Bringing Software Requirements to Life by David Walker (Micro Focus) - Sep 2009
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Tired of numbing statistics that continue to cite requirements as the root of all software project failure? Despite the proliferation of requirements management technologies, requirements problems persist. And, as application development processes increase in complexity, the requirements problem continues to grow - it costs software delivery organizations more than ever before in terms of budget, time-to-market, business value and customer goodwill. You may think you're managing your requirements, but the burning question is: What if you're managing the wrong requirements? Requirements definition goes to the very core of application development - it is the underlying key to project success or failure, yet it is the single most neglected discipline within software development. What are the hidden costs associated with poor requirements? It's much worse than you think. Why traditional approaches to defining applications fail and will always fail. How simulation and prototyping are different from what you do now and why it's worth trying. Defining software requirements is a source of pain for most organizations - but for smart teams, it can be the area of greatest opportunity. Come on out and learn more!
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Bringing Software Requirements to Life by David Walker (Micro Focus) - Sep 2009
- 1. 9/24/2009 1 Bringing Software Requirements to Life David Walker Product Owner david.walker@microfocus.com +1 401 267 8874
- 2. 9/24/2009 2 bringing software requirements to life means animating requirements to animate people • gain a real understanding of the problem • see why traditional approaches don‟t work • become your inner educator • break down the 4th wall • tgim
- 3. 9/24/2009 3 requirements problems are a subset of the systemic human condition of poor communication http://www.flickr.com/photos/nelsonlai/1258727102/
- 7. 9/24/2009 7 “[project success rates] are a low point in the last five study periods. This year‟s results represent the highest failure rate in over a decade” -Standish Group (5/09) rework
- 8. 9/24/2009 8 ConfidentialCopyright © 2007 Borland Software Corporation. 15 The Source of Software Defects Requirements 41% Others 7% Data 6% Interface 6% Logic Design 28% Environment 5% Human 5% Documentation 2% Source: U.S. Air Force Project, F. Sheldon, 1992 “Reliability Measurement from Theory to Practice” ConfidentialCopyright © 2007 Borland Software Corporation. 16 Source: Dean Leffingwell, James Martin Rework typically accounts for 40% of total project cost Original Project Cost 60% Rework Cost 40% Cost of Rework Why Manage Requirements? Code 1% Other 4% Design 13%Requirements 82% Rework Efforts Requirements efforts account for over 80% of rework effort Size of Team Cost of Team Spending on Rework Potential RM Impact 100 $10,000,000 $4,000,000 $3,200,000
- 9. 9/24/2009 9 ConfidentialCopyright © 2007 Borland Software Corporation. 17 Relative Cost of Fixing a Defect 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 Requirements Design Code Development Testing Acceptance Testing Operation RelativeCosttoCorrectaDefect Source: Barry W. Boehm, Software Engineering Economics http://www.flickr.com/photos/mzahra1/sets/72157606850556504/show/
- 10. 9/24/2009 10 McKinsey & Co says… “If a company is later to market with a new product by only six months, 33 percent of the gross profit potential is lost”
- 11. 9/24/2009 11 “Improving time to market by one month improves profits by 12 percent” Standish says…
- 12. 9/24/2009 12 • “If a company is later to market with a new product by only six months, 33 percent of the gross profit potential is lost” http://devcentral.f5.com/weblogs/images/devcentral_f5_com/weblogs/Joe/WindowsLiveWriter/PowerShellABCsQisforQueues_919A/queue_2.jpg
- 14. 9/24/2009 14 Blame Chain SME #1 Blame Chain SME #2 Blame Chain SME #6 Blame Chain SME #5 Blame Chain SME #3 Blame Chain SME #4 Blame Chain SME #7 Everyone knows requirements must be serious and difficult and you must remain seated at all times. No fun allowed.
