functional requirements: thinking like a pirate
DESCRIPTION
This talk was at OpenSourceBridge 2010: We covered professional services in open source and writing functional requirements to support your projects.TRANSCRIPT
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Functional Requirements
Think Like A Pirate Amye Scavarda - Bill Fitzgerald - June 2 - OpenSourceBridge
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Howdy!Bill is: • Founding Partner of
FunnyMonkey.com• Author of Drupal for Education• Really involved in making
better websites for education•
[email protected] @funnymonkey
Amye is:• Founder of Function
createfunction.com• Makes open source website
development hurt less for clients, developers and designers
[email protected]@msamye
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And You Are?
Developers?Project Managers?Owners?Designers?Freelancers?People in companies of over 300 people?
We'll be taking questions on Google Moderator here: http://goo.gl/mod/wfYI But just ask us stuff.
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Why We're Talking Like Pirates
Except we're not actually talking like pirates. We're talking like people who run professional services and development companies based in open source.
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What We're Doing Here:
• Introducing Functional Requirements in a professional services setting
• Discussing a few models of functional requirements • Giving you a checklist for your own functional requirements • Telling stories about how we came around to writing
functional requirements in Agile.
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Because we like being able to make a livingRunning a professional services company in open source is an awesome model.
Except for:Timetracking is a pain.Billing for your time is a pain. Being a consultant is a pain.
But this is a model for how to do the thing you love and not be a starving artist.
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Managing This Is A Bear
Photograph by John Eastcott and Yva Momatiuk
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Hours Worked = Hours Paid
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What are these function-whatsits?
• A way to know when your projects are finished• A way to mark out a good roadmap for what your client
wants • An example of good business practices
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What are they not?
They're not:• A substitute for people who care about what they're doing• A substitute for operations support• A substitute for creativity and listening • The Holy Grail of Project Awesomeness
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Your Treasure Map
We've established our motivations: running a successful business, doing work that matters, getting our people paid, getting our clients what they wanted.
Your motivations may be different from ours.We'll walk through a few different models.
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Commonly referred to as SRS: Software Requirements Specifications. This is the management-approved, 15 different signatures for change control documents. These include: • Scope• Referenced Documents, • Requirements (including all CSCI requirements) • Qualification Provisions• Requirements Traceability• Notes
Shall - Will - Must:
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Series of Checklists
Lists for:
• Discovery• Development Environment• Design Phases• Wireframes• Builds• Client Signoff• Launch• Post-Launch Support
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Hieroglyphics
Your documentation and roadmap as a graphic novel:
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Turning this:
David Rees - www.mnftiu.cc
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Into this:
Rebeka Sedaca - http://www.boxesandarrows.com/view/comics-not-just-for
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Answering the Big Questions
• Legacy Systems?• How Does This Development Support Their Long Term
Goals?• How Did Current Systems Come to Be?• What Would Happen If Nothing Got Done?
My personal philosophy is not to undertake a project unless it is manifestly important and nearly impossible.
Edwin Land (Polaroid camera inventor)
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Tools
• Client Intake Surveys• Stakeholder Interviews• Existing Technical Documentation• Existing End User Training Documentation • Organization Charts: who does what
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How to make something that works for you:Written Requirements DocWireframesMilestones and Time EstimatesIdentified Communication Leads(a ticket system that works)
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Answering the Immediate Timeframes
• Why is this project happening now?• What other pieces are tied to this project? • What pieces are your project anchors?
Beware the time-driven project with an artificial deadline. M. Dobson
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Answering the Long-Term Goals
Who is this system designed to support? For how long?Are there any plans to replace this system in the future? With what?
telegraph.co.ukneospiel.co.uk
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Creating a Scope of Work
• What can we do now? • Is it the best thing we can do now? • What can we do not-right-now, but later? • The importance of wireframes
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Outlining Your Process
Communicating with Lead Stakeholders
Having the 'What Does Agile Mean' conversation with your clients... Or not.
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Marking Red Flags Ahead of Time
• What issues are a technical challenge for your team? (What do you mean by this COBOL thing?)
• What issues are a technical challenge for the client? (We can't even spell HTML)
• What kind of security does this particular project need to have?
• What kind of bandwidth support?
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Both Sides How Projects are Like a Tug of War
Each Side Has To Pull Equallyhttp://www.johannthedog.com
http://www.johannthedog.com
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That Tricky Open Source Thing You Do
What happens when your product changes? What happens when your team changes course?
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Wrapping it All Up
Using this as a guiding document for the rest of your project • With yourself • With your team• With your stakeholders
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Thanks!
Google Moderator has questions. But we're sure you do too. Amye Scavarda: http://createfunction.com Bill Fitzgerald: http://funnymonkey.com/blog