Archive for November, 2007

JB Weekly Digest (07-45)

Building rapport, requirement structure, use case disgruntlement, and RASCI.

Requirements Elicitation: Are You the Artist, or the Order-Taker?

Requirements elicitation is an art. Watching a solid business analyst efficiently identify and document business need by using a careful mix of questions is much like watching the work of any other type of artist.

JB Weekly Digest (07-44)

Software developers are in pain, 10 types of programmers, best geek quotes, relationships, usability, and other goodies.

JB Weekly Digest (07-43)

UML modeling, outsourcing, and tips to improve requirements management.

What are user stories, and why should I use them?

I have used user stories – or at least something similar – to help me identify user requirements, but have never used them as the means of documenting requirements. I am somewhat familiar with the concept, though, and have been interested in learning more.

I found a great deal of help in Mike Cohn’s article, Advantages of User Stories for Requirements. In this article, Cohn explains user stories and the advantages of using them over traditional, natural language requirements and use cases.

Thought, Problems, and Business Analysts

Successful business analysts have an ability to draw ideas to their logical conclusions. An analyst’s work typically requires assessment of concepts following a progression from the general to the specific, and other times from specific to general.