- 15. 9/24/2009 15 this is not easy… and…it seems to be getting harder…
- 16. 9/24/2009 16 (but it doesn‟t have to be “no fun”) bringing software requirements to life must be fun
- 19. 9/24/2009 19 technical complexity & software complexity http://www.flickr.com/photos/nifmus/2385966735/sizes/o/
- 20. 9/24/2009 20 http://www.flickr.com/photos/steevil/2755466776/sizes/o/ • Fatigue adj. (weariness, tiredness): temporary loss of strength and energy resulting from hard physical or mental work • How many interesting excuses have you heard? Are they even making excuses any more? • Maybe we‟ll do better if we DON‟T participate…could it be worse? http://www.flickr.com/photos/1suisse/3476366880/sizes/l/
- 21. 9/24/2009 21 bringing software requirements to life must be engaging • Fatigue adj. (weariness, tiredness): temporary loss of strength and energy resulting from hard physical or mental work • How many interesting excuses have you heard? Are they even making excuses any more? • Maybe we‟ll do better if we DON‟T participate…could it be worse? • What prevents active engagement? Reflex and Momentum http://www.flickr.com/photos/1suisse/3476366880/sizes/l/
- 22. 9/24/2009 22 Reflex: It hurts when I do this… http://www.freewebs.com/nervous-system/doityourself.htm http://www.tkk.fi/Yksikot/Laiva/Kuvat/jahrevik.jpg
- 26. 9/24/2009 26
- 27. 9/24/2009 27 noise ambiguity un-reconciled viewpoints assumptions ikiwisi bringing software requirements to life drives clearer communication
- 29. 9/24/2009 29 "Teach me my most difficult concepts in my preferred style. Let me explore easy concepts in a different style. Just don't teach me all the time in your preferred style and think I'm not capable of learning." A comment from Virleen M. Carlson, Center for Learning and Teaching, Cornell University http://www.bruceeisner.com/myers_briggs_types.gif
- 30. 9/24/2009 30 vakt Net Geners Learn Differently – 10,000 hours playing video games – 20,000 hours on e-mail – chat – blog – 20,000 hours watching TV – 10,000 hours on cell phones, and – under 5,000 hours reading – fast paced, highly stimulating presentations – increased interactivity with content & each other – information that relates to the learner‟s world – multiple options for obtaining knowledge. Susan El-Shamy. Training for the new and emerging generations. Quoted in http://scope.lidc.sfu.ca/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=521 By 21 years of age, They need:
- 31. 9/24/2009 31 “Approximately 20 to 30 percent of the school-aged population remembers what is heard; 40 percent recalls well visually the things that are seen or read; many must write or use their fingers in some manipulative way to help them remember basic facts; other people cannot internalize information or skills unless they use them in real-life activities…” (Teaching Students to Read Through Their Individual Learning Styles, Marie Carbo, Rita Dunn, and Kenneth Dunn; Prentice-Hall, 1986, p.13.) • lecture 5% • reading 10% • audio-visual 20% • demonstration 30% • discussion group 50% • practice by doing 75% • teaching others / immediate usage 90% comprehension: average retention rate after 24 hours http://www.saskschools.ca/curr_content/adapthandbook/learner/images/pyramid.gif
- 32. 9/24/2009 32 Adult Learners According to Malcolm Knowles, adult learners have other learning characteristics, including: • a requirement to know how the knowledge is of direct benefit, • a need to apply the knowledge through actual experience, • ability to learn quickly when the training content is considered to be of use, • a tendency to learn best when a problem-based approach is used, • a need for independence, but not enough to cause discomfort (e.g., some trainees are uncomfortable with role playing). bringing software requirements to life must be interactive
- 33. 9/24/2009 33 bringing software requirements to life must present the illusion of realism bringing software requirements to life must be in tune with the way they learn
- 34. 9/24/2009 34 You‟re learners too – how do YOU learn effectively ?
- 35. 9/24/2009 35 If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail. - Abraham Maslow http://www.flickr.com/photos/deadeyebart/sets/72057594122748485/show/
- 38. 9/24/2009 38 requirements <> definition Requirements <> Definition change the name - change the game • be open to other alternatives – interviewing – JAD – card sorting – Ethnographic study – survey – prototyping / simulation 76
- 40. 9/24/2009 40 http://www.sapdesignguild.org/resources/glossary_web/IMAGES/SV1.JPG if you had to bet $1000 of your own money…
- 43. 9/24/2009 43 proven in other industries secures executive attention
- 44. 9/24/2009 44 prototypes ask questions before they answer them
- 45. 9/24/2009 45 checklist – don't take them too far – need to be „real time‟ for collaboration – need to get in front of as many eyes as possible – needs to assist with management of feedback – need to easily communicate downstream – needs to integrate seamlessly into RDM – needs to support non-software processes as well – can't break the bank 89 http://www.flickr.com/photos/bart_/295339365/sizes/l/
- 47. 9/24/2009 47 http://www.leadershipnow.com/leadingblog/images/process-explained.gif Breaking the Fourth Wall http://www.sanantonio.gov/convfac/images/highrezpics/lilastage.JPG
- 48. 9/24/2009 48 What needs to change • roundtrip the conversation • get through - not just give out • repair relationships • be relevant – “own the problem” • define the systems that people want to use • Change is hard… 95 http://www.stevenmsmith.com/my-articles/article/the-satir-change-model.html
- 49. 9/24/2009 49 Be a Trim Tab With respects to Buckminster Fuller: “Something hit me very hard once, thinking about what one little man could do. Think of the Queen Mary -- the whole ship goes by and then comes the rudder. And there's a tiny thing at the edge of the rudder called a trim tab. It's a miniature rudder. Just moving the little trim tab builds a low pressure that pulls the rudder around. Takes almost no effort at all. So I said that the little individual can be a trim tab…” “So I said, call me Trim Tab.” http://cruiselinehistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/moittelcollectionmuseum001.jpg
- 51. 9/24/2009 51 visual language this poses an ethical question can we ethically continue to create our content, in the same “old prose” way, creating 23 to 89% more difficulty for readers, and hence, creating that much more suffering for them? can we ethically not use visual language? Robert E. Horn (paraphrased)
- 52. 9/24/2009 52 can we ethically not use interactive approaches when defining applications? can we ethically not bring software requirements to life?
- 53. 9/24/2009 53 Bringing Software Requirements to Life David Walker Product Owner david.walker@microfocus.com +1 401 267 8874