Can we agree what we really want?

Can we agree what we really want? " "Solving the problem of business requirements"Anthony LewisManaging Consultant – End to End Consulting

" The Statistics of Failure* Management factors account for 65% of project failures" •  Poor leadership in project delivery" •  Poor stakeholder communication / management" •  Insufﬁcient management support" Technical factors account for 35% of project failures" •  Inappropriate / ill deﬁned software requirements" •  Inappropriate technical design The top three issues… are:" •  Business Process Alignment" •  Requirements management" •  Overspends"* Understanding the sources of IS Project Failure, McManus & Wood-Harper, 2007

" ʻBetter Business Requirementsʼ * Q: What is the most important factor in project success?" A: "ʻSenior sponsorshipʼ" "ʻInvolvement of end usersʼ" "ʻQuality of requirementsʼ" "" Q: What is the single biggest thing that would improve the "quality of your organisations requirements?" A: "ʻEarlier buy in from the clientʼ" "ʻA greater understanding by senior users of what they "were signing up to.ʼ" "ʻLinking requirements to an existing problem and "perceived beneﬁtsʼ"*Project Magazine – May 2011

What does it mean?

" “Methodology becomes a fetish, a procedure used with pathological rigidity for its own sake, not as a means to an end." Used in this way, methodology provides relief against anxiety; it insulates the practitioner from risks and uncertainties of real engagement with people and problems.” The Fetish of Technique: methodology as a social defence, Wastell, 1996

Over the Waterfall Requirements Design Implementa2on Veriﬁca2on Maintenance

"An iterative approach"" Think Test Design Build

Translating whatʼs in our heads

Commanderʼs Intent No campaign plan survives ﬁrst contact with the enemy " ! ! ! ! ! !Carl von Clausewitz" " •  Hereʼs what I think we face" •  Hereʼs what I think we should do" •  Hereʼs why" •  Hereʼs what we need to keep our eye on" •  Tell me what you think" " Karl Wick, 1983*"* from Sources of Power, Gary Klein, 1999

“A problem well-deﬁned is a problem half-solved.”" " " " " "Charles Kettering 2 1 3 System X ? 1 Terry registers on behalf of Bob 2 Bob receives confirmation email 3 Bob clicks on confirmation email and is registered ? Terry doesn’t get an email, and is not registered

The project funnel Requirements What How Resources Who Scope Plan When Mandate Why

Which becomes… Physiological needs What Safety needs Who Social / emo2onal needs Aesthe2c & How cogni2ve needs Self-‐ Actualisa2on Why A Theory of Human Motivation, Abraham Maslow, 1943

Knowledge + Understanding = Meaning

Anthony Lewisa.lewis@e2consulting.co.ukrazorlabs.co.uk/blog@anthony__lewis

Can we agree what we really want?

by Anthony Lewis

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