Sign-offs are a sign that stakeholders agree with and approve the requirements that have been elicited and documented. There are multiple reasons why BAs seek stakeholder sign-offs and in some cases, it is not always clear whom it benefits. While some methodologies like Agile do not involve a formal sign-off, requirements sign-off does add va...

Developing requirements is a process with many moving parts. It involves aligning multiple stakeholders from different areas within an organization to determine what must be developed to fulfill a business need.  Because it is a process, there are a number of factors that can cause the process to break down and lead to the development of fault...

In my previous posts I outlined how I was able to succeed being the first and only BA at a company and the importance of establishing trust between you and the stakeholders.   So you're the first BA at a company.   All are looking at you and thinking what can this person do for me? Good question.   What can you do f...

According to the Strategies for Project Recovery report by PM solutions, based on 163 respondents, $74m invested in projects annually are at risk of failure. The report identified one of the top 5 causes of project failures as unclear, non-prioritized, contradictory, ambiguous and imprecise requirements. Information like this...

  ISO 25010, "Systems and software engineering - System and software quality models" was published in March 2011. The ISO 25010 standard defines 2 broad non-functional categories of requirements, "Quality in use" and "Product quality", articulated in 13 characteristics, many of which are further subdivided into sub-characteristics. This new ...

It’s that time of year, where our thoughts turn to the holidays…the holiday parties, the shopping, the lights, visiting with family!  For many organizations, the end of the year tends to be quiet on the IT front, for no organization wants to risk introducing problems into their production environment at year end.  So as I look back at th...

I have spent the last year and a half working on an enterprise software solution development effort where we do not use a Requirements Management tool like Caliber or Visual Studio TFS. Our requirements are created in Word using standardized templates and distributed to Development and Test teams for consumption. Test cases are written in Excel an...

I've been blogging lately about a couple of topics pertaining to 'agile' methods. Along those lines, I wanted to consider one suggested practice that I think is worth reflecting on, that is; the treatment of NFRs (non-functional requirements) as stories. Let's draw back for a moment. Regardless of process approach, be it traditional or agile, po...

I know you are going to call me crazy, but I just have to let everyone know.  Machines are controlling us.  Don’t say I didn’t warn you.  You don’t believe me?  Okay, I’ll explain. People come and go in organizations.  Systems tend to stay much longer.  Simple enough right?  Here is the kicker.  When that sy...

At Mendix, we find that our customers appoint a particular kind of person to work with our products. Sometimes they’re from IT, sometimes they’re a business analyst or project manager – in any case, they practice the skills of both fields. Times are changing, departmental lines are blurring, and a new breed of business superhero has risen: the BE. ...