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Chapter 6 • agile Modeling and prototyping 177
7. Prepare a list of activities for a systems development team for an online travel agent that is setting up
a website for customers. Now suppose you are running out of time. Describe some of your options.
Describe what you will trade off to get the website released in time.
8. Given the situation for Williwonk’s chocolates (Problem 1 in Chapter 3), which of the four agile
modeling resource variables may be adjusted?
9. Examine the collection of user stories from the online merchant shown earlier in the chapter. The
online media store would now like to have you add some features to its website. Following the for-
mat shown earlier in this chapter in Figure 6.7, write a user story for the features listed below:
a. Include pop-up ads.
b. Offer to share the details of the customer’s purchases with his or her friends.
c. Extend offer to purchase other items.
10. Go to the Android website, at www.palmgear.com. Explore the website and write up a dozen brief
user stories for improving the website.
11. Go to the iTunes website and write up a dozen brief user stories for improving the website.
12. Using the stories you wrote for Problem 9, walk through the five stages of the agile development
process and describe what happens at each one of the stages.
Group Projects
1. Divide your group into two smaller subgroups. Have Group 1 follow the processes specified in
this chapter for creating prototypes. Using a CASE tool or a word processor, Group 1 should
devise two nonworking prototype screens using the information collected in the interviews with
Maverick Transport employees accomplished in the group exercise in Chapter 4. Make any
assumptions necessary to create two screens for truck dispatchers. Group 2 (playing the roles of
dispatchers) should react to the prototype screens and provide feedback about desired additions
and deletions.
2. The members of Group 1 should revise the prototype screens based on the user comments they
received. Those in Group 2 should respond with comments about how well their initial concerns
were addressed with the refined prototypes.
3. As a united group, write a paragraph discussing your experiences with prototyping for ascertaining
information requirements.
4. Within your united group, assign some of the roles that people take on in agile development. Make
sure that one person is an on-site customer and at least two people are programmers. Assign other
roles, as you see fit. Simulate the systems development situation discussed in Problem 7, or have
the person acting as the on-site customer choose an ecommerce business with which he or she is
familiar. Assume that the customer wants to add some functionality to his or her website. Role-play
a scenario showing what each person would do if this was being approached through agile methods.
Write a paragraph that discusses the constraints that each person faces in enacting his or her role.
Selected Bibliography
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Avison, D., and D. N. Wilson. “Controls for Effective Prototyping.” Journal of Management Systems, Vol.
3, No. 1, 1991.
Beck, K. Extreme Programming Explained: Embrace Change. Boston: Addison-Wesley Publishing Co., 2000.
Beck, K., and M. Fowler. Planning Extreme Programming. Boston: Addison-Wesley Publishing Co., 2001.
Cockburn, A. Agile Software Development. Boston: Addison-Wesley Publishing Co., 2002.
Davis, G. B., and J. D. Naumann. “Knowledge Work Productivity.” In Emerging Information
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Fitzgerald, B., and G. Hartnett. “A Study of the Use of Agile Methods Within Intel.” In Business Agility &
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Ghione, J. “A Web Developer’s Guide to Rapid Application Development Tools and Techniques.”
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Gremillion, L. L., and P. Pyburn. “Breaking the Systems Development Bottleneck.” Harvard Business
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