Page 142 -

5 - PROJECT SCOPE MANAGEMENT

All of these group decision-making techniques can be applied to the group creativity techniques used in the
Collect Requirements process.

5.2.2.6 Questionnaires and Surveys

Questionnaires and surveys are written sets of questions designed to quickly accumulate information from a
large number of respondents. Questionnaires and/or surveys are most appropriate with varied audiences, when
a quick turnaround is needed, when respondents are geographically dispersed, and where statistical analysis is
appropriate.

5.2.2.7 observations

Observations provide a direct way of viewing individuals in their environment and how they perform their jobs or
tasks and carry out processes. It is particularly helpful for detailed processes when the people that use the product
have difficulty or are reluctant to articulate their requirements. Observation is also known as “job shadowing.”
It is usually done externally by an observer viewing a business expert performing a job. It can also be done by
a “participant observer” who actually performs a process or procedure to experience how it is done to uncover
hidden requirements.

5.2.2.8 Prototypes

Prototyping is a method of obtaining early feedback on requirements by providing a working model of the
expected product before actually building it. Since a prototype is tangible, it allows stakeholders to experiment
with a model of the final product rather than being limited to discussing abstract representations of their
requirements. Prototypes support the concept of progressive elaboration in iterative cycles of mock-up creation,
user experimentation, feedback generation, and prototype revision. When enough feedback cycles have been
performed, the requirements obtained from the prototype are sufficiently complete to move to a design or build
phase. Storyboarding is a prototyping technique showing sequence or navigation through a series of images or
illustrations. Storyboards are used on a variety of projects in a variety of industries, such as film, advertising,
instructional design, and on agile and other software development projects. In software development, storyboards
use mock-ups to show navigation paths through webpages, screens, or other user interfaces.

5.2.2.9 Benchmarking

Benchmarking involves comparing actual or planned practices, such as processes and operations, to those
of comparable organizations to identify best practices, generate ideas for improvement, and provide a basis for
measuring performance. The organizations compared during benchmarking can be internal or external.

116 ©2013 Project Management Institute. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide) – Fifth Edition
®

Licensed To: Jorge Diego Fuentes Sanchez PMI MemberID: 2399412
This copy is a PMI Member benefit, not for distribution, sale, or reproduction.