Understanding

Ebba Thora Hvannberg

Goal

• Understand what requirements are• Know methods to elicit requirements• Be able to understand these requirements

What are requirements?

• A requirement is ‘ something the product must do or a quality that the product must have’ (Robertson and Robertson, 1999).

• Requirements are both functional and non-functional

Priority of requirements (MoSCoW)

• Must have –– Must absolutely have

• Should have – – Would be fundamental if enough time

• Could have– Can omit

• Want to have but Won’t have this time round – can wait until later

Interviews – ways to elicit requirements

• Structured interviews – questions decided upon beforehand

• Semi-structure interviews

Support material for interviews

• Storyboards

• Scenarios

Interviews

• Be prepared and get to know the domain• Try to get help from others who can take notes• Be aware of an incorrect view of the reality• Repeat sttements and iterate more closely to

get details

• General questions: – Tell me about a typical day – Tell me about three good things and three bad

things• Be an apprentice • When to stop – 2-3 interviewees per role– When no new requirements are found

Questionnaires

• You will reach more people• Timeconsuming and difficult to create• Response ration can be low

Questionnaires

In situ

• Observe people while they work in their own environment

• Can be difficult to put oneself in people’s situations in an interview room.

• Be careful not to disturb. Be a fly on the wall. • The experience is strong and hence you

cannot derive at too general assumptions. – Check what you do not see

Data gathering