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![“The
reasonable
[person]
adapts
[themselves]
to
the
world;
the
unreasonable
one
persists
in
trying
to
adapt
the
world
to
[them]self.”
-‐
George
Bernard
Shaw
#DPM2015
@PMOwned](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/dpm2015-requirementssmiller-151013183919-lva1-app6892/75/Come-on-It-s-in-the-Requirements-by-Sloan-Miller-PMOwned-DPM2015-38-2048.jpg)
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Come on... It's in the Requirements by Sloan Miller (@PMOwned) #DPM2015
The document discusses the importance of requirements in project management, emphasizing their types—business, functional, and technical—as well as the methodologies used to manage them, such as waterfall and agile. It highlights challenges in requirement documentation and prioritization techniques, aiming to ensure alignment among stakeholders and effective project execution. The overarching goal of requirements is to achieve clarity, facilitate coordination, and ultimately create successful solutions.
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Come on... It's in the Requirements by Sloan Miller (@PMOwned) #DPM2015
- 1. COME ON… IT’S IN THE REQUIREMENTS! Sloan Miller Digital Operations, Strategist + Project Management Consultant @PMOwned
- 2. “Writing software that fully meets its specifications is like walking on water. For each, the former is easy if the later is frozen and near impossible if fluid.” -‐ Anonymous Developer #DPM2015 @PMOwned
- 4. REQUIREMENTS -‐defined + typed-‐
- 5. so we’re all on the same page ‣Cataloging is a royal pain! ‣Few will read them :-‐( ‣Documentation for the sake of it… is a waste of time #DPM2015 @PMOwned
- 6. “a requirement is an external observable characteristic of a desired system” -‐ Alan Davis #DPM2015 @PMOwned
- 7. so we’re all on the same page ‣Ambiguity can never be entirely removed ‣Methodology impacts the cataloging of requirements ‣A user or customer is the only person that can verify the validity of a requirement #DPM2015 @PMOwned
- 8. so we’re all on the same page ‣Where do requirements come from? #DPM2015 @PMOwned …nearly every project related interaction
- 9. so we’re all on the same page ‣What drives the cataloging of requirements? #DPM2015 @PMOwned …our desire to build the best possible solution
- 10. so we’re all on the same page ‣How do we best record requirements? #DPM2015 @PMOwned …in whatever way they will be consumed + executed
- 11. so we’re all on the same page ‣Does anyone reading them? #DPM2015 @PMOwned …um… hopefully… um… maybe… um… probably not
- 12. so we’re all on the same page ‣Why do we even bother? #DPM2015 @PMOwned …who the hell knows sometimes
- 13. three general requirement types ‣Business requirements ‣Functional requirements ‣Technical requirements #DPM2015 @PMOwned HINT: they are in this order for a reason!!
- 14. business requirements are: ‣More ‘out there,’ marketing, or user data focused ‣Generally they are a high-‐level or aspirational goals ‣Very end-‐result oriented ‣Nearly all strategic by their nature #DPM2015 @PMOwned
- 15. “we should build a house… that looks something like this” A BUSINESS REQUIREMENT
- 16. functional requirements are: ‣More behavioral focused ‣Executional, but in context of the stated business goals ‣Very functionally oriented ‣A balance of strategic and tactical #DPM2015 @PMOwned
- 17. A FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENT “our house’s layout should look something like this”
- 18. technical requirements are: ‣Instructional +“how-‐to” focused ‣Detailed + specific in context of the desired functionality ‣Very build oriented ‣All tactics, all the time #DPM2015 @PMOwned
- 19. A TECHNICAL REQUIREMENT “what exactly do we need in order to build our house”
- 20.
