The 10 Step Model for

Agile Requirements

ACCU Conference 2011 allan kelly

http://www.allankelly.net
Oxford
Twitter: allankellynet

Software Strategy Ltd.

http://www.softwarestrategy.co.uk
 Allan Kelly

Training & Coaching for Agile

adoption and deepening
Author:
Changing Software Development:
Learning to be Agile, Wiley 2008.

33 Business Strategy
97 Things Every Programmer Patterns for Software
Should Know, Henney, 2010 Creators
Context Encapsulation in Pattern
Languages of Program Design
volume 5, 2006

www.softwarestrategy.co.uk 2
 How do you do requirements in Agile?
Gee, I thought
everyone knew
that.

Actually, theres
User more to it than
that
Stories!

www.softwarestrategy.co.uk 3
 And what about
Stakeholders and User Stories
CUSTOMERS ?
Wheres the
Arent personas in
Business value?
here somewhere?
Where do roles
come from?
What are reasonable
actions and reasons?

As a <Role>
I can <Action>
So That <Reason>
www.softwarestrategy.co.uk 44
 There is more to Requirements then User Stories

www.softwarestrategy.co.uk 5
 In the beginning.

There is work to do

www.softwarestrategy.co.uk 6
 Work needs
doing

Product Project
New thing
(Maintenance)
Start & end
Enhancements to dates
something that exists New team
Team exists Goal
Thing exists driven

Salami slice

www.softwarestrategy.co.uk 7 7
 Salami Agile

Interface Agile team to

traditional organization
Limited Agile
Limit change risk 1. Big up front requirements,
Limited benefits design, estimation, etc.
2. Iterations
Comfort food Slice off requirement
appearance of
normality; Implement (Deliverable)
can roll with Repeat
changes
But more work

www.softwarestrategy.co.uk 8
 Goal directed projects

Business case sets out objective

Not a shopping list of features
How goal is achieved is part of the
Increase online
work sales by 10%
Research, experimentation
Governance based on
Progress against goal
And future potential
Reduce customer churn by
5% [by improving CRM
system]

www.softwarestrategy.co.uk 9 9
 Goal directed: Start with Output

Only outputs have value

Decide what you are trying to achieve
Find inputs to create outputs

Work back - Find inputs

needed to reach goal

Inputs Inputs build

www.softwarestrategy.co.uk 10 10
 Take your pick Project

Goal
Directed
Salami
Agile Agile

www.softwarestrategy.co.uk 11
 Agile 10 step

1. Objective
2. Stakeholders
3. Vision
4. Roles
5. Personas
6. User Stories
7. Acceptance Tests
8. Development
9. Delivery
10. Value check

www.softwarestrategy.co.uk 12 12
 Stakeholders
From above: What is the goal?
10 Step Why are we doing this?
Who are the stakeholders?
1. Objective What is success to them?
2. Stakeholders
Teams Vision for the solution
3. Vision

Roles
4. Roles Who will use the system?
5. Personas
Key Personas
6. User Stories

Personas
7. Acceptance Tests How do we know we
8. Development are done?

9. Delivery Close the loop:

10. Value check Progress against objective
Value delivered? Who are the
Should we continue? customers?
How are they
www.softwarestrategy.co.uk segmented? 13
 Put a man on the
Objective why? moon and return
him safely
I have a dream
Is NOT Could be
Requirements document Mission statement
Shopping list Marketing brief
Technical Market opportunity
assessment
Beat Xerox Project Initiation
Cannon
Document

Encircle Caterpillar
Komatsu

www.softwarestrategy.co.uk
 Objective

A reason to start A reason to stop

Start thinking Measure of success
Gather resources How do you know
you are done?
Measure progress
against objective

www.softwarestrategy.co.uk
 Stakeholders
Stakeholder: Any person or
organizational group with an
interest in, or ability to affect,
the system or its environment

