Page 99 - Software and Systems Requirements Engineering in Practice

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C C h a p t e r 3 : E E l i c i t i n g R e q u i r e m e n t s 69 69
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• Prioritize stakeholder requests as early in a product life cycle
as possible. Several prioritization activities may be needed,
one just for the stakeholders, another when the architect or
designers evaluate the cost and risk of implementation, and
possibly additional sessions prior to the build/no build
decision. If possible, have key stakeholders participate in any
ranking activity.
• Keep the customer up-to-date on RE progress, demonstrate
features, and elicit comments or suggestions.
• Plan elicitation sessions to include the schedule, session
agenda, equipment, and tools needed; the types of information
to be captured; and the stakeholders who should be present.
• Include a senior manager from the customer’s organization
in requirements elicitation sessions.
• Schedule elicitation sessions in the morning, and then use the
afternoon for miscellaneous activities such as writing
definitions and descriptions and correcting diagrams and
documents.
• Whether looking at text or graphics, assure that all the
participants in a requirements elicitation session see the same
information.
• Organize requirements reviews into small chunks with small
amounts of material together. When that is not feasible, the
review of material should be partitioned, so that only the
relevant stakeholders see the material they need to review,
and the amount of material to be reviewed is kept small,
short, and immediate.
• Keep elicitation sessions small, no more than six to eight
people. Three subject matter experts in the same session may
or may not be effective, depending on their interpersonal
dynamics.
3.10 Summary
There are many different techniques for eliciting customer needs
and business goals. Whatever methods are used, the analysts
eliciting the needs, goals, or requirements should be trained in the
techniques they will be using. Furthermore, the elicitation process
will be more productive and execute more smoothly if process,
methods, and capture mechanisms are well defined, documented,
and communicated to the participating stakeholders prior to the
start of the elicitation sessions.
Those responsible for the elicitation of requirements should be
cognizant of the techniques needed, as well as of the issues and