how to prioritize requirements - better and faster (workshop), razvan radulian
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HOW TO PRIORITIZE REQUIREMENTS:
BETTER & FASTER!
Razvan Radulian, Why-What-How Consulting
Making the “impossible” possible!
Research Triangle Park IIBA Chapter Meeting
AGENDA
Part I (pre-workshop):• Core concepts, aligning with IIBA/BABOK (2 & 3)• Pre-workshop activities (watch videos and reflect :)
Part II (workshop):• Activity: Prioritize!• Using what we’ve learned so far (Pre-workshop) to
define a better and faster Prioritization process• Advanced/”unique” concepts and practices• Activity: Try it again! (if time allows)
Part III (workshop wrap-up and follow-up)• Lessons-learned and Takeaways• Follow-up
PRE-WORKSHOP ACTIVITIES (1 OF 2)To get more out of this workshop…
1. Read this slide-deck before the workshop
2. Watch 5 short videos (listed on following slide) to see what we can learn from…• Getting stuck in traffic• Sorting 2500 photos• Playing “Poker”• Cleaning up• “Visiting” Moscow [sorry, no video at this time]
As you watch the videos, think about how we may combine (potentially, adapt) these “disconnected” bits of information to come up with a better and faster way to prioritize requirements…
…we’ll do just that during our workshop!
PRE-WORKSHOP ACTIVITIES (2 OF 2)Watch the following videos:Getting stuck in traffic:
• Public Workshops - Triangle Regional Transit Programhttps://youtu.be/QSxomb_7hnk (15-min)
Sorting 2500 photos:• How to edit a photo shoot in 5 minutes (time-lapse)
https://youtu.be/A2uH7dcBHTY (4-min)• 3 ways to rate and cull images in Lightroom:
https://youtu.be/o8xRWc3BmGE?t=34s (7-min)
Playing “Poker”:• Agile in Practice Planning Poker
https://youtu.be/0FbnCWWg_NY (4-min)
Cleaning up:• Scrum Repair Guide Grooming the Product Backlog - Mike Cohn
https://youtu.be/KXJuss2w39w (5-min)
“Visiting” Moscow:• Sorry, no video at this time…
QUICK NOTE ON HOW TO READ THIS
DOCUMENT…
Top-level topic/branch: expanded in additional slides…
• Leaf-level information: no additional slides (expanding this topic)
Trademark note:
All places in this document that refer to IIBA and/or BABOK should be read as IIBA® and/or BABOK®.
CORE CONCEPTS
Why are we talking about it?
What are we talking about?
Who cares? Why?
When do (should) we do it?
How do (should) we do it?TechniquesPitfalls & "Best" Practices
WHY ARE WE TALKING ABOUT IT?
Are we working on the right requirements?
How many failed/challenged projects?
Scope or Cope?
How wisely do we use our resources?
Risk Management anyone?
ARE WE WORKING ON THE RIGHT
REQUIREMENTS?
Standish Group (2002)*:
2/3 of implemented requirements are RARELY or NEVER used!
* Kind of old data, but quite easy to confirm it is still current by opening almost any commercial application (prime examples: MS Word or Excel ;-)
Never45%
Rarely19%
Sometimes16%
Often13%
Always7%
Source: Standish CHAOS Report (2012)
Successful42%
Challenged49%
Failed9%
Agile
Successful14%
Challenged57%
Failed29%
Waterfall
HOW “SUCCESSFUL” ARE OUR PROJECTS?
SCOPE OR COPE!
YES :)Scope Management:Predefined and agreed-upon process:• Analysis• Design/planning• Building• Verification/Testing• Implementation
NO :(“Cope” with changes:Seat of the pants approach:• Scope creep• Feature creep
(aka. Gold Platting)
Following a Scope Management Process/Approach?
RISK MANAGEMENT ANYONE?
Requirements should be prioritized based on:
• Business Value
• Risk involved…• From not implementing a requirement
• From implementing a requirement
Unfortunately, often times, the risks are treated as…
… an AFTER-THOUGHT?
IIBA’S VIEWS (BABOK): PURPOSE…
BABOK 2:
Ensures that analysis and implementation efforts focus on the most critical requirements.
BABOK 3:
To rank requirements in the order of relative importance.
Why or… what?!?
WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT?Critical, must have, mandatory, nice-to-have, optional, delighter…
Shall, Will, Must, Should, Could, Might, Want…
… are we ALL talking the same language?!?
WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT? CORE CONCEPTS
Definition…
Prioritization vs. Urgency…
Requirements Analysis…
Deciding how to decide
CORE TERMS (DEFINITION):
REQUIREMENTS PRIORITIZATION (WHAT)
BABOK 2 (Section 6.1.2):A decision process used to determine the relative importance of requirements.The importance of requirements may be based on their relative value, risk, difficulty of implementation, or on other criteria.
