Page 308 - Software and Systems Requirements Engineering in Practice

ç ç 3 O F T W A R E ç ç 3 Y S T E M S ç 2 E Q U I R E M E N T S ç % N G I N E E R I N G ç ) N ç 0 R A C T I C E

IN WRITTEN AND ORAL FORMS INCLUDING USING MODELS E G DESCRIBED
IN 5-, THAT EVERYBODY ON THE TEAM UNDERSTANDS 2EMOTE ENGINEERS
MAY BE ASKED TO DEVELOP FEATURES FOR PRODUCTS WITH WHICH THEY HAVE
NO PERSONAL EXPERIENCE E G FOR NEW AUTOMOBILES BEING INTRODUCED
INTO LOCAL MARKETS WHERE THAT MODEL HAS NEVER BEEN SOLD 7ORK HABITS
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUNDS AND VALUE SYSTEMS WILL VARY AMONG THE
2%S WORKING AT DISTRIBUTED SITES #ENTRAL SITE 2%S WILL NEED TO HAVE
SOME UNDERSTANDING OF CULTURAL DIFFERENCES TO BE ABLE TO EFFECTIVELY
WORK WITH REMOTE 2%S RESIDING IN OTHER COUNTRIES
4EAM SIZE IS A CONCERN NOT ONLY FOR A DISTRIBUTED PROJECT BUT FOR
ANY PROJECT THAT HAS MORE THAN A FEW TEAM MEMBERS !S THE TEAM SIZE
GETS LARGER THERE ARE MORE COMMUNICATION PATHS AMONG THE TEAM
MEMBERS 4HUS ADDING PEOPLE TO A PROJECT MAY BE A WAY TO GET MORE
WORK DONE BUT INDIVIDUAL PRODUCTIVITY WILL DECREASE AS TEAM
MEMBERS HAVE MORE PEOPLE WHO THEY WILL NEED TO COMMUNICATE WITH
TO ACCOMPLISH THEIR WORK &OR VERY LARGE PROJECTS SOME TEAM MEMBERS
E G SUPPLIER MANAGERS ARE LIKELY SPENDING MOST OF THEIR TIME
COMMUNICATING AND LITTLE TIME ON DEVELOPING PROJECT ARTIFACTS )DEALLY
PROJECT MANAGERS RECOGNIZE THIS NEGATIVE PRODUCTIVITY IMPACT AND
STRIVE TO KEEP THEIR DEVELOPMENT TEAMS AS SMALL AS POSSIBLE (OWEVER
THERE IS GREAT PRESSURE TO BRING NEW PRODUCTS TO MARKET QUICKLY AND
MOST PROJECT TEAMS LIKELY WILL BE LARGER THAN DESIRABLE /NE SOLUTION
TO THIS PROBLEM IS TO BREAK THE PROJECT WORK INTO PIECES THAT CAN EACH
BE DONE BY A SMALL TEAM AND THEN HAVE ANOTHER TEAM INTEGRATE THE
PIECES 4HE RESULTING ORGANIZATION IS A COLLECTION OF SMALL TEAMS THAT
COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER FOR PREDEFINED REASONS OR HAVE
SPECIALISTS WHO DO THE COMMUNICATING $RAWING ON OUR EXPERIENCE
WITH LARGE PROJECTS WE RECOMMEND THE RULES OF THUMB THAT NO
INDIVIDUAL TEAM BE LARGER THAN TEN MEMBERS AND THE TEAM MEMBERS
HAVE THEIR WORKPLACES WITHIN METERS OF EACH OTHER ;!LLEN =
&URTHERMORE EACH TEAM SHOULD HAVE A WORK OR CONFERENCE ROOM IN
WHICH THEY CAN ALL FIT FOR JOINT WORK TASKS OR STAND UP MEETINGS

õ 2%õWITHõ/%-SõANDõ3UPPLIERS
2EQUIREMENTS ARE OFTEN DEVELOPED BY A CENTRAL TEAM THAT MUST TRANSFER
THE FEATURE INFORMATION AS SPECIFICATIONS MODELS OR VERBAL
COMMUNICATIONS TO A REMOTE ORGANIZATION THAT DEVELOPS THE FEATURES
AND DELIVERS THE RESULTING PRODUCT COMPONENT TO THE CENTRAL TEAM OR
A THIRD PARTY 4HUS THE 2% PROCESSES USED FOR DEALING WITH SUPPLIERS
AND /%-S ARE VERY SIMILAR TO THOSE GENERALLY USED FOR DISTRIBUTED
DEVELOPMENT 4HAT IS THE REQUIREMENTS ARTIFACTS MUST BE HIGHER
QUALITY AND MORE FORMAL THAN FOR A PROJECT WHERE THE ENGINEERS ARE
SITTING WITHIN METERS OF THE 2%S AND STAKEHOLDERS WORKING FOR THE
SAME COMPANY