The document discusses best practices for developing requirements for SharePoint projects. It emphasizes the importance of having a well-defined business case to guide requirements gathering. The key components of requirements gathering are elicitation, analysis, validation, and documentation. Requirements traceability is also important to define return on investment for SharePoint projects.

1. Best Practices in
Developing Requirements for
SharePoint Projects
Dux Raymond Sy, PMP
July 28, 2010
10:00 AM – 11:00 AM(PT)

2. What Does This Mean?
8 5 4 9 1 7 6 3 2 0
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3. What Does This Mean?
SharePoint
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4. Presentation Objectives
 In this presentation, you will learn the best practices in
developing requirements for SharePoint projects
 In addition, you will be able to identify:
 Why having a well defined business case is necessary to
effectively initiate requirements gathering
 The key components of requirements gathering process
 Why requirements traceability is paramount in defining
ROI in SharePoint projects
Twitter: @meetdux Hashtag: #req4sp

5. Facilitator: Dux Raymond Sy, PMP
 Managing Partner, Innovative-e, Inc.
 Author, “SharePoint for Project
Management” by O’Reilly Media
 For more information, connect with Dux
 E-Mail: dux.sy@innovative-e.com
 Twitter: twitter.com/meetdux
 LinkedIn: meetdux.com/li
 Blog: meetdux.com
Twitter: @meetdux Hashtag: #req4sp

6. Agenda
 What are Requirements?
 Eliciting is Not the Same as Gathering
 Analysis Doesn’t Lead to Paralysis
 Too Legit to Quit?
 Put it on Paper
 Q&A
Twitter: @meetdux Hashtag: #req4sp

7. Why are Requirements So Difficult?
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8. What is a Requirement?
 A requirement is something wanted or needed
 Formally documented and written statements
 Capabilities needed to solve a problem
 Conditions of a delivered system, services, product, or process
 Constraints on the system, service, product, or process
 Requirements are not
 Verbal, informal statements or conversations in the hallways
 Solutions that state how to solve the problem or meet the objectives
 Characteristics of other systems, services, products, or processes
 Project budgets, plans, or implementation details
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9. What’s So Special About SharePoint?
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10. Requirements Focus
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11. Example: Defining Business Need is a MUST
 In a recent study, information workers today spend 45
mins/day searching for information
 In a team of 20 people, that’s 900 mins/day
 In 3 months, that’s 54000 mins or about 37 person days
 How much does this cost in time & money?
 What if search productivity can be increased by 15%?
 That’s gaining 7 mins back from the 45 mins lost
Twitter: @meetdux Hashtag: #req4sp

12. Example: Defining SharePoint Requirements
 Business requirements
 SharePoint shall increase user productivity by 15 percent
 User requirements
 The user shall be able to retrieve search results within five
seconds of submitting a search request that can support
a maximum of 10,000 simultaneous search requests
 System requirements
 SharePoint server shall have two web front ends and a
dedicated SQL Server which has at least dual processors
Twitter: @meetdux Hashtag: #req4sp

13. Key Components
1. Requirements Elicitation
2. Analyzing Requirements
3. V alidating Requirements
4. Documenting Requirements
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14. Agenda
 What are Requirements?
 Eliciting is Not the Same as Gathering
 Analysis Doesn’t Lead to Paralysis
 Too Legit to Quit?
 Put it on Paper
 Q&A
Twitter: @meetdux Hashtag: #req4sp

15. What is Requirements Elicitation?
 Elicitation: gathering and understanding what
stakeholders and users need
 Done at both an organizational (business) and a more detailed
user level
 Elicitation is a human-based activity
 Determine requirements sources
 Decide how to gather information
 Involves research, educating, talking, and observing
 Business-level context and framework
 How the end users do their jobs
 What would help them do their jobs better
 Within the scope of our system, product, or process
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16. Elicitation Process
1. What do I need to know?
2. Where do I get this information?
3. Get the information
4. Organize what you know
5. Do I have enough information?
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17. Goal is to Build a SharePoint Solution
 How would you like to drive a Lamborghini Diablo?
 BTW, you just learned how to ride a bike yesterday
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18. Don’t Call The Solution SharePoint!
 Generic Solutions
 Corporate Intranet
 Content Management
 Specific Solutions
 Employee Onboarding System for Human Resources
 Conference Room Scheduling System for Facilities
 Project Management Information System for PMs
 System Integration
 Custom Application Development
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19. Agenda
 What are Requirements?
 Eliciting is Not the Same as Gathering
 Analysis Doesn’t Lead to Paralysis
 Too Legit to Quit?
 Put it on Paper
 Q&A
Twitter: @meetdux Hashtag: #req4sp

