Let’s be super honest… gathering requirements and maintaining them throughout a project is a royal pain. And to top it all off, when the documentation is complete you always wonder if anyone really reads it. Ambiguity can never be entirely removed, but excessive amounts of it kill a project's timeline, budget, and potential for success.

1. COME
ON…
IT’S
IN
THE
REQUIREMENTS!
Sloan
Miller
Digital
Operations,
Strategist
+
Project
Management
Consultant
@PMOwned

2. “Writing
software
that
fully
meets
its
specifications
is
like
walking
on
water.
For
each,
the
former
is
easy
if
the
later
is
frozen
and
near
impossible
if
fluid.”
-­‐
Anonymous
Developer
#DPM2015
@PMOwned

4. REQUIREMENTS
-­‐defined
+
typed-­‐

5. so
we’re
all
on
the
same
page
‣Cataloging
is
a
royal
pain!
‣Few
will
read
them
:-­‐(
‣Documentation
for
the
sake
of
it…
is
a
waste
of
time
#DPM2015
@PMOwned

6. “a
requirement
is
an
external
observable
characteristic
of
a
desired
system”
-­‐
Alan
Davis
#DPM2015
@PMOwned

7. so
we’re
all
on
the
same
page
‣Ambiguity
can
never
be
entirely
removed
‣Methodology
impacts
the
cataloging
of
requirements
‣A
user
or
customer
is
the
only
person
that
can
verify
the
validity
of
a
requirement
#DPM2015
@PMOwned

8. so
we’re
all
on
the
same
page
‣Where
do
requirements
come
from?
#DPM2015
@PMOwned
…nearly
every
project
related
interaction

9. so
we’re
all
on
the
same
page
‣What
drives
the
cataloging
of
requirements?
#DPM2015
@PMOwned
…our
desire
to
build
the
best
possible
solution

10. so
we’re
all
on
the
same
page
‣How
do
we
best
record
requirements?
#DPM2015
@PMOwned
…in
whatever
way
they
will
be
consumed
+
executed

11. so
we’re
all
on
the
same
page
‣Does
anyone
reading
them?
#DPM2015
@PMOwned
…um…
hopefully…
um…
maybe…
um…
probably
not

12. so
we’re
all
on
the
same
page
‣Why
do
we
even
bother?
#DPM2015
@PMOwned
…who
the
hell
knows
sometimes

13. three
general
requirement
types
‣Business
requirements
‣Functional
requirements
‣Technical
requirements
#DPM2015
@PMOwned
HINT:
they
are
in
this
order
for
a
reason!!

14. business
requirements
are:
‣More
‘out
there,’
marketing,
or
user
data
focused
‣Generally
they
are
a
high-­‐level
or
aspirational
goals
‣Very
end-­‐result
oriented
‣Nearly
all
strategic
by
their
nature
#DPM2015
@PMOwned

15. “we
should
build
a
house…
that
looks
something
like
this”
A
BUSINESS
REQUIREMENT

16. functional
requirements
are:
‣More
behavioral
focused
‣Executional,
but
in
context
of
the
stated
business
goals
‣Very
functionally
oriented
‣A
balance
of
strategic
and
tactical
#DPM2015
@PMOwned

17. A
FUNCTIONAL
REQUIREMENT
“our
house’s
layout
should
look
something
like
this”

18. technical
requirements
are:
‣Instructional
+“how-­‐to”
focused
‣Detailed
+
specific
in
context
of
the
desired
functionality
‣Very
build
oriented
‣All
tactics,
all
the
time
#DPM2015
@PMOwned

19. A
TECHNICAL
REQUIREMENT
“what
exactly
do
we
need
in
order
to
build
our
house”

20. REQUIREMENTS
-­‐by
methodology-­‐

21. in
waterfall
approach
‣Lots
+
lots
+
lots
+
lots
of
‣Documentation
‣Early
project
planning
‣Exploring,
evaluating
+
prioritizing
‣Requirements
are
ironed
out
well
in
advance
‣Goal:
a
comprehensive
+
exhaustive
solution
‣Risk
+
change
management
are
sticking
points
#DPM2015
@PMOwned

22. in
agile
methodology
approach
‣“Conversation
over
documentation”
‣Requirements
are
‣Relayed
in
real
time
‣Rarely
documented
‣A
smaller
subset
is
targeted
as
sprint
begins
‣Goal:
a
workable
solution,
optimize
it
later
‣Completing
enough
requirements
is
a
sticking
point
#DPM2015
@PMOwned

23. hold
to
high
standards
More
time
is
needed
to
gather
+
prioritize
requirements
if:
‣Problems:
‣are
opaque
‣not
fixed
or
static
‣are
complex
‣The
more
stakeholders
there
are
‣The
risks
are
greater
#DPM2015
@PMOwned