- 21. in waterfall approach ‣Lots + lots + lots + lots of ‣Documentation ‣Early project planning ‣Exploring, evaluating + prioritizing ‣Requirements are ironed out well in advance ‣Goal: a comprehensive + exhaustive solution ‣Risk + change management are sticking points #DPM2015 @PMOwned
- 22. in agile methodology approach ‣“Conversation over documentation” ‣Requirements are ‣Relayed in real time ‣Rarely documented ‣A smaller subset is targeted as sprint begins ‣Goal: a workable solution, optimize it later ‣Completing enough requirements is a sticking point #DPM2015 @PMOwned
- 23. hold to high standards More time is needed to gather + prioritize requirements if: ‣Problems: ‣are opaque ‣not fixed or static ‣are complex ‣The more stakeholders there are ‣The risks are greater #DPM2015 @PMOwned
- 24. hold to the highest standards If the the failure of your project, software, or program can result in a death, injury, or dismemberment… #DPM2015 @PMOwned
- 25. REQUIREMENTS -‐the holy grail-‐
- 26. “First comes thought; then organization of that thought, into ideas and plans; then transformation of those plans into reality. The beginning, as you will observe, is in your imagination.” -‐ Napoleon Hill
- 27. so this is known the iron triangle is the ‘holy grail’ of project management
- 28. -30 0 30 60 90 120 Work Begins Taking Shape Crunch Time Work Ends #DPM2015 @PMOwned the holy grail of requirements
- 29. -30 0 30 60 90 120 Work Begins Taking Shape Crunch Time Work Ends #DPM2015 @PMOwned the holy grail of requirements x
- 30. -30 0 30 60 90 120 Work Begins Taking Shape Crunch Time Work Ends #DPM2015 @PMOwned the holy grail of requirements x
- 31. -30 0 30 60 90 120 Work Begins Taking Shape Crunch Time Work Ends #DPM2015 @PMOwned the holy grail of requirements x
- 32. -30 0 30 60 90 120 Work Begins Taking Shape Crunch Time Work Ends #DPM2015 @PMOwned the holy grail of requirements the cost of change the opportunity to influence cost
- 33. -30 0 30 60 90 120 Work Begins Taking Shape Crunch Time Works End #DPM2015 @PMOwned the holy grail of requirements desired budget reached desired launch target the cost of change the opportunity to influence cost
- 34. #DPM2015 @PMOwned the holy grail of requirements the cost of change the opportunity to influence cost -30 0 30 60 90 120 Work Begins Taking Shape Crunch Time Works End desired budget reached
- 35. #DPM2015 @PMOwned the holy grail of requirements desired launch target the cost of change the opportunity to influence cost -30 0 30 60 90 120 Work Begins Taking Shape Crunch Time Works End desired budget reached
- 36. #DPM2015 @PMOwned the holy grail of requirements desired launch target the cost of change the opportunity to influence cost -30 0 30 60 90 120 Work Begins Taking Shape Crunch Time Works End desired budget reached
- 37.
- 38. “The reasonable [person] adapts [themselves] to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to [them]self.” -‐ George Bernard Shaw #DPM2015 @PMOwned
- 39. prioritization activities ‣For laser beam focus… “give us your top 3” ‣To tackle a long list… “spend $100” ‣If there is a diverse team… “put it to the scales” #DPM2015 @PMOwned
- 41. give us your top 3 Best used with… ‣a smaller team ‣very engaged stakeholders ‣a ‘manageable’ requirements list ‣an iteration or release based development cycle #DPM2015 @PMOwned
- 42. give us your top 3 (how it works) ‣Assume resources are limited ‣Each person nominates a requirement ‣Discuss + vote… ‣unanimous =“cannot do without” list ‣majority =“needed” list ‣disputed =“nice to have” list ‣Repeat until the list is full #DPM2015 @PMOwned Top 3 Things We Cannot Do Without: 1. ______________________ 2. ______________________ 3. ______________________ Top 3 Things We Need: 1. ______________________ 2. ______________________ 3. ______________________ Top 3 Things That Would Be Nice: 1. ______________________ 2. ______________________ 3. ______________________ events platform mobile breakpoints July 1 launch date open source cms web forms image gallery user registration ticket integration soundcloud embed
