How do you figure out the requirements?
A project manager or a business analyst typically leads the efforts for requirements gathering. The process of gathering requirements is often like detective work. To gather requirements, a project manager or business analyst will utilize a number of tools and means to obtain information, or clues, from stakeholders (people with an interest or involvement in the project that is being worked on). He or she will interview various stakeholders, hold meetings with customers, conduct research, brainstorm with stakeholders and customers, prototype, survey users, hold focus groups, observe others, take notes on what users have identified that they want, and on what they do not want, etc.
For this assignment, you will not be doing normal requirements gathering, rather I want you to think about any software, system, or website that you use and think about what you would like to add to it if you had a say in software/website/application development. A good way to focus your thoughts around this is to first identify which software/website/application you want to consider for this assignment, and then ask yourself the question “What would I add to this if I had a say in the matter?”. If you are unsure after asking yourself that question and letting your thoughts marinate for a bit, take a look at the competition of that software/website/application, and see what those offerings have that the one you originally identified doesn’t.
Note that requirements gathering is a lengthy subject of its own, thus this assignment is meant to introduce you all to this so that you are well equipped to be involved in the requirements gathering process one day.
What do requirements even look like?
Imagine that you’ve been tasked with serving as a project manager for the development of a website. Think for a moment about what is on a website. A website has content, images, page structures, theming elements, security components, etc.
Knowing this, below is an example of what a requirement for a website could look like:
Sample requirement
Note: your requirements cannot be “Mobile support for ‘insert website name here’”- they need to be different from the example I shared.
Requirement Title: Mobile support for Canvas.fiu.edu
- What: A user interface that is specific to mobile devices (tablets and smartphones) on the canvas.fiu.edu website.
- Where: Canvas.fiu.edu
- When: If a user connects to the canvas.fiu.edu website, or navigates to any page on the canvas.fiu.edu website, the page will display in a mobile format by default.
- Why: To provide mobile users with a user interface that works best for a mobile device with tactile inputs (touch screen).
- Assumptions:
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- A user is using a mobile device that uses tactile input via a touch screen.
- A user is using a common web browser – Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, Edge, to visit the website on their mobile device.
- Minimal user interface styling changes will be required to accommodate the most used mobile devices from 2015 onward.
- The configuration of a mobile-specific interface will not create any obstacles with achieving compliance with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (Links to an external site.) of Level AA.
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- Exclusions:
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- Specific support for non-common web browsers such as Opera, AOSP browser, or Samsung Internet.
- A complete redesign of the user interface to accommodate mobile devices. Styling will be based on the desktop and tablet variant of the website.
- Specific support for dual-screen devices.
- Specific support for pen-interfaces for a mobile device.
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The sample requirement above includes many important details as to what “mobile support for Canvas.fiu.edu” really means.
Assignment Instructions:
Create 2 requirements for any software, application, or website that you use regularly using the template below. Refer to my example of “Mobile support for Canvas.fiu.edu” from the section above for guidance. Need ideas on what can be a requirement? Check out – com/new/requirements-examples” class=”external” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>https://simplicable.com/new/requirements-examples (Links to an external site.) for a starting point (if needed).
Note: your requirements cannot be “Mobile support for ‘insert website name here’”- they need to be different from the example I shared.
Template for each requirement (includes minimum length requirements for each section):
Requirement Title: The name of your requirement
- What: Describe what your requirement is for. (minimum 1-2 sentences)
- Where: Describe where this requirement is found (is it on a website, is it within an app, is it on a sensor, etc.) – (minimum 1-2 sentences or just one word if appropriate for the requirement)
- When: Describe when your requirement becomes relevant. For your requirement, think through at what point the user will interact with this (is it when a user opens an app, is it when they click on something specific within the app, is it at a certain point in time, is it in response to something else that happens, is it when they sign-in for the first time, etc.) – (minimum 1-2 sentences)
- Why: Describe why the requirement is important. (minimum 1-2 sentences)
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- Assumptions:
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- Describe at least 2 assumptions for the requirement. Assumptions are things that you assume to be true or false that should be considered in the context of your requirement. For example, the user will have an active internet connection, the user will have a device that is at least 5 years old, etc. In my former experience as a project manager, I would take a moment to think through all that could happen with a project, and I would use that to help inform any assumptions that I document. An assumption can be an expectation, a norm, a tradition, etc. (minimum 2-3 sentences total for the entire assumptions section)
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- Exclusions:
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- Describe what your requirement does not include. When answering this, think about “what will this not do”. For example, if I am working on a website and I am looking to add a log-in feature, the specific requirement for the login feature should not include the ability to sign-in with your Google account if I do not want it to have that feature, thus I should specify that. (minimum 1-2 sentences total for the entire exclusions section)
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Evaluation rubric – also known as “how will I be graded on this”
- You are evaluated on % completion based on template and assignment instructions.
- For example, each individual requirement has 6 parts that are required (what, where, when, why, assumptions, and exclusions).
- If a submission is turned in that has 2 requirements and 10/12 parts completed, the score is scaled as appropriate.
- Your requirements need to be realistic – this means that you cannot make up imaginary information systems concepts. If those are present in the submission, you will not receive credit for that respective component of the assignment, thus the score will be scaled.
- Your requirements do not need to be for the same software/application/website. One can be for one software/application/website, and the other can be for another software/application/website.
- If the minimum length requirement that is detailed in the instructions above for one of the sections is not met, then you will not receive credit for that respective section.
- For example, if I ask for 1-2 sentences for the “why” section and you submit one word then you will not receive credit for that specific part.
- Please submit this as a Word document or as a PDF – these are the file types that work well with Canvas (.pages is incompatible).
- Please submit both requirements on a single document – not as separate files.
- If you submit this in a format that is not like the template, there is a 1 point deduction for not following instructions.
Note – This is an assignment where you will need to think out of the box and think critically. I encourage you to do a deep dive on the internet and learn about new areas related to information systems as you work on this (that will help you learn more about information systems and help with your understanding of technology concepts in general – it’s a win-win situation for your professional development). Working on this assignment on the day that it is due is not advised as it may require research on your part to formulate your thoughts around this. Be sure to plan accordingly so that you set yourself up for success.
References
- Effective Requirements Management – https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/effective-requirements-management-project-success-8181 (Links to an external site.).
- Complete Guide To The Requirements Gathering Process – https://thedigitalprojectmanager.com/requirements-gathering-guide/ (Links to an external site.)
- What is Project Management – /learn-about-pmi/what-is-project-management” class=”external” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>https://www.pmi.org/about/learn-about-pmi/what-is-project-management (Links to an external site.)
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