Recommended Reading (09-11)

Here are some recently bookmarked items on business analysis and related topics that I thought I’d share.

• Understanding the root causes of poor software requirements from Nick Malik is pretty exhaustive list of symptoms and root causes for poor requirements. I think it’s a great start, and well worth evaluating in the context of one’s particular software engineering environment. I love posts like this where others share some valuable foundational work that they’ve done that can be beneficial to the community at large. (h/t Craig Brown)

• Laura’s sharing her presentation on reverse engineering testable requirements. Take a look and let her know what you think.

• David sees the “myth of changing requirements” as a matter of framing the requirements dialog.  He advises that requirements churn can be reduced by focusing on the details of business processes, or asking “what do you do, or plan to do in the future?” in lieu of “what do you want?”

• I look forward every week to Geri Schneider Winters’ “Businesses Analyst Tip of the Week.”  If you’re not getting it, then you’re really missing out. As examples of content, last week she summarized the different types of software engineering methodologies, and this week she tackles naming, managing, and versioning requirements if you don’t have a requirements management tool. Sign-up via the box in the top right corner of her blog.

• Apparently, wireframes are much more effective than interpretive dance. In this article, Alice Toth provides some practical tips and extols some of the benefits of wireframing.

• Here’s a nice, brief “How to..” on preparing a use case.

• Lastly, Icon Restore is a little freeware application I installed last week that allows you to save your desktop icon configuration and then restore it when it gets thrown out of whack. It’s been a life saver already. You’ll especially appreciate it if you use a Windows laptop and switch display types (stand lone, docked with a monitor, with a projector, etc.) on a regular basis.

Alright, that’s all for this week. Have you come across any “must-read” material for business analysts this past week? If so, please do share!

Related posts:

1. Recommended Link for July 1st
2. Best of the Web this Week (09-21)