About the Book
One of the joys of product development, whether it be software, service, or hardware, is getting it right. The way to get it right is to uncover the real business problem, and to write the requirements for the solution that best solves that problem.
Without the right requirements it is impossible to build the right solution. Mastering the Requirements Process, Fourth Edition, gives you an industry-proven process for getting to the essence of the business problem and then writing unambiguous and testable requirements for its solution.
This fourth edition is an almost complete rewrite that brings requirements discovery into today's world--it is the book for today's business analyst. Product owners and project leaders will also find it valuable as it explains how to discover precisely what the customer needs and wants, and to do it effectively in any business or project environment.
The book tells you how to:
Use the Volere requirements process to discover requirements in both traditional and agile environments
Incorporate off-the-shelf (OTS) solutions into your requirements discovery
Use artificial intelligence (AI) as part of your requirements discovery, and as part of your business solution
Use quickly sketched prototypes to explore the problem space
Understand functional and non-functional requirements
Write better agile stories
Make your requirements and stories measurable and testable using fit criteria
Use business events as the heartbeat of business analysis
Discover requirements in agile, commercial, and milspec project environments
Find and prioritise your customer segments
Leverage systems thinking when discovering requirements
Use story maps and other requirements repository techniques
Know which trawling techniques are the most effective for requirements discovery
Synchronise your requirements discovery with agile development teams
Make better decisions in the early days of a project to increase your chances of success
Employ the Volere requirements specification template (downloaded 10,000+ times) as the basis for your own requirement specifications
Table of Contents:
Part I: Requirements Are the Root of Everything
Chapter 1: Requirements Fundamentals
Chapter 2: Your Requirements Arena
Part II: Project Blastoff
Chapter 3: Understand the Real Problem
Chapter 4: The Value of Solving the Problem
Chapter 5: Goals-Scope-Stakeholders
Chapter 6: Customer Segments
Chapter 7: Business Events
Chapter 8: Prioritizing the Business Events
Chapter 9: To Go or Not to Go?
Part III: Prototyping for Requirements
Chapter 10: Generating Sacrificial Candidate Solutions
Chapter 11: Prototypes, Prototypes, Prototypes
Chapter 12: Ready-Made Solutions
Chapter 13: Creative Candidate Solutions
Chapter 14: Probing and Exploring the Candidates
Chapter 15: Using Prototypes as the Specification
Part IV: Trawling for Requirements
Chapter 16: The Essence of the Problem
Chapter 17: Business Events and Business Use Cases
Chapter 18: The Brown Cow Model
Chapter 19: Workshops
Chapter 20: Scenarios
Chapter 21: Stories
Chapter 22: Business Process Models
Chapter 23: Stored Data
Chapter 24: Other Trawling Techniques
Part V: Writing Good Requirements and Stories
Chapter 25: Functional Requirements
Chapter 26: Non-functional Requirements
Chapter 27: Fit Criteria and Rationale
Chapter 28: Writing Good Stories
Chapter 29: Acceptance Criteria
Part VI: Designing Business Solutions
Chapter 30: Business Solutions
Chapter 31: Determine the Extent of the Automation
Chapter 32: Designing Information and Functionality
Chapter 33: Designing Using Ready-Mades
Part VII: Requirements Repository
Chapter 34: Requirements Specification
Chapter 35: Story Map
Chapter 36: Quality Thinking
Chapter 37: Completeness Check
Chapter 38: Managing Requirements
Part VIII: The Conduct of Business Analysis
Chapter 39: Your Process
Chapter 40: The Importance of the Early Days
Chapter 41: People
Chapter 42: Systems Thinking
Chapter 43: Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Chapter 44: Learning as You Go
Chapter 45: Requirements and Innovation
Appendix A: The Volere Requirements Specification Template
Appendix B: Stakeholder Management Templates
Appendix C: Volere Requirements Knowledge Model
About the Author :
Suzanne Robertson and James Robertson are two of the most respected names in business analysis and requirements discovery. During the Robertsons' careers, their books, templates, training, and consulting have helped hundreds of companies to upgrade their requirements discovery process. The Robertsons have written numerous books, among others the three previous editions of this book, Business Analysis Agility, and with their co-authors at the Atlantic Systems Guild, the acclaimed Adrenaline Junkies and Template Zombies.
Review :
"Suzanne and James Robertson have been Requirements Masters for many years. The fourth edition of their classic text brings an increased focus on business events, how events relate to stories, and prototyping. There's even a chapter on how AI could aid in requirements discovery. The conversational writing style makes the content easily accessible."
--Karl Wiegers, PhD, co-author of Software Requirements and Software Requirements Essentials
"I was delighted to get my hands on this edition of Mastering the Requirements Process. MRP, as it is affectionately known, has been the reference guide for many business requirements projects for near-on 20 years. But requirements processes are changing. Generative AI and more focus on creative thinking to innovate are becoming mainstream. This new edition integrates them all into MRP's comprehensive and easy-to-understand process guidance. A must for forward-thinking businesses."
--Prof. Neil Maiden, Bayes Business School, City, University of London
"The fourth edition of Mastering the Requirements Process is completely rewritten. It brings new insights into methods for requirements work in agile software development and how to work with AI. Instructive and relevant examples deepen the understanding of the complex subject, as well as making the book entertaining to read."
