Workshop on requirements management. From classic to user stories

We can say without exaggeration that working with requirements is one of the most responsible and least certain stages in the development of software. It is the most responsible because the success of the project depends on how well and correctly the real needs of the customer are identified. It is the least certain because you can learn these needs only from the customer's employees, who often do not understand the intricacies of software development well.

However, it is not enough just to know the customer's needs for the project to be successful. They need to be converted into a well-structured list of clear and unambiguous requirements, sufficient for the design of system architecture, and for development and testing of software modules. You must also remember that these requirements are often the only thing that the development team knows about the customer's domain.

The course focuses on the study of all these issues and practicing the main ways to describe requirements: as a structured text, user stories, use cases and Use Case diagrams. In addition, the participants will learn about the use of requirement attributes and the links between requirements (tracing) for assessing the complexity of the project. During the course, students will gain insight into the importance of various aspects of the role of an analyst: not only technical but also psychological and communicative. Much attention is paid in the course to the rules of identifying stakeholders, building constructive cooperation with them, and ways to determine their needs.

Although the course is based on the traditional view of dealing with requirements, supporters of Agile will find it very useful. After all, the main approaches to the study of the domain, methodology of identification of stakeholder needs, methods of customer problems analysis, and finding their solutions cases often have much in common, irrespective of the software development methodology used. Therefore, the course will be useful for all people who deal with collection, analysis, documenting, and testing of software requirements.

After the training, participants will be able to identify, analyze, and document requirements. They will learn to manage requirements as well as to:

• Make estimates and verify suggestions;
• Apply a requirements management procedure to identify product vision and business requirements;
• Identify and document requirements through text descriptions (FURPS+), user stories, and a Use-case Model;
• Work with requirements in an iterative process;
• Identify the hierarchy of requirements;Use requirements attributes and relationships to estimate efforts for requirements realization or change