These priorities are used to determine which requirements should be targets for further analysis and to determine which requirements should be implemented first.
BABOK 3 (Section 5.3.2):The act of ranking requirements to determine their relative importance to stakeholders… Priority can refer to the relative value of a requirement, or to the sequence in which it will be implemented.
Prioritization is an ongoing process, with priorities changing as the context changes.
CORE TERMS (DEFINITION):
REQUIREMENTS PRIORITIZATION (HOW)
BABOK 2 (Section 6.1.2):A decision process used to determine the relative importance of requirements.
The importance of requirements may be based on their relativevalue, risk, difficulty of implementation, or on other criteria.
These priorities are used to determine which requirements should be targets for further analysis and to determine which requirements should be implemented first.
BABOK 3 (Section 5.3.2):The act of ranking requirements to determine their relative importance to stakeholders…
Priority can refer to the relative value of a requirement, or to the sequence in which it will be implemented. Prioritization is an ongoing process, with priorities changing as the context changes.
CORE TERMS (DEFINITION):
REQUIREMENTS PRIORITIZATION (WHY)
BABOK 2 (Section 6.1.2):A decision process used to determine the relative importance of requirements.
The importance of requirements may be based on their relative value, risk, difficulty of implementation, or on other criteria.
These priorities are used to determine which requirements should be targets for further analysis and to determine which requirements should be implemented first.
BABOK 3 (Section 5.3.2):The act of ranking requirements to determine their relative importance to stakeholders…
Priority can refer to the relative value of a requirement, or to the
sequence in which it will be implemented.
Prioritization is an ongoing process, with priorities changing as the context changes.
CORE TERMS:
PRIORITIZATION VS. URGENCY
Priority (importance): What are the most important “things” we need?
Urgency (timing):What do we need [to do] first?
BA FUNDAMENTALS:
REQUIREMENTS ANALYSIS
BABOK 2:(in Requirements Analysis)
• Prioritize Requirements
• Organize Requirements
• Specify and Model Requirements
• Define Assumptions and Constraints
• Verify Requirements
• Validate Requirements
BABOK 3:(in Requirements Life Cycle Mgmt.)
• Trace Requirements
• Maintain Requirements
• Prioritize Requirements
• Assess Requirements Changes
• Approve Requirements
WHO USES THAT INFO?
IMPLEMENTATION STAKEHOLDERS
• Implementers (IT and more)
•QA/Testers
• Trainers
•Usability and User-experience experts
• Support
WHEN DO (SHOULD) WE DO IT?
Plan-driven approach(e.g. Waterfall):•One-time
•Upfront
• Less (overall)
Change-driven approach(e.g. Agile):•Many times
•As-needed
•More (overall)
HOW DO WE DO IT:
THE PROCESS (SIMPLIFIED)
• Plan and design a/the Requirements Prioritization process
• Execute• Elicit and understand the requirements
• Analyze and evaluate
• Decide
• Monitor and, upon change requests, repeat...
• Once in a while, step back and re-evaluate the process itself• If necessary, improve
HOW DO WE DO IT:
INPUTS
BABOK 2:• Business Case• Business Need• Requirements• Requirements Management
Plan• Stakeholder List, Roles, and
Responsibilities
BABOK 3:• Requirements
• Designs
Hmm… say that again!?!
HOW DO WE DO IT:
OUTPUTS (AGAIN, WHO CARES? WHY?)
BABOK 2:
Requirements [Prioritized]
• Categorized…
• Ranked…
BABOK 3:
•Requirements(prioritized)
•Designs (prioritized)
HOW DO WE DO IT/OUTPUTS:
REQUIREMENTS [PRIORITIZED]
Categorized:•High, Medium, Low•MoSCoW…•Shall, Will, Might… (Don't!)
Ranked:•1, 2, 3,..., 999•Sprint "Backlog"
… lessons from sorting 2500 photos:Come to the workshop to find out!
HOW DO WE DO IT:
CRITERIA
BABOK 2 (Criteria):
• Business Value
• Business or Technical Risk
• Implementation Difficulty
• Likelihood of Success
• Regulatory or Policy Compliance
• Stakeholder Agreement
• Urgency
BABOK 3 (Factors):• Benefit
• Penalty
• Cost
• Risk
• Dependencies
• Time Sensitivity
• Stability
• Regulatory or Policy Compliance
HOW DO WE DO IT:
TECHNIQUES
BABOK 2: Decision Analysis
Risk Analysis
MoSCoW
Timeboxing/Budgeting
Voting
BABOK 3:• Backlog Management• Business Cases• Decision Analysis• Estimation• Financial Analysis• Interviews• Item Tracking• Prioritization (?!?)• Risk Analysis and Management• Workshops
Apples and…
…oranges?!?
