|
How can a person write storyboards without having the basics of pinpointing and developing sound requirements?
Software Development Models
(Continued from previous question...)
How can a person write storyboards without having the basics of pinpointing and developing sound requirements?
Do you use IEEE, SEI, ISO9000 standards as references to acquire the fundamentals of defining accurate requirements for customers and software engineering users? How can a person write storyboards without having the basics of pinpointing and developing sound requirements?
We would agree that those who play the customer role have to know what they want. We do not, however, recommend any particularly formal requirements writing or recording mechanism. Instead, what we are working toward (XP is for small teams, after all) is to have a clear understanding in the heads of customers, developers, and testers as to what is wanted.
Rather than have, say, an "analyst" sit down with the customer and laboriously translate his mumblings into something representing what is wanted, and then having a "designer" take the analysis and build a design, and so on, small teams function best if the customers and designer/developers talk to one another until they develop a common vocabulary of what is needed and how it will be done. In XP, we would like to have a common level of understanding in all heads, each focused on its own particular interests:
Customers: what's needed, what's the business value, when do we need it?
Developers: what's needed, how can I build this, how can I test my code, how long will it take?
Testers: what's needed by the customers, how can I test whether developers have done it?
As you can see, the testers' functional tests are what close the loop, assuring everyone that what was asked for was what we got. The best way to do XP is with a separate functional testing organization that is closely integrated into the process. It would be delightful to have that organization run by an experienced QA manager trained in XP.
(Continued on next question...)
Other Interview Questions
| 