The main program at July's Greater Atlanta IIBA chapter meeting was about User Flow Diagrams. The presenter was Carol Kilpatrick, modeling and design specialist, from Delta Technology. She gave a great presentation on how she documents work flow diagrams to focus on user actions. There were two points Carol made that apply to all documents we produce as Business Analysts.
1) Use a consistent format. By using a consistent format the readers of the deliverables become familiar with the document. This allows the reader to focus on the message of the document and not the format. When there are multiple BAs working with the same project team and business stakeholders it is even more important. You want the reader to focus on what is being communicated, not how you are communicating.
2) Produce drafts quickly and have them reviewed. By having your documents reviewed early and often you get instant feedback on the accuracy and completeness of your document. There is a risk here. You can be viewed as presenting incomplete documents. Make sure your reader is aware it is an early draft to make sure you are on the right track.
The main reason for consistency and reviews is to help ensure we have elicited and documented clear and complete requirements. Please share your tips on how we can get to clear and complete requirements!
July 31st, 2007 at 11:33 pm
The first tip I have to share on documents is to get a template in place that has all the sections that have just the required information in it. A consitent format is great for all the consumers of information. They know where to look for what information.The, to some degree, insures that people will read the documents. To get a template in place, get feedback from all the consumers of any documents. Generally, it’s the QA and the Dev groups. But, let’s not forget that even BAs are, to an extent, the consumers. They have to refer back to these while taking care of enhancements, bug fixes, or at the time of ramping up new analysts on the proejcts.
The second point about reviewing the documents early in the stage. To me, it seems, that it is wise to let the audience know that documents are work in progress and the intent of sharing them with early on is course correction, in case I am headed in the wrong direction, and making my thought process and understanding clear upfront. A mature group/organization doesn’t treat this as a half baked requirement but a self-correctiing process consumable that is growing with the best possible feedback.
August 16th, 2007 at 1:19 pm
To elaborate on that second point - producing drafts quickly and early touches upon the efficacy of the iterative process (or rather, itereative and incremental.) This basically points to a need to constantly elicit requirements continuously throughout the life cycle of a project in order to provide the most suitable product possible. The value will be seen as the business owner may not know everything he/she needs during the inception of the project. The danger herein, does of course lie in possible scope creep, as the boundaries are constantly being pushed. I believe this is a job for both the RA and PMO alike to keep track of and constantly asses where the project plan needs to be addressed. All in all, iterative projects of this sort have proven to be the most successful.
August 16th, 2007 at 3:00 pm
Great comments! You know the question “How do you eat an 800 lb gorilla? Answer: One bite at a time.
This concept so relates to what we do!