Chapter 4: The Requirements (Business) Analyst 1 4.1 The Analyst Role  Gathers, studies, documents, validates requirements  Principal conduit between customer/user and developers  Not a job title; software engineers, managers, domain experts, users can be analysts 2 4.2 The Analyst’s Tasks, 1  Define business requirements ◦ Understand why project is being done ◦ Know project’s vision and scope  Identify stakeholders and users ◦ Know who is affected by success or failure ◦ Know who will interact directly with system 3 The Analyst’s Tasks, 2  Elicit requirements ◦ proactively, persistently ◦ variety of techniques—interviews, workshops, surveys, observations, work flow analysis,…  Analyze requirements ◦ Find derived, implied requirements ◦ Find vagueness, conflicts 4 The Analyst’s Tasks, 3  Specify requirements ◦ Clear enough for customer/user ◦ Precise enough for developers  Model requirements ◦ Text usually isn’t enough ◦ Graphic models enable analysis ◦ Prototypes increase understanding 5 The Analyst’s Tasks, 4  Validation ◦ Lead the effort—schedule and chair the reviews ◦ Ensure the excellence of the requirements ◦ Ensure correct interpretation—review the code and test cases derived from requirements 6 The Analyst’s Tasks, 5  Facilitate prioritization—ensure successful negotiation between users and developers  Manage requirements ◦ Create the plan ◦ Establish baselines ◦ Control changes ◦ Track status 7 4.3 Essential Skills, 1  Listening ◦ Be attentive ◦ Confirm understanding ◦ Detect unspoken, implied needs  Interviewing and questioning ◦ Be able to talk with variety of people (even aggressive or intimidating) ◦ Ask about normal and unusual uses and situations ◦ Clarify uncertainties, disagreements, assumptions 8 Essential Skills, 2  Analysis ◦ Deal with abstraction and detail ◦ Generalize and specialize ◦ Think critically ◦ Resolve conflicts from multiple sources ◦ Separate wants from needs, solutions from requirements 9 Essential Skills, 3  Facilitation ◦ Be neutral ◦ Relieve tension between customer/user and developers ◦ Build trust on all sides  Observation ◦ See the subtle, in user words or actions 10 Essential Skills, 4  Writing ◦ Express complex ideas clearly ◦ Have good command of customer/user language ◦ Read efficiently and critically  Organization ◦ Structuring a large array of changing information into a coherent whole 11 Essential Skills, 5  Interpersonal relationships ◦ Getting competitors to work together ◦ Mentor and educate  Creativity ◦ think of innovative capabilities ◦ satisfy needs that user hasn’t thought of yet 12 4.4 Essential Knowledge  Modern techniques ◦ Requirements engineering ◦ Software development  Project management  Risk management  Quality engineering  Application domain knowledge 13 4.5 Making An Analyst, 1  Former User ◦ Good understanding of business, work environment ◦ Litt ...

1. Chapter 4:
The Requirements (Business) Analyst
1
4.1 The Analyst Role
requirements
and developers
managers, domain experts, users can be
analysts
2
4.2 The Analyst’s Tasks, 1
◦ Understand why project is being done
◦ Know project’s vision and scope
◦ Know who is affected by success or failure

2. ◦ Know who will interact directly with system
3
The Analyst’s Tasks, 2
◦ proactively, persistently
◦ variety of techniques—interviews, workshops,
surveys, observations, work flow analysis,…
◦ Find derived, implied requirements
◦ Find vagueness, conflicts
4
The Analyst’s Tasks, 3
◦ Clear enough for customer/user
◦ Precise enough for developers
◦ Text usually isn’t enough
◦ Graphic models enable analysis
◦ Prototypes increase understanding
5

3. The Analyst’s Tasks, 4
◦ Lead the effort—schedule and chair the
reviews
◦ Ensure the excellence of the requirements
◦ Ensure correct interpretation—review the
code and test cases derived from
requirements
6
The Analyst’s Tasks, 5
—ensure successful
negotiation between users and developers
◦ Create the plan
◦ Establish baselines
◦ Control changes
◦ Track status
7
4.3 Essential Skills, 1
◦ Be attentive

4. ◦ Confirm understanding
◦ Detect unspoken, implied needs
◦ Be able to talk with variety of people (even
aggressive or intimidating)
◦ Ask about normal and unusual uses and
situations
◦ Clarify uncertainties, disagreements,
assumptions 8
Essential Skills, 2
◦ Deal with abstraction and detail
◦ Generalize and specialize
◦ Think critically
◦ Resolve conflicts from multiple sources
◦ Separate wants from needs, solutions from
requirements
9
Essential Skills, 3
◦ Be neutral
◦ Relieve tension between customer/user and

5. developers
◦ Build trust on all sides
◦ See the subtle, in user words or actions
10
Essential Skills, 4
◦ Express complex ideas clearly
◦ Have good command of customer/user
language
◦ Read efficiently and critically
◦ Structuring a large array of changing
information into a coherent whole
11
Essential Skills, 5
ps
◦ Getting competitors to work together
◦ Mentor and educate

6. ◦ think of innovative capabilities
◦ satisfy needs that user hasn’t thought of yet
12
4.4 Essential Knowledge
◦ Requirements engineering
◦ Software development
13
4.5 Making An Analyst, 1
◦ Good understanding of business, work
environment
◦ Little familiarity with engineering or technical
people
◦ May not respect current users
◦ May focus on user interface
14

7. Making An Analyst, 2
◦ Good technical skills
◦ Often lacking in social, organizational skills
◦ Little knowledge of business or application
domain
15
Making An Analyst, 3
◦ Excellent grasp of problem domain
◦ Good at assessing reasonability and impacts
on users
◦ May prefer his own requirements over those
of actual users
◦ May create an unnecessarily ambitious system
16
END
17