24. hold
to
the
highest
standards
If
the
the
failure
of
your
project,
software,
or
program
can
result
in
a
death,
injury,
or
dismemberment…
#DPM2015
@PMOwned

25. REQUIREMENTS
-­‐the
holy
grail-­‐

26. “First
comes
thought;
then
organization
of
that
thought,
into
ideas
and
plans;
then
transformation
of
those
plans
into
reality.
The
beginning,
as
you
will
observe,
is
in
your
imagination.”
-­‐
Napoleon
Hill

27. so
this
is
known
the
iron
triangle
is
the
‘holy
grail’
of
project
management

28. -30
0
30
60
90
120
Work
Begins Taking
Shape Crunch
Time Work
Ends
#DPM2015
@PMOwned
the
holy
grail
of
requirements

29. -30
0
30
60
90
120
Work
Begins Taking
Shape Crunch
Time Work
Ends
#DPM2015
@PMOwned
the
holy
grail
of
requirements
x

30. -30
0
30
60
90
120
Work
Begins Taking
Shape Crunch
Time Work
Ends
#DPM2015
@PMOwned
the
holy
grail
of
requirements
x

31. -30
0
30
60
90
120
Work
Begins Taking
Shape Crunch
Time Work
Ends
#DPM2015
@PMOwned
the
holy
grail
of
requirements
x

32. -30
0
30
60
90
120
Work
Begins Taking
Shape Crunch
Time Work
Ends
#DPM2015
@PMOwned
the
holy
grail
of
requirements
the
cost
of
change
the
opportunity
to
influence
cost

33. -30
0
30
60
90
120
Work
Begins Taking
Shape Crunch
Time Works
End
#DPM2015
@PMOwned
the
holy
grail
of
requirements
desired
budget
reached
desired
launch
target
the
cost
of
change
the
opportunity
to
influence
cost

34. #DPM2015
@PMOwned
the
holy
grail
of
requirements
the
cost
of
change
the
opportunity
to
influence
cost
-30
0
30
60
90
120
Work
Begins Taking
Shape Crunch
Time Works
End
desired
budget
reached

35. #DPM2015
@PMOwned
the
holy
grail
of
requirements
desired
launch
target
the
cost
of
change
the
opportunity
to
influence
cost
-30
0
30
60
90
120
Work
Begins Taking
Shape Crunch
Time Works
End
desired
budget
reached

36. #DPM2015
@PMOwned
the
holy
grail
of
requirements
desired
launch
target
the
cost
of
change
the
opportunity
to
influence
cost
-30
0
30
60
90
120
Work
Begins Taking
Shape Crunch
Time Works
End
desired
budget
reached

37. REQUIREMENTS
-­‐prioritizing
techniques-­‐

38. “The
reasonable
[person]
adapts
[themselves]
to
the
world;
the
unreasonable
one
persists
in
trying
to
adapt
the
world
to
[them]self.”
-­‐
George
Bernard
Shaw
#DPM2015
@PMOwned

39. prioritization
activities
‣For
laser
beam
focus…
“give
us
your
top
3”
‣To
tackle
a
long
list…
“spend
$100”
‣If
there
is
a
diverse
team…
“put
it
to
the
scales”
#DPM2015
@PMOwned

41. give
us
your
top
3
Best
used
with…
‣a
smaller
team
‣very
engaged
stakeholders
‣a
‘manageable’
requirements
list
‣an
iteration
or
release
based
development
cycle
#DPM2015
@PMOwned

42. give
us
your
top
3
(how
it
works)
‣Assume
resources
are
limited
‣Each
person
nominates
a
requirement
‣Discuss
+
vote…
‣unanimous
=“cannot
do
without”
list
‣majority
=“needed”
list
‣disputed
=“nice
to
have”
list
‣Repeat
until
the
list
is
full
#DPM2015
@PMOwned
Top
3
Things
We
Cannot
Do
Without:
1.
______________________
2.
______________________
3.
______________________
Top
3
Things
We
Need:
1.
______________________
2.
______________________
3.
______________________
Top
3
Things
That
Would
Be
Nice:
1.
______________________
2.
______________________
3.
______________________
events platform
mobile breakpoints
July 1 launch date
open source cms
web forms
image gallery
user registration
ticket integration
soundcloud embed

44. spend
$100
Best
used
with…
‣a
medium
to
larger
team
‣stakeholders
with
a
mixed
engagement
level
‣a
‘large’
requirements
list
‣the
earlier
stages
of
a
project
#DPM2015
@PMOwned

