Chapter 4
Collecting Requirements
What do you want to know?
What is the problem area?
How does the business you approach it?
Is the data available?
Who will use the results?
Who cares?
ROMC
Representations
Operations
Memory Aids
Controls
Interviews
Individual or group
Roles


Lead Interviewer
Scribe
Pre-interview research
Questionnaire
Agenda
User Preparation
Write-up
Interview Roles
Lead Interviewer(s):

direct the questions and adapt to the conversation
Scribe:



take notes.
interject if the lead interviewer misses something.
write up the session
Observer (not more than two)

observe – not participate
Tape recorders
Cannot really replace people
Ask first
May make subjects nervous
Require listening to the meeting twice
Subjects
(pp. 116 – 117)
Business Executive


What are the business issues?
What is your vision?
Business Manager or Analyst



What are your measures of success?
What data do you use?
What analysis do you typically do?
Data Audit



Data quality or quantity issues?
Potential roadblocks (political or technical)?
How is ad hoc analysis conducted?
Caveats
The one question to never ask is “What do you
want in your computer system?” That is your
job, not theirs.
You need to be brave enough to ask executives
what keeps them up at night?
The interview team needs to resist the
temptation to focus only on the top 5 reports
or top ten questions.
Continually manage expectations.
The interview process
Introduce everyone: make everyone
feel comfortable.
Introduce the subject




Remember your role
Verify communication
Define terminology
Establish peer basis: know interviewees
vocabulary and business understanding
The interview process (cont.)
Be flexible


be prepared to schedule additional interviews
respect your interviewees time and reschedule if
needed
Avoid burnout


don’t schedule too many at once
leave time between sessions
Manage Expectations
The interview process (cont.)
Wrap up the interview



Summarize
Ask for permission to call back
Get documentation
Write up the interview

soon (2 hours to 2 days)
Requirements Findings
Document (Business Case)
Establishes the relevance and credibility
of the data warehouse project.
Ties the business requirements to the
realistic availability of data.
Facilitated sessions
Each one takes more time than
interviews, but may generate more
Requires an experienced facilitator
Requires an initial understanding of the
user area
Participants feed of of each others ideas
Participants can negotiate
disagreements