- 44. spend $100 Best used with… ‣a medium to larger team ‣stakeholders with a mixed engagement level ‣a ‘large’ requirements list ‣the earlier stages of a project #DPM2015 @PMOwned
- 45. spend $100 (how it works) ‣Assume you have resources ‣Each person gets a balance of $100 ‣On paper (anonymously) people invest their money ‣Tabulate results, reveal + discuss ‣Target a fair amount with a reasonable dollar values #DPM2015 @PMOwned # Requirement Balance 1. July 1 launch date . . . . . $24 2. events Platform . . . . . . $21 3. mobile breakpoints . . . . . $20 4. open source cms. . . . . . . $18 5. image gallery. . . . . . . . $18 6. web forms. . . . . . . . . . $14 7. soundcloud embed . . . . . . $12 8. ticket integration . . . . . $10 9. user registration. . . . . . $10 . . . 62. social media sharing . . . $ 2 63. sell t-‐shirts . . . . . . . $ 1 64. fan club portal . . . . . . $ 0
- 47. put it to the scales Best used with… ‣a larger team ‣stakeholder with a wide variety of engagement ‣an ‘unmanageable’ requirements list ‣at the beginning of a project #DPM2015 @PMOwned
- 48. the scales (how it works) ‣Assume the picture isn’t clear ‣Each person votes (-‐3 to 3) ‣Either on paper -‐or-‐ by a show of fingers ‣Tabulate values + discuss ‣Only target those with a positive scores #DPM2015 @PMOwned # Requirement Scale -‐3 -‐2 -‐1 0 1 2 3 1. July 1 launch date 2. Events Platform 3. Mobile breakpoints 4. open source cms 5. image gallery 6. web forms 7. soundcloud embed 8. ticket integration 9. user registration . . . 62. social media share 63. sell t-‐shirts 64. fan club portal |....⍊....⍊....✛....⍊....⍊....| |....⍊....⍊....✛....⍊....⍊....| |....⍊....⍊....✛....⍊....⍊....| |....⍊....⍊....✛....⍊....⍊....| |....⍊....⍊....✛....⍊....⍊....| |....⍊....⍊....✛....⍊....⍊....| |....⍊....⍊....✛....⍊....⍊....| |....⍊....⍊....✛....⍊....⍊....| |....⍊....⍊....✛....⍊....⍊....| . . . |....⍊....⍊....✛....⍊....⍊....| |....⍊....⍊....✛....⍊....⍊....| |....⍊....⍊....✛....⍊....⍊....| | | | | | | | | | | | |
- 50. REQUIREMENTS -‐why they matter-‐
- 51. “Of all the things I’ve done, the most vital is coordinating the talents of those who work for us and pointing them towards a certain goal.” -‐ Walt Disney #DPM2015 @PMOwned
- 52. what really gets my goat Requirements should… ‣be documented ‣be read ‣be executed #DPM2015 @PMOwned
- 53. requirement documentation lite ‣Only produce necessary documentation ‣Use a format that.. ‣works for your team ‣is quickly digestible ‣can be easily updated #DPM2015 @PMOwned
- 54. requirement engagement heavy ‣Engage your the entire team ‣Activities + discussions are open to all ‣Integrate cataloging into other project activities ‣Discuss the risk associated with changes #DPM2015 @PMOwned
- 55. the purpose of requirements ‣Is everyone is on the same page? ‣Have the project’s purpose + objectives been clarified? ‣Are features verified + prioritized? ‣Are development + integration needs outlined? ‣Can the functionality be built in the timeline? ‣Does the project plan meet expectations? #DPM2015 @PMOwned
- 56. #DPM2015 @PMOwned the holy grail of requirements the cost of change the opportunity to influence cost -30 0 30 60 90 120 Work Begins Taking Shape Crunch Time Works End
- 57. so where did we start? ‣Does anyone even read them? #DPM2015 @PMOwned …if there is buy-‐in, empathy + understanding
- 58. so where did we start? ‣Why do we even bother? #DPM2015 @PMOwned …to make the best possible solution …with the least possible resistance
- 59. thanks!! Sloan Miller Digital Operations, Strategist + Project Management Consultant @PMOwned philly’s digital PM meetup group @DPMPhilly