2. Bad BRD
(c) 2016 Yevgeny Ioffe - Best Practices for BRD 2
Can you
think of
reasons why
this BRD is
poorly
drafted?
3. Lack of understanding the purpose of BRD
Poor training
Poor mentorship
Corporate culture: no “show or lead by example”
Low standards/expectations
Newly hired employees poorly matched to the
responsibilities/roles
Poor project/product management
Poorly defined business requirements gathering processes
“The more words the better” phenomenon
AND SO ON
How did we get here?
(c) 2016 Yevgeny Ioffe - Best Practices for BRD 3
4. Poorly drafted BRD results in:
Product not conforming to end users’ expectations
Poor teamwork in your company
More customer service and support
Longer developers’ hours
Higher employee turnover
It actually costs $$$!
(c) 2016 Yevgeny Ioffe - Best Practices for BRD 4
5. Focus on simplicity and clarity - the simplest description is the best
Set terminology to be used throughout the project from hour 0
Set documentation standards (terminology, outline, graphics to be used, etc.)
Make transparency and accountability the centerpiece of product development
process
Set BRD review and revision process
RESULTS IN:
faster development cycle
better software
reduced overhead and costs
increased productivity
happier employees and customers
How to make it good?
(c) 2016 Yevgeny Ioffe - Best Practices for BRD 5
6. Include as many graphical mockups/screenshots as
possible (a picture is worth 1000 words), and
associate them with each change/new feature
Software I’ve found useful for creating
mockups/prototypes
Axure (www.axure.com)
Balsamiq (www.balsamiq.com)
Yes, Photoshop… For a free tool, GIMP (www.gimp.org)
can do
How to make it good? (details)
(c) 2016 Yevgeny Ioffe - Best Practices for BRD 6
7. Include a brief description or spec for each
element/action of the new modification or design.
Example:
Current issue: After clicking the “Save” button (see figure
above), the end user is directed to the “Home” screen instead
of to the next step in the table creation process.
Change to be implemented: At clicking the “Save” button,
the system will take user to the next screen titled “Select
Parameters”.
(c) 2016 Yevgeny Ioffe - Best Practices for BRD 7
How to make it good? (details)
8. Join a business analyst group – on LinkedIn or in
your area via MeetUp
Read business analyst books, e.g.
Writing Effective Use Cases, Alistair Cockburn
User Stories Applied: For Agile Software Development,
Mike Cohn
Head First Object-Oriented Analysis & Design, Brett D.
McLaughlin and Gary Pollice
(c) 2016 Yevgeny Ioffe - Best Practices for BRD 8
Where do I learn more?