Software Requirements Essentials: Core Practices for Successful Business Analysis (for True EPUB)

20 Best Practices for Developing and Managing Requirements on Any Project. Software Requirements Essentials presents 20 core practices for successful requirements planning, elicitation, analysis, specification, validation, and management. Leading requirements experts Karl Wiegers and Candase Hokanson focus on the practices most likely to deliver superior value for both traditional and agile projects, in any application domain. These core practices help teams understand business problems, engage the right participants, articulate better solutions, improve communication, implement the most valuable functionality in the right sequence, and adapt to change and growth. Concise and tightly focused, this book offers just enough pragmatic "how-to" detail for you to apply the core practices with confidence, whether you're a business analyst, requirements engineer, product manager, product owner, or developer. Using it, your entire team can build a shared understanding of key concepts, terminology, techniques, and rationales--and work together more effectively on every project. This book describes the twenty most important practices that help software teams create a set of requirements to serve as the foundation for the subsequent development work. These practices broadly apply regardless of the type of product the team is creating or their development approach. Some software teams work not on discrete development projects but on existing products that demand ongoing modifications and new functionality. The people who are responsible for requirements work on product teams like those will find the practices in this book equally applicable to their work. This is the CliffsNotes version of many software requirements books, rolled into one. By nature of it being consciously focused and condensed, you should not expect massive details or full examples of every topic in Software Requirements Essentials. For each of the many techniques presented, you’ll get a little what, a little why, and a little how—enough to get you started and motivated. When you want more, follow the numerous links provided to reference materials. Learn how to: Clarify problems, define business objectives, and set solution boundaries Identify stakeholders and decision makers Explore user tasks, events, and responses Assess data concepts and relationships Elicit and evaluate quality attributes Analyze requirements and requirement sets, create models and prototypes, and set priorities Specify requirements in a consistent, structured, and well-documented fashion Review, test, and manage change to requirements "I once read the ten best-selling requirements engineering books of the prior ten years. This one book succinctly presents more useful information than those ten books combined." --Mike Cohn, author of User Stories Applied and co-founder, Scrum Alliance "Diamonds come about when a huge amount of carbon atoms are compressed. Karl and Candase have done something very similar: they have compressed their vast requirements knowledge into 20 gems they call 'core practices.' These practices are potent stuff, and I recommend that they become part of everyone's requirements arsenal." --James Robertson, author of Mastering the Requirements Process and Business Analysis Agility "Long story short: if you are going to read only one requirements book, this is it. Software Requirements Essentials distills the wealth of information found in Software Requirements and many other texts down to twenty of the most important requirements activities that apply on nearly all projects. Today's busy BA simply doesn't have the time to read a lengthy instructive guide front-to-back. But they should find the time to read this book." --From the Foreword by Joy Beatty, COO, ArgonDigital "Software Requirements Essentials will be a high-value addition to your business analysis library. Anyone looking to improve their business analysis practices will find great practical advice they'll be able to apply immediately." --Laura Paton, Principal Consultant, BA Academy, Inc. Contents Foreword Acknowledgments About the Authors Chapter 1: Essentials of Software Requirements Requirements Defined Good Practices for Requirements Engineering Who Does All This Stuff? Some Recurrent Themes The Life and Times of Requirements Getting Started Chapter 2: Laying the Foundation Practice #1: Understand the problem before converging on a solution. Business Problems Eliciting the Real Problems Keeping the Business Problem in Focus Related Practices Next Steps Practice #2: Define business objectives. Business Requirements Business Objectives Success Metrics Product Vision Related Practices Next Steps Practice #3: Define the solution’s boundaries. Refining the Solution Concept Setting the Context Expanding the Ecosystem Applying the Solution’s Boundaries Related Practices Next Steps Practice #4: Identify and characterize stakeholders. The Quest for Stakeholders Stakeholders, Customers, and User Classes Characterizing Stakeholders Related Practices Next Steps Practice #5: Identify empowered decision makers. Who Makes the Call? How Do They Decide? What Happens Following the Decision? Related Practices Next Steps Chapter 3: Requirements Elicitation Practice #6: Understand what users need to do with the solution. Focusing on Usage Eliciting User Requirements Anatomy of a Use Case Applying Usage-centric Requirements Information Related Practices Next Steps Practice #7: Identify events and responses. Types of Events Specifying Events Related Practices Next Steps Practice #8: Assess data concepts and relationships. Understanding Data Objects and Their Relationships