--Aase Tveito, Senior Advisor, IT Department, The Arctic University of Norway
"I love the emphasis on prototyping and 'fit criteria' in this new edition. There's so much practical common sense here. Whatever role you have on your project, if you want it to succeed, I suggest you read this book."
--Nick de Voil, De Voil Consulting
"This book is a hidden gem, not just for systems work, but for anyone dealing with people, especially knowledge workers. James and Suzanne show how to better figure out what is needed and how to better express that so people can understand, collaborate, and implement successfully."
--Mike Russell, C-level executive and consultant
"Suzanne and James Robertson have done it again! Their magisterial work on requirements has been renewed and refreshed for the world we live in now, to suit the wide range of approaches used. I particularly enjoyed the section on prototyping, covering a huge range from sketches to putting an analyst in a cardboard box! Throughout the book, you'll hear their hard-won experience guiding you on the best way to understand and deliver precisely what customers need. Bravo!"
--Dr. Penny Pullan, author of Business Analysis and Leadership, Virtual Leadership, and Making Workshops Work
"In this latest edition of Mastering the Requirements Process, James and Suzanne have taken the solid foundations of all their work on what constitutes good requirements and made it completely relevant and useful for today's organisations. The ecosystem of requirements elicitation, identification, communication, and implementation is evolving, and our requirements approaches have to adapt along with this evolution. James and Suzanne show how to do this in a way that is accessible, interesting, and practical for anyone involved in working with requirements for sociotechnical systems, irrespective of the development methodology or approach being used. Filled with examples and stories from their deep experience, Mastering the Requirements Process, Fourth Edition, warrants a place on the bookshelf (or ebook catalog) of anyone serious about producing good technology systems."
--Shane Hastie, Global Delivery Lead, Softed, part of Skills Development Group
"Requirements are the essential building blocks for developing successful products and services. However, defining well-formed and relevant requirements requires knowledge and skill that is founded on clear, up-to-date advice and guidance. This book provides such guidance, emphasising the importance of understanding the business context, identifying the actual problem to be solved, and avoiding the too-early leap to solutions, while also explaining that requirements are not waiting to be 'gathered' but require the skilful application of professional techniques. Written in their unique, engaging style, James and Suzanne Robertson’s new edition of Mastering the Requirements Process is both informative and comprehensive and is an essential reference guide for all requirements definition practitioners."
--Dr. Debra Paul, CEO, AssistKD
"As an inveterate modeler and signatory to the Agile Manifesto, I need a book that will tell me how to gather and test requirements in a manner that fits in with the particular development process that I am using on this project. This book does exactly that."
--Stephen Mellor, independent consultant
"Mastering the Requirements Process is an essential resource for business analysis and business architecture. For over 10 years, I have extensively used this methodology to develop bespoke requirements engineering and business architecture methodologies in both the not-for-profit and investment banking sectors. The Volere Methodology provides a solid theoretical foundation, enabling practitioners to adopt a systems thinking approach to accurately identify and define business problems before developing appropriate solutions. Its emphasis on Business Use Cases allows for a precise identification of problem scope and underlying business processes. In my current role, Volere's holistic approach has indirectly led to the development of a comprehensive Business Process Architecture, which has become a crucial strategic asset. The methodology's focus on thorough analysis and clarity has consistently enabled us to design effective, transformative solutions. Volere is an invaluable guide for any professional looking to enhance their requirements process and drive meaningful change within their organization. I have eagerly anticipated the fourth edition and look forward to applying its new guidance in practice."
--Sukhdev Kandhola, Director of Business Analysis and Business Architecture
"This book is the bible for product managers and business analysts alike. I've seen many projects fail or incur delays and extra costs due to missing requirements. This book teaches the most important skill: solving the right problem and delivering value to the business. The grail of product management."
--Julien Andrieu, Product Manager
"In 1999, I attended James Robertson's workshop on Mastering the Requirements Process in Austin, TX, unaware of the profound impact it would have on my career in the tech industry. The workshop included the comprehensive book of the same title, which I read from cover to cover, eager to apply its insights to my role at IBM. I was involved in software development projects, where overhauling the development process wasn't workable, but I could adapt elements of Volere to improve outcomes. This approach proved instrumental in two pivotal projects. The first project involved integrating our Japanese and U.S. hardware manufacturing ERP systems. This required clearly defined and testable requirements to ensure success. The stakes were high, but applying lessons learned from the workshop led to a remarkable 72% reduction in project duration and an 87% decrease in IT expenses, all while avoiding any critical failures. Our second major project was an extensive ERP upgrade that was crucial to IBM. Failure would jeopardize 14% of our most profitable revenue stream. Again, getting clearly defined and testable requirements was critical. We integrated elements of Volere into the project. As a result, we could have unit and regression testing focusing on testing instead of discovering missed requirements and/or incorrect requirements. By getting our requirements correct and complete right up front, we avoided downstream discovery. This resulted in the project being delivered on time and 63% under budget, with a successful delivery free of critical failures. These experiences underscored the value of mastering requirements gathering and analysis, lessons I've carried with me into retirement. My bookshelf still houses the first edition of Mastering the Requirements Process, alongside the third edition, while the second edition found a new home with a colleague seeking to enhance his skills in the field. As I reflect on these achievements, I await the fourth edition with anticipation, a testament to the enduring relevance of the principles I first encountered in 1999."
--John H. Capron, Former Technical Team Leader and Development Manager, IBM