Stakeholder: Human or other

legal entity (company etc.)
Gilb, Competitive Engineering, playing a system role and
2005 thereby having a valid interest in
the development of the system
or product. Subclasses include:
beneficiaries; operator;
Alexander & Beus-Dukic,
regulator; negative stakeholder.
Discovering Requirements, 2009

www.softwarestrategy.co.uk 16 16
 Stakeholders

The process of working effectively

with stakeholders has three major
steps:
Stakeholder identification
Stakeholder analysts
Stakeholder management

Candle, Paul & Turner, Business

Analysis Techniques, 2010

www.softwarestrategy.co.uk 17 17
 Stakeholders & Stakeholders

Stakeholders

Internal External
Stakeholders Stakeholders

Regulators,
Customers
etc.
www.softwarestrategy.co.uk 18
 Stakeholders have goals too

Might be aligned with your project

Or might be a little different

keho
lde rA
o a l
Sta
r o j e ct g
P
er C
Stakehold

www.softwarestrategy.co.uk 19 19
 All customers are not
equal segment!

www.softwarestrategy.co.uk 20
 Vision

How are you going to meet the

objective?
The answer to the stakeholders needs
Something you can build

www.softwarestrategy.co.uk 21
 Stakeholders
The work can deliver benefits to many
stakeholder
Some stakeholders are interested
even if the work has no direct value to
them

Roles
Only some of the stakeholders will
interact directly with the system
All roles are stakeholders but not all
stakeholders have roles

Personas
Add depth of understanding about
roles
Different personas to the fore at
different times (iterations/releases)

www.softwarestrategy.co.uk 22 22
 The middle bit

Acceptance test
Development
Product Backlog
Sprints Not today, thank you

Delivery

www.softwarestrategy.co.uk
 Value did we make a difference?

Delivery technology fix

But fixes wrong problem
Fix technology but not the process
Deliver great software
But nobody uses it
Deliver what was asked for
Not what was needed
Doesnt get used to the full

Delivery is only the start..

www.softwarestrategy.co.uk 24
 Mind the Gap

Value delivered not the same as value

recognized
Software delivered may never be used: $0 value
Or
More useful then expected: +$$$ value

www.softwarestrategy.co.uk 25
 Question time

Do you
Adequately identify and quantify the
benefits of IT projects?
Overstate benefits in order to obtain
funding?
Adequately review and evaluate
completed projects?

www.softwarestrategy.co.uk 26
 The truth about project evaluation

70% believe they are failing to identify and quantify

the benefits adequately
38% openly admit they overstate the benefits in
order to obtain funding
80% report that the review and evaluation of
completed projects is also inadequate
due to the focus on whether the project achieved cost, time
and quality objectives and not on whether the intended
benefits were realized.

Survey of 100 IT/IS & Delivering value from IS and IT investments, John Ward,
Cranfield School of Management, 2006
Business managers in
http://www.som.cranfield.ac.uk/som/dinamic-content/
UK and Benelux, 2006 research/documents/deliveringvaluereport.pdf

www.softwarestrategy.co.uk 27 27
 Stakeholders define value

Benefit is value delivered to stakeholders

So, you need to know who the stakeholders are to determine
value
How do you measure benefit?
Ask the stakeholders!

www.softwarestrategy.co.uk 28 28
 Business Practices that Enhance
Productivity
Getting the most from IT requires:
1. Move from analogue to digital processes
2. Open information access
3. Empower the employees
4. Use performance-based incentives
5. Invest in corporate culture
6. Recruit the right people
7. Invest in human capital
Source: Wired for
Innovation,
Brynjolfsson & Saunders,
2010

www.softwarestrategy.co.uk 29 29
 Another view

www.softwarestrategy.co.uk 30
 Agile 10 step

A process?
Maybe
A check list?
Maybe
Link it all together?
Hopefully!
What do you think?
Give you insights?
Give you ideas?

www.softwarestrategy.co.uk 31 31
 Summary

More to requirements than User

Stories
Choose
Salami Agile or,
Goal Directed
Agile 10 Step
Thank you!
Evaluate! Allan Kelly allan@allankelly.net
http://www.allankelly.net
http://www.softwarestrategy.co.uk
http://blog.allankelly.net
Twitter: allankellynet
www.softwarestrategy.co.uk 32