Wow, what
just happened
here?
MOSCOWFROM BABOK 2 (NOT DEFINED IN BABOK 3!?!)
Must:A requirement that must be satisfied in the final solution for the solution to be considered a success.
Should:A high-priority item that should be included in the solution if it is possible. This is often a critical requirement but one which can be satisfied in other ways if strictly necessary.
Could:A requirement which is considered desirable but not necessary. This will be included if time and resources permit.
Won't:A “requirement” that stakeholders have agreed will not be implemented in a given release, but may be considered for the future.
OK, LET’S TRY TO UNTANGLE THE “REST”!
Requirements Prioritization Activity (Section 6.1)
Techniques:• Backlog Management• Business Cases• Decision Analysis• Estimation• Financial Analysis• Interviews• Item Tracking• Prioritization• Risk Analysis and Management• Workshops
Prioritization Technique (Section 10.33)
Approaches:• Grouping• Ranking• Time boxing/Budgeting• Negotiation
BABOK 3 splits Requirements Prioritization Activity (from BABOK 2) into:
TECHNIQUE:
DECISION ANALYSIS
• Framing the Problem
•Objectives/Criteria
• Evaluating (e.g. impact/outcome & probability)
•Decision Tables & Decision Trees
TECHNIQUE:
RANKING & THE PARETO PRINCIPLE
Sorted Priorities:• Avoiding the "High, Medium, Low" heuristic behavior • The Law of the Few (80/20, Pareto Principle)
Focus on the important 35%:• Remember the 65% statistic?
Product Backlogs or “Lessons we should have learned” • See again the CHAOS Report (2011): Waterfall vs. Agile
TECHNIQUE:
TIMEBOXING/BUDGETING
PM's "Triple" Constraint:
• Time (Schedule)
• Money (Budget)
• Scope (Product, Project)
• Quality, Risks…
Agile's “tricks”:
• Product Backlog
• Estimates
• Planning & Commitments
All In, All Out, Selective
PART II:THE EXPERIMENT &
ADVANCED CONCEPTSTry it again!
Lessons-learned
Best Practices
PARTS II & III WILL BE PRESENTED AT THE WORKSHOP.
SOME [OF THE MANY POSSIBLE] CHALLENGES & PITFALLS...
• Again, what are we working on?!?• Remember that 65% statistic? • Scope Creep or Gold-plating?
•ALL High-priority = NO Priorities!• "Flying by the seat of your pants“ approach
•Moving-parts problem:• The Moving Target!• The Moving Road/Highway!• The Moving Drivers!
EXPERIMENT 1: FIRST TRY…
We have a list of 250 requirements.
Prioritize it!Use whatever approach/technique that you/your team think(s)
works best
You have 10-15 minutes to do it.
GOOD PRACTICES (1)
Do it…
EARLY, but not too early!
OFTEN, but not too often!
FAST, but not too fast!
GOOD PRACTICES (2)
Follow a Prioritization PROCESS:
• Don’t have one? Create it!
• Inefficient? Improve it!
• Good? Use it!
Expect it to change!
GOOD PRACTICES (3)
•Clear & committed Roles & Responsibilities
• Strong Support…... hey, Execs, are you listening?
•Once in a while, step back and REFLECT...
... better yet, learn and improve!
REMEMBER THIS? MY FAVORITE “TECHNIQUE(S)”…
Categorize:•High, Medium, Low•MoSCoW…•Shall, Will, Might… (Don't!)
Rank:•1, 2, 3,...,9•Sprint "Backlog"
Categorize, then Rank (only what’s worth ranking)!
… what I learned from sorting 2500 photos.
BETTER MOSCOW?
“Using the following table, let’s prioritize our requirements!
Our approach goals:• Do as many as possible
• Do it as fast as possible
• Improve quality of our decisions
• …”
Requirement
Mu
st
Sho
uld
Co
uld
Wo
n’t
Consensus
Req A 6 1 M
Req B 1 5 1 S
Req C 3 1 2 3 ?
Req D 1 6 W
Req E 7 M
Req F 1 6 C
Req G 3 1 3 ?
…
FINAL EXERCISE:
GROUP ACTIVITY/DISCUSSION
Finally, how do we use the information from all those “disconnected” videos (listed at the beginning of the document) to come up with a faster and better Prioritization Process/Approach?
RELATED TOPICS
• Enterprise Analysis
•Project & Resource Management
•Programs& Portfolio Management
•Agility & Discipline (Risk-driven Management)
• Facilitation
THANKS!
My contact info:Razvan RadulianLinkedIn: whywhathowE-mail: razvan@w5hy.comTwitter: @w5hy
It is Common-sense...
... just not that common!
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