Joint Requirements Planning Technique: Use Case Workshops

Conventional techniques like observation and interviews typically take significant time to organize. Joint Requirements Planning techniques on the other hand, have the added advantage of saving time because they involve bringing system owners, analysts, users, designers and builders together to identify problems, define requirements and analyse within a Joint Application Development framework. These workshops can run for 3-5 days with the analyst playing the role of a facilitator.

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10 Tips For Organizing Focus Groups

Focus groups offer a means of gathering information that is subjective by seeking answers to open-ended questions. Instead of distributing basic questionnaires that deliver data requiring further analysis, focus groups allow organizers to share their perspectives in a non-threatening, collaborative and interactive environment.

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How To Design Effective Questionnaires/Surveys

Questionnaires can be very useful in gathering opinions and information from multiple sources. The analyst may choose to distribute questionnaires using a web or paper-based form. Using a questionnaire can go a long way in gauging user perceptions and gaining insight into pertinent issues. If questions are asked using the most appropriate medium, results can be achieved easily.

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Soft Systems Methodology

SSM is presented in a series of 7 steps though it’s not meant to be followed in a linear fashion. Stages may be skipped, refined, iterated or followed depending on the peculiarities of the situation. The analyst moves from the real world of gathering information about the situation (elicitation), to the model world of systems thinking (analysis) and back to the real world to verify the requirements (verification).

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Understanding the Document Analysis Technique

The document analysis technique is one of the most effective ways of kick-starting the requirements elicitation phase. It is the art of studying relevant business, system and project documentation with the objective of understanding the business, the project background, identifying requirements and opportunities for improvement.

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Using the Observation Technique for Requirements Elicitation

Most people are used to observing events in their personal and professional lives. In some cases, we come to conclusions based on the events we observe. The observation technique is an effective means of deciphering how a user does their job by conducting an assessment of their work environment. This technique can be used to verify requirements and deliver instant requirements worthy of consideration.

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An Overview of User Stories

Writing a user story is an interesting way of adding a touch of agile to your projects. A user story can be described as a high-level statement of a requirement that does not go into excessive detail. It describes the functionality or feature that a product is expected to deliver to the user. Stories encourage iterative development and can be refined as many times as possible to reach agreement and understanding among stakeholders.

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