Beyond Requirements: Analysis with an Agile Mindset
Description
Satisfy Stakeholders by Solving the Right Problems, in the Right Ways
In Beyond Requirements , Kent J. McDonald shows how applying analysis techniques with an agile mindset can radically transform analysis from merely "gathering and documenting requirements" to an important activity teams use to build shared understanding. First, McDonald discusses the unique agile mindset, reviews the key principles underlying it, and shows how these principles link to effective analysis. Next, he puts these principles to work in four wide-ranging and thought-provoking case studies. Finally, he drills down on a full set of techniques for effective agile analysis, using examples to show how, why, and when they work.
McDonald's strategies will teach you how to understand stakeholders' needs, identify the best solution for satisfying those needs, and build a shared understanding of your solution that persists throughout the product lifecycle. He also demonstrates how to iterate your analysis, taking advantage of what you learn throughout development, testing, and deployment so that you can continuously adapt, refine, and improve.
Whether you're an analysis practitioner or you perform analysis tasks as a developer, manager, or tester, McDonald's techniques will help your team consistently find and deliver better solutions.
Coverage includes
- Core concepts for analysis: needs/ solutions, outcome/output, discovery/delivery
- Adapting Lean Startup ideas for IT projects: customer delivery, build-measure-learn, and metrics
- Structuring decisions, recognizing differences between options and commitments, and overcoming cognitive biases
- Focusing on value: feature injection, minimum viable products, and minimum marketable features
- Understanding how analysis flows alongside your project's lifecycle
- Analyzing users: mapping stakeholders, gauging commitment, and creating personas
- Understanding context: performing strategy (enterprise) analysis
- Clarifying needs: applying decision filters, assessing project opportunities, stating problems
- Investigating solutions: impact and story mapping, collaborative modeling, and acceptance criteria definition
Kent J. McDonald uncovers better ways of delivering value. His experience includes work in business analysis, strategic planning, project management, and product development in the financial services, health insurance, performance marketing, human services, nonprofit, and automotive industries. He has a BS in industrial engineering from Iowa State University and an MBA from Kent State University. He is coauthor of Stand Back and Deliver: Accelerating Business Agility (Addison-Wesley, 2009).
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Persons
Kent J. McDonald uncovers better ways of delivering value by doing it and helping others do it. His years of experience include work in business analysis, strategic planning, project management, and product development in a variety of industries, including financial services, health insurance, performance marketing, human services, nonprofit, and automotive. He is active in the business analysis and agile software development communities helping people share stories about what does and does not work.
Kent has a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial engineering from Iowa State University and an MBA from Kent State University.
Kent is also a coauthor of Stand Back and Deliver: Accelerating Business Agility .
Content
Preface xv
Acknowledgments xxv
About the Author xxvii
Part I: Ideas 1
Chapter 1: Guiding Principles 3
Introduction 3
Deliver Value 4
Collaborate 5
Iterate 7
Simplify 8
Consider Context 9
Decide Wisely 10
Reflect and Adapt 11
Conclusion 12
If You Remember Nothing Else 12
Chapter 2: Helpful Concepts 15
Introduction 15
Needs and Solutions 15
Outcome and Output 19
Discovery and Delivery 20
If You Remember Nothing Else 23
Chapter 3: Influence of Lean Startup 25
Introduction 25
Customer Development 25
Build-Measure-Learn 29
Metrics 31
If You Remember Nothing Else 38
Chapter 4: Decision Making 39
Introduction 39
A Structure for Decision Making 39
Real Options 46
Cognitive Biases 48
If You Remember Nothing Else 53
Chapter 5: Deliver Value 55
Introduction 55
Feature Injection 55
Minimum Viable Product 63
Minimum Marketable Features 65
If You Remember Nothing Else 67
Chapter 6: Analysis with an Agile Mindset 69
Introduction 69
What Is the Need? 71
What Are Some Possible Solutions? 71
What Should We Do Next? 72
What Are the Details of This Part (i.e., Telling the Story)? 73
If You Remember Nothing Else 73
Part II: Case Studies 75
Chapter 7: Case Study: Conference Submission System 77
Introduction 77
The Need 77
The Possible Solution(s) 78
The Deliveries of Value 79
Lessons Learned 92
Chapter 8: Case Study: Commission System 95
Introduction 95
The Need 96
The Possible Solution(s) 96
The Deliveries of Value 97
Lessons Learned 98
Chapter 9: Case Study: Data Warehouse 101
Introduction 101
The Need 101
The Possible Solution(s) 102
The Deliveries of Value 103
Lessons Learned 110
Chapter 10: Case Study: Student Information System 111
Introduction 111
The Need 111
The Possible Solution(s) 114
Lessons Learned 118
Part III: Techniques 121
Chapter 11: Understanding Stakeholders 123
Introduction 123
Stakeholder Map 124
Commitment Scale 129
User Modeling 133
Persona 138
Chapter 12: Understanding Context 141
Introduction 141
Purpose-Based Alignment Model 142
Six Questions 147
Context Leadership Model 150
Chapter 13: Understanding the Need 159
Introduction 159
Decision Filters 160
Project Opportunity Assessment 163
Problem Statement 167
Chapter 14: Understanding the Solution(s) 171
Introduction 171
Impact Mapping 173
Story Mapping 177
Collaborative Modeling 182
Acceptance Criteria 188
Examples 192
Chapter 15: Organizing and Persisting Solution Information 199
Introduction 199
Discovery Board 200
Definition of Ready 204
Delivery Board 206
Definition of Done 211
System Documentation 213
Part IV: Resources 219
Glossary 221
References 245
Index 249