Refining the Data Understanding Data Details Determine Success Find Data Requirements Wherever They Are Hiding Related Practices Next Steps Practice #9: Elicit and evaluate quality attributes. Eliciting Quality Attributes Quality Attribute Implications Quality Attribute Trade-offs Specifying Quality Attributes Related Practices Next Steps Chapter 4: Requirements Analysis Practice #10: Analyze requirements and requirement sets. Analyzing Individual Requirements Analyzing Sets of Requirements Related Practices Next Steps Practice #11: Create requirements models. Selecting the Right Models Using Models to Refine Understanding Iterative Modeling Related Practices Next Steps Practice #12: Create and evaluate prototypes. Reasons to Prototype How to Prototype The Prototype’s Fate Related Practices Next Steps Practice #13: Prioritize the requirements. The Prioritization Challenge Factors That Influence Priority Prioritization Techniques Pairwise Comparison for Prioritizing Quality Attributes Analytical Prioritization Methods Related Practices Next Steps Chapter 5: Requirements Specification Practice #14: Write requirements in consistent ways. Some Common Requirement Patterns Levels of Abstraction Requirement Attributes Nonfunctional Requirements Related Practices Next Steps Practice #15: Organize requirements in a structured fashion. Requirements Templates The Software Requirements Specification Requirements Management Tools Related Practices Next Steps Practice #16: Identify and document business rules. Business Rules Defined Discovering Business Rules Documenting Business Rules Applying Business Rules Related Practices Next Steps Practice #17: Create a glossary. Synchronizing Communication Related Practices Next Steps Chapter 6: Requirements Validation Practice #18: Review and test the requirements. Requirements Reviews Testing the Requirements Acceptance Criteria Testing Analysis Models Testing Requirements Efficiently Pushing Quality to the Front Related Practices Next Steps Chapter 7: Requirements Management Practice #19: Establish and manage requirements baselines. Requirements Baseline Defined Two Baselining Strategies Identifying Which Requirements Are Included in a Baseline Getting Agreement on the Baseline Managing Multiple Baselines and Changes to Them Related Practices Next Steps Practice #20: Manage changes to requirements effectively. Anticipating Requirement Changes Defining the Change Control Process Assessing Changes for Impacts After a Decision Is Made In Search of Less Change Related Practices Next Steps Appendix: Summary of Practices References Index 20 Best Practices for Developing and Managing Requirements on Any Project Software Requirements Essentials presents 20 core practices for successful requirements planning, elicitation, analysis, specification, validation, and management. Leading requirements experts Karl Wiegers and Candase Hokanson focus on the practices most likely to deliver superior value for both traditional and agile projects, in any application domain. These core practices help teams understand business problems, engage the right participants, articulate better solutions, improve communication, implement the most valuable functionality in the right sequence, and adapt to change and growth. Concise and tightly focused, this book offers just enough pragmatic "how-to" detail for you to apply the core practices with confidence, whether you're a business analyst, requirements engineer, product manager, product owner, or developer. Using it, your entire team can build a shared understanding of key concepts, terminology, techniques, and rationales—and work together more effectively on every project. Learn how to: Clarify problems, define business objectives, and set solution boundaries Identify stakeholders and decision makers Explore user tasks, events, and responses Assess data concepts and relationships Elicit and evaluate quality attributes Analyze requirements and requirement sets, create models and prototypes, and set priorities Specify requirements in a consistent, structured, and well-documented fashion Review, test, and manage change to requirements "I once read the ten best-selling requirements engineering books of the prior ten years. This one book succinctly presents more useful information than those ten books combined." — Mike Cohn , author of User Stories Applied and co-founder, Scrum Alliance "Diamonds come about when a huge amount of carbon atoms are compressed. Karl and Candase have done something very similar: they have compressed their vast requirements knowledge into 20 gems they call 'core practices.' These practices are potent stuff, and I recommend that they become part of everyone's requirements arsenal." — James Robertson , author of Mastering the Requirements Process and Business Analysis Agility "Long story short: if you are going to read only one requirements book, this is it. Software Requirements Essentials distills the wealth of information found in Software Requirements and many other texts down to twenty of the most important requirements activities that apply on nearly all projects. Today's busy BA simply doesn't have the time to read a lengthy instructive guide front-to-back. But they should find the time to read this book." —From the Foreword by Joy Beatty , COO, ArgonDigital "Software Requirements Essentials will be a high-value addition to your business analysis library. Anyone looking to improve their business analysis practices will find great practical advice they'll be able to apply immediately." — Laura Paton , Principal Consultant, BA Academy, Inc. Register your book for convenient access to downloads, updates, and/or corrections as they become available. See inside book for details.