The law of 5w+1h in demand investigation

For software needs research activities, once wrote three related requirements management articles, starting from the perspective of the overall demand management process; On the basis of introducing CMM (ii) Requirements management KPA activities, this paper enumerates how to conduct demand management planning activities before demand research. In a failed project, To find out the key point of the specification and management software requirement process and the model framework of the requirement correlation (these can refer to the previous written "CMM Requirements management practice experience record", "from the CMM point of view needs management plan", "How to use CRC model to determine the requirements").

All along, feel yourself after several project tests on the basis of software requirements management should have a certain basis and experience, however, in the process of a recent large-scale project, with the guidance and help of the Singapore project manager, there is a deeper understanding of software requirements research. To sum up the law of 5w+1h in demand investigation, this paper describes some of its own process and experience, hoping to share and discuss with colleagues.

Project background: A medium-sized Enterprise Informatization project in which party B's project manager is a senior project manager with a PMP certificate. Party A's project manager is a Singapore project manager with extensive experience in project implementation and management. What needs to be added here is how foreigners use their experience and skills to make party B fully acceptable in the course of conflict investigation.

Project members:

Party A: Outsourced project manager, outsourced project management staff

Party B: Project manager, System analyst, interface maker

Work content:

Project demand phase of the activities, for the system needs, both parties and end users can reach agreement, party A as the outsourcing manager, is mainly to party B project team project progress, project stage results tracking and acceptance, to ensure that the project in the expected time to complete the expected tasks.

Process Description:

After the project was started, the project manager of party B made a detailed demand research timetable, research stage results catalog list, interface results, such as the plan content, can not hesitate to give a "praise" word; from the plan, the project manager of party B's plan is really perfect; in the activity of conducting business needs research with the user, Party b not only records the current user's current business processes, including the limitations of the current process, the implementation of the process and so on, but also for users of the future system process planning, is indeed a good start. However, when party B submits the requirement analysis documents and interfaces of its stage, it finds that there are various conflicts and contradictions between them, we cannot combine the requirement analysis documents with the interface. At this point, Party B's project manager explained that because the document is thinner than the interface, there are some differences in understanding. And our party a always feels something's wrong, but because there is also the user process details unfamiliar, so we can not mention specific problems, until one day, with party B to do the user's demand activities, from the party B project manager questions, we finally understand why they will make such a document and interface.

First of all, the party B project manager to the user's question is not a sequence, our so-called sequence is the project manager's logic is clear, in addition to the current process, the most important to introduce the project, that is, the purpose of the new software system, the desired results, can be ancillary to the user, and these party a project manager, the word not mentioned, Record only the process, limitations, and requirements that the user is talking about. In this way, party B's project manager in the analysis and planning of the needs of the system, there is no clear purpose and direction, here will introduce the first W Law--why law. Why is why users have to introduce a system to introduce a new information system to the user what help, in the overall performance of how to achieve a final result? Why law requires the project manager to be clear at the start of a requirement that the project is designed to improve user productivity, improve interdepartmental collaboration mechanisms, accelerate customer response systems, and enhance enterprise competitiveness. With such a why, the project manager can clarify what kind of system the user ultimately wants, and there is a clear final goal in the system's positioning and establishment.

Secondly, with a general goal, starting from the requirements of the business processes, the introduction of the second W Law--what Law, what refers to what the system to do, achieve what? Is the project manager of party B proposed the various business process problems, process limitations, systems to solve problems. On the basis of this what, the system is divided into functional modules, and the module process needs, function requirements and structure requirements are gradually clarified. Introducing the What law allows us to understand the initial requirements of the system.

Again, the introduction of 第三、四、五个 law--who, when, where the law, this stage is actually the requirements of the refinement phase, on the basis of the What law, the breakdown of the user needs of the system: analysis of what people, at what time, what stage can or must operate this function, combined with the previous what law, Clarify the process phase division of the system, record and analyze the details of the implementation of the system function, at this stage can produce the system requirements of Use cases diagram (uses case), as the basis for the next stage design.

Finally, is the so-called 1H Law--how Law, is how to implement the system. In front of why, WHAT, who, where, where the foundation, we have built a very good system requirements of the basic framework, how in these user needs, based on the analysis of the requirements of the system, the requirements of the analysis and the next stage of the design, implementation of the work is how to Accomplish the system.

In the demand phase of the introduction of this 5w+1h law, to some extent, to ensure the accuracy of the system requirements, but also allows the project manager or demand analyst can be very orderly to carry out demand mining and research activities, so that the concept of user collaboration is also very clear, know how to cooperate with the project personnel. Then, at our suggestion, party B improved the way of work, and worked out some sequence of work, but in the final Document submission, Party B's project manager to meet our needs, the requirements of the document has been the format and content of the changes, not to maintain the needs of the analysis should be from the coarse to fine stratum analysis, It also leads to the uncertainty factors in the demand analysis and the late design work, which is something, hoping to carry out other analysis and discussion on the existing problems in the future outsourcing management.