20. What is Requirements Analysis?
 Requirements analysis takes elicited information and
makes sense of it
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21. Analysis Process
1. Profile Users
2. Model stated requirements
3. Gap analysis
4. Identify the real requirements
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22. Example: Process Flow Diagram
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23. Agenda
 What are Requirements?
 Eliciting is Not the Same as Gathering
 Analysis Doesn’t Lead to Paralysis
 Too Legit to Quit?
 Put it on Paper
 Q&A
Twitter: @meetdux Hashtag: #req4sp

24. What is Requirements Validation?
 Requirements validation allows the user(s) to confirm and
prioritize the real requirements
 Essential to identify what it will take to deploy SharePoint
 Resources
 Time
 Skillsets
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25. Keep Priorities In Order
 You can’t do it all!
 What business need should you solve first?
 What are common features that can be deployed?
 Project scope must be limited and specific
 What’s important? Time? Budget? Functionality?
 Tip: Involve decision makers in planning and prioritization
 Read “How to Prioritize Business Needs When
Implementing SharePoint” http://go.meetdux.com/sbyv
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26. Example: SharePoint Assessment Schedule
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27. Example: Prioritizing SharePoint Features
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28. Agenda
 What are Requirements?
 Eliciting is Not the Same as Gathering
 Analysis Doesn’t Lead to Paralysis
 Too Legit to Quit?
 Put it on Paper
 Q&A
Twitter: @meetdux Hashtag: #req4sp

29. Generate a Requirements Document
 Formally communicates
 Overall quantitative and qualitative characteristics
 Functionality of the desired end result or outcome
 Should include
 Requirement Statements
 Process Diagrams
 Traceability Matrix
Twitter: @meetdux Hashtag: #req4sp

30. What Makes a Great Requirement?
Content + Structure = Readability
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31. Writing Requirement Statements
 <Subject> shall be able to <capability> within <criterion>
 <Subject> shall be able to <capability>
 Where criterion is assumed to be 100 percent of the
stated capability
Twitter: @meetdux Hashtag: #req4sp

32. Example: Defining SharePoint Requirements
 Business requirements
 SharePoint shall increase user productivity by 15 percent
 User requirements
 The user shall be able to retrieve search results within five
seconds of submitting a search request that can support
a maximum of 10,000 simultaneous search requests
 System requirements
 SharePoint server shall have two web front ends and a
dedicated SQL Server which has at least dual processors
Twitter: @meetdux Hashtag: #req4sp

33. Example: Requirements Document
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34. Agenda
 What are Requirements?
 Eliciting is Not the Same as Gathering
 Analysis Doesn’t Lead to Paralysis
 Too Legit to Quit?
 Put it on Paper
 Q&A
Twitter: @meetdux Hashtag: #req4sp

35. Questions?
E-Mail: dux.sy@innovative-e.com
LinkedIn: meetdux.com/li
Blog: meetdux.com
Twitter: twitter.com/meetdux
How did you like the presentation?
http://meetdux.com/feedback
Twitter: @meetdux Hashtag: #req4sp

36. Summary
 You have learned the best practices in developing
requirements for SharePoint projects
 In addition, you are able to identify:
 Why having a well defined business case is necessary to
effectively initiate requirements gathering
 The key components of requirements gathering process
 Why requirements traceability is paramount in defining
ROI in SharePoint projects
Twitter: @meetdux Hashtag: #req4sp

37. Thank You!