45. spend
$100
(how
it
works)
‣Assume
you
have
resources
‣Each
person
gets
a
balance
of
$100
‣On
paper
(anonymously)
people
invest
their
money
‣Tabulate
results,
reveal
+
discuss
‣Target
a
fair
amount
with
a
reasonable
dollar
values
#DPM2015
@PMOwned
#
Requirement
Balance
1.
July
1
launch
date
.
.
.
.
.
$24
2.
events
Platform
.
.
.
.
.
.
$21
3.
mobile
breakpoints
.
.
.
.
.
$20
4.
open
source
cms.
.
.
.
.
.
.
$18
5.
image
gallery.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
$18
6.
web
forms.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
$14
7.
soundcloud
embed
.
.
.
.
.
.
$12
8.
ticket
integration
.
.
.
.
.
$10
9.
user
registration.
.
.
.
.
.
$10
.
.
.
62.
social
media
sharing
.
.
.
$
2
63.
sell
t-­‐shirts
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
$
1
64.
fan
club
portal
.
.
.
.
.
.
$
0

47. put
it
to
the
scales
Best
used
with…
‣a
larger
team
‣stakeholder
with
a
wide
variety
of
engagement
‣an
‘unmanageable’
requirements
list
‣at
the
beginning
of
a
project
#DPM2015
@PMOwned

48. the
scales
(how
it
works)
‣Assume
the
picture
isn’t
clear
‣Each
person
votes
(-­‐3
to
3)
‣Either
on
paper
-­‐or-­‐
by
a
show
of
fingers
‣Tabulate
values
+
discuss
‣Only
target
those
with
a
positive
scores
#DPM2015
@PMOwned
#
Requirement
Scale
-­‐3
-­‐2
-­‐1
0
1
2
3
1.
July
1
launch
date
2.
Events
Platform
3.
Mobile
breakpoints
4.
open
source
cms
5.
image
gallery
6.
web
forms
7.
soundcloud
embed
8.
ticket
integration
9.
user
registration
.
.
.
62.
social
media
share
63.
sell
t-­‐shirts
64.
fan
club
portal
|....⍊....⍊....✛....⍊....⍊....|
|....⍊....⍊....✛....⍊....⍊....|
|....⍊....⍊....✛....⍊....⍊....|
|....⍊....⍊....✛....⍊....⍊....|
|....⍊....⍊....✛....⍊....⍊....|
|....⍊....⍊....✛....⍊....⍊....|
|....⍊....⍊....✛....⍊....⍊....|
|....⍊....⍊....✛....⍊....⍊....|
|....⍊....⍊....✛....⍊....⍊....|
.
.
.
|....⍊....⍊....✛....⍊....⍊....|
|....⍊....⍊....✛....⍊....⍊....|
|....⍊....⍊....✛....⍊....⍊....|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

50. REQUIREMENTS
-­‐why
they
matter-­‐

51. “Of
all
the
things
I’ve
done,
the
most
vital
is
coordinating
the
talents
of
those
who
work
for
us
and
pointing
them
towards
a
certain
goal.”
-­‐
Walt
Disney
#DPM2015
@PMOwned

52. what
really
gets
my
goat
Requirements
should…
‣be
documented
‣be
read
‣be
executed
#DPM2015
@PMOwned

53. requirement
documentation
lite
‣Only
produce
necessary
documentation
‣Use
a
format
that..
‣works
for
your
team
‣is
quickly
digestible
‣can
be
easily
updated
#DPM2015
@PMOwned

54. requirement
engagement
heavy
‣Engage
your
the
entire
team
‣Activities
+
discussions
are
open
to
all
‣Integrate
cataloging
into
other
project
activities
‣Discuss
the
risk
associated
with
changes
#DPM2015
@PMOwned

55. the
purpose
of
requirements
‣Is
everyone
is
on
the
same
page?
‣Have
the
project’s
purpose
+
objectives
been
clarified?
‣Are
features
verified
+
prioritized?
‣Are
development
+
integration
needs
outlined?
‣Can
the
functionality
be
built
in
the
timeline?
‣Does
the
project
plan
meet
expectations?
#DPM2015
@PMOwned

56. #DPM2015
@PMOwned
the
holy
grail
of
requirements
the
cost
of
change
the
opportunity
to
influence
cost
-30
0
30
60
90
120
Work
Begins Taking
Shape Crunch
Time Works
End

57. so
where
did
we
start?
‣Does
anyone
even
read
them?
#DPM2015
@PMOwned
…if
there
is
buy-­‐in,
empathy
+
understanding

58. so
where
did
we
start?
‣Why
do
we
even
bother?
#DPM2015
@PMOwned
…to
make
the
best
possible
solution
…with
the
least
possible
resistance

59. thanks!!
Sloan
Miller
Digital
Operations,
Strategist
+
Project
Management
Consultant
@PMOwned
philly’s
digital
PM
meetup
group
@DPMPhilly