caught in a cots project - strategies for requirements success 2011may17

Caught in a COTS Project ? Strategies for Requirements Success

Michael Roy

Requirements Practitioner/Coach

© 2011 Michael R Roy All Rights Reserved. © 2011 Michael R Roy All Rights Reserved.

To understand what a COTS project is and how

it differs from a regular project

To recognize requirement problems that are

common to a COTS project

To learn strategies that lead to success on a

COTS project

Session Objectives

2

© 2011 Michael R Roy All Rights Reserved.

Introduction


Introduction

4

Michael Roy is an experienced requirements

professional. For more than 20 years, he has

been directly involved in the facilitation,

documentation and development of business

functional and systems requirements. He has a

passion for business analysis and helping others

flourish in the profession.

[email protected]

http://ca.linkedin.com/in/michaelrroy


Qualifications

5

Direct experience in a requirements role on multiple projects

implementing vendor products:

suspense account reconciliation system

accounting system implementation

global replacement of HR systems

Pragmatic, real-world COTS experience

© 2011 Michael R Roy All Rights Reserved. 6

Target Audience

Intermediate: Prior requirements knowledge and experience

presumed


What is a COTS

Project ?


What is COTS

8


Characteristics of a COTS product

1. Sold, leased, or licensed to the general public

2. Offered by a vendor trying to profit from it

3. Available in multiple, identical copies

4. Supported and evolved by the vendor, who retains the intellectual property rights

5. Used without modification of the internals

What is a COTS product ?

Source: SEI, CMU/SEI-2003-TR-017

9


Examples of COTS Products

Oracle

PeopleSoft SalesForce

SAP

Workday

Includes SaaS Products

Includes ERP solutions

10


What is a COTS Project ?

11


What is a COTS Project ?

The term COTS project refers to a project that combines

existing commercial product(s) and other software to create a

new client system.

COTS projects are rarely labeled with the term „COTS‟; you

may have worked on a COTS project without knowing the

term applied. If you worked on installation of a enterprise

product not built in-house, you likely have worked on a COTS

project.

A COTS project is sometimes not considered a project but

rather an integration and implementation effort.

12


What makes a COTS project different?

13

Solution to a business need is determined up front

Upfront selection of the solution (product) is based on an

Request for Proposal (RFP)

RFP is generally written with requirements captured at

a high level (features)

RFP is often a checklist document

Vendor selection is based on an affirmation of feature

compatibility, possibly a demonstration, and multiple

assumptions

Different actors in the project environment (vendor or

product configuration team)


What makes a COTS project different?

14

Low visibility to product internals

Product configuration is a shared responsibility between

vendor product experts and internal resources

Strong emphasis on glue code (integrations) and conversion

tasks

Aggressive timelines (think “Death March” projects)

Configuration focus, not customization


Configuration vs. Customization

15

Configuration Configurable means the existing

software can be worked (via a

standard user interface) to reflect a

change

Configurations are made by using

tool sets built into the product

(No changes to software code)

Customization Customization means the

underlying software code has to be

changed so it can do what you

want it to

Changing code means the product

is now unique – different from

every other installation. (This can

cause problems with upgrades and

maintenance.)


Common

Requirement

Problems

on a COTS Project


Common Requirement Problems on a COTS Project

Lines of responsibility and accountability for requirements

are blurred


The Traditional Business Analyst Model

Business Development

Business Analyst

Let me find out what they want


Lines of responsibility and accountability for requirements are blurred



Mismatch between the needs of the project and boilerplate

deliverables



Mismatch between the needs of the project and boilerplate deliverables



Gaps in understanding are leftover when using only

prescribed requirement techniques



Prescribed techniques focus on requirements from a gathering

perspective



Gaps in understanding are leftover when using only prescribed techniques

Where are my business rules ?


Common Problems on a COTS project include:


Lines of responsibility and accountability are blurred

Mismatch between the needs of the project and boilerplate deliverables

Gaps in understanding are leftover when using only prescribed techniques

SUMMARY



Unique ? No

Frequency is much higher and extent of

these problems are more accentuated


Using a paint-by-numbers approach for

business analysis is a recipe for failure when

working on a COTS project


Strategies for

Requirements

Success on a

COTS Project


The Setting


Strategies for Success on a COTS Project

Customize the analyst engagement model


Understand the lineup of stakeholders in the requirements arena

Customize the Analyst Engagement Model



Clarify requirements related roles and responsibilities




Typical outcome is move from requirements communication

conduit to facilitation and coordination





Tailor the deliverables approach


Think Iteration

Tailor the Deliverables Approach

Deliverable

Client Feedback

Update Deliverable



Think Innovation




Think Shared Ownership





Leverage COTS friendly requirement techniques


Leverage Gap Analysis to ensure completeness and accuracy




Leverage Event Models to support product configuration




Customize the analyst engagement model

Tailor the deliverables

approach

Leverage COTS friendly

requirement techniques

SUMMARY



The Not So Secret

Weapon


The Not So-Secret Weapon

Behold …. The mighty Business Analysis Plan


Conclusion


Learning Objectives Revisited


Identify what a COTS project is and understand

how it differs from a regular project

List common requirement problems on a COTS

project

Understand changes to consider when engaged

on a COTS project

Can you now …….

46


Credits


Image Source(s):

FreeDigitalPhotos.net

jscreationzs

luigi diamonte

Paul Martin Eldridge

Arvind Balaraman

Paul

Filomena Scalise

Gregory Szarkiewicz

renjith krishnan

PresentorMedia

47


Questions ?

caught in a cots project - strategies for requirements success 2011may17

Documents

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cots project different

cots projects

regular project

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realworld cots experience

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