During a recent client visit I encouraged the use of modeling as a way to uncover hidden requirements and expectations. One of my clients expressed her rather strong opinion that modeling requirements was not and should not be a part of business analysis work. Oh, she could accept the fact that uncovering gaps between the “as-is” and “to-be” using process models made some sense, but she was adamant that this gap analysis should be done by a business Subject Matter Expert (SME), not by a business analyst (BA). As to data modeling, well that was technical in nature and if done at all, she said, it should be done by the technical IT staff. Use cases were helpful to the testing staff, but were clearly technical and were not to be done by BAs. Prototyping? This should be done by developers—no question about that one!
Elicitation Posts
Top Fundamentals for Successful Virtual Meetings
Posted: January 29th, 2010 by RichLarson. 4 Comments »If you’re a project manager or business analyst and have ever facilitated or participated in a virtual meeting, you know they can be highly productive. And, highly frustrating if not run well. Here is a list of 5 things I think all virtual meetings should have to be successful:
1) Test your technology. If you have never used the software or hardware for your virtual meetings, make sure you practice with a small group first. If you are doing a formal presentation, I suggest you reboot your PC right before you make it. We recently did a product demo where the presenter’s PC froze up right at the start. It took some fancy “tap dancing” to recover and keep the meeting going. Better to reboot first than to recover later.
The Parallax Effect on Requirements Analysis
Posted: December 3rd, 2009 by RichLarson. Comments »
Have you ever gazed at the stars and found it difficult to focus on a particular one? It’s initially a bit disconcerting. If you look away a small amount, the star seems to become visible. Look straight at it and the star begins to dim and even disappear. Scientists call this the “parallax effect.” I just call it frustrating (I’m an impatient star-gazer).
Many times a problem we’re trying to solve or something we are analyzing is like that.
- How often do you forget the name of something when you try to recall it, only to remember it later while walking outside, or when you are in the shower?
