Archive for the ‘Elicitation’ Category

Tips on Software Security Requirements

Tuesday, December 13th, 2011

Security requirements are a difficult quality attribute to elicit and specify. (Quality attributes are one the three types of nonfunctional requirements—along with interfaces, and design & implementation constraints*). Distinguishing can help. So too, it helps to

Sue Burk distinguishes between security requirements and security controls, shares four categories of security requirements, provides suggestions for eliciting security requirements, and explains why making them testable is important in her expert response. Continue reading

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Power Up Your Agile Planning & Analysis

Friday, November 18th, 2011

I’m pleased to share my podcast with Jochen (Joe) Krebs*, Founder of Agile NYC. The podcast was recorded on October 11, 2011, just before my presentation to the Agile NYC group.

The presentation, entitled, Power Up Your Agile Planning and Analysis:

Deliver Value via Structured Conversations describes how product stakeholders partner to develop a shared understanding of the product needs. I discuss how the partners gain a focused yet holistic understanding of the highest-value requirements and plan the project so that the delivery team builds the right product, at the right time. Continue reading

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Collaboration Works: Ingredients for Successful Workshops

Wednesday, October 26th, 2011

I’m honored to share my podcast with Yaaqub (Yamo) Mohamed of The BACoach. We discuss ingredients for effective requirements workshops described in my first book, Requirements by Collaboration: Workshops for Defining Needs.

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Reflecting on My Personal Learning Journey

Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011


I’m pleased to share with you an “author cast,” a podcast interview of me by Yaaqub (Yamo) Mohamed of The BACoach.

Yamo’s interview got me thinking and reflecting on my own professional learning journey and dig into the two books I’ve written (so far ;-) ). Continue reading | 1 Comment

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Agile Requirements Exploration with Tester Collaboration

Thursday, July 14th, 2011

I’m thrilled to be collaborating with Janet Gregory, co-author with Lisa Crispin of Agile Testing, on a workshop entitled “Agile Requirements Exploration with Tester Collaboration” at Agile 2011 Conference and STARWEST.

I believe that there is a lot of cross-fertilization benefit to be gained when people with skills in different disciplines collaborate closely toward shared ends. This is very true for the disciplines of testing and business analysis. The tester mind-set is crucial for verifying requirements. The business analysis mind-set is crucial for validating requirements. Continue reading | 1 Comment

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This Week’s Business Analysis and Requirements Workshop: 2 Days of Learning in Las Vegas

Tuesday, June 7th, 2011

I was recently interviewed by SearchSoftwareQuality editor Yvette Francino about this week’s Business Analysis and Requirements Workshop at the Better Conference/Development Conference this week in Las Vegas, Nevada (6-7 June, 2011).

Yvette asked me to explain the logistics, if we would be emulating gathering requirements for a particular project and if the workshop be relevant regardless of domain area. Here are my answers: As conference chair, Continue reading | 1 Comment

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The Product Partnership: Using Structured Conversations to Deliver Value

Saturday, May 14th, 2011

In a prior blog post, you learned about the in-progress book Mary Gorman and I are writing. We are thrilled to have our workshop proposal for the Agile 2011 Conference accepted. The workshop will incorporates elements of our book. Here’s our YouTube video on The Product Partnership submission. Continue reading | 1 Comment

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Ways to Understanding Product Functionality in the Absence of Documentation

Tuesday, March 15th, 2011

Have you been in a situation where there’s no documentation, yet you’re expected to understand functionality?

Trial transactions and observing behavior is one answer. But understanding context is also important.

Sue Burk suggests creative solutions in her expert response.

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Agile Product Needs book: Sneak Peek

Wednesday, February 16th, 2011

Mary Gorman and I are in the midst of writing a book.  The title is still a WIP (work in process). A couple of contenders are “Agile Product Needs: <subtitle1:> ” and “The Agile Product Partnership: <subtitle2>”.  We’ll be looking for your help on settling on a compelling title – stay tuned, we can use your creative inspiration!

Our goal is to provide practical guidance on challenges agile teams face. Wrestling the “right” user stories out of the product backlog. Slicing user stories into “right-sized” chunks so they are ready for estimating and planning. Deciding on the next high-value product needs for delivery. Planning more than two weeks ahead (realizing you need a longer time horizon). Using acceptance criteria and examples to deepen shared understanding. Exploring product needs in a holistic way. … Continue reading | 3 Comments

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