are the technical details that define the workings of the system itself? E.g., how is the PayPal module required to work? How much disk space do we require? What is the model for updating the content of web screens?

20. Security Requirements What are the functional requirements for security in the system? Important: what are the social functions required of the whole system (including the users and the corporation). Might be folded into the full set of functional requirements How are security authorization vs. management authorization handled? E.g., systems programmer vs. CEO

21. Security Requirements What are the technical requirements for your security model? Level of encryption, algorithms, password model, biometrics, interoperability, etc. Might be folded into the full set of technical requirements Will the model scale up?

22. User Profile Requirements What is the set of users, technical managers, etc. that interact with the system? What education / skill level is required of each? How are users trained?

23. Testing Requirements What is the test plan? (big discussion) What are the testing roles? How do we know the tests verify our goals? Contingency plans for re-testing of modules and systems. Documentation of tests Failed tests records? Does the test plan drive the system?

24. Documentation Requirements Documentation for each user role? Administrators Technical maintenance staff “Ordinary” users Commented code for maintenance

25. Wolves and Thieves Description of the Gang of Thieves, and the Wolf pack. Who, when, how? Documentation of attacks. Cyclic development and record? Sign off on EVERY requirement? Calendar, dates, schedule?

26. Author / Editor Who is the author? Who is the editor? What is the schedule, and relationship between requirements author and editor? Revision history?