敏捷思维下的需求分析：解决正确问题的关键

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"《超越需求 - 以敏捷思维进行分析》是一本着眼于在敏捷开发背景下满足利益相关者需求的专业书籍。该书的核心理念是通过解决正确的问题，并选择恰当的方法来达成目标。作者强调在快速变化的IT行业中，理解并适应敏捷原则对于有效分析至关重要。本书采用流行的ePub格式，这是一种开放且行业标准的电子书格式，旨在提供高度定制的阅读体验。读者可以根据个人喜好调整字体、字号、单双列布局、横竖模式以及可点击放大图例等功能。然而，不同设备和应用对ePub的支持程度有所差异，建议用户检查其阅读设备或应用的帮助文档，获取更具体的操作指南。书中包含大量编程代码和配置示例，为了优化这些元素的呈现，推荐读者在单列模式下，以横屏（ landscape mode）查看，并将字体大小调至最小。对于那些在流动文本格式中可能影响代码列表清晰度的内容，会提供一个链接，提示用户"点击此处查看代码图片"。点击后，读者可以查看与印刷版保持一致的代码图像。返回到之前的页面时，只需点击“Back”按钮。《超越需求》不仅教导如何从传统的需求分析转变为敏捷思维方式，还提供了实用的工具和技术，帮助读者在项目实施过程中灵活应对变化，提高团队协作效率，确保项目的成功交付。此外，书中可能还会探讨敏捷方法论如Scrum、Kanban等，以及它们如何影响需求分析阶段的决策制定。这本书不仅是一份技术指南，也是一本关于如何在动态的IT环境中运用敏捷原则进行有效分析和问题解决的实战手册，对于IT专业人士和项目经理来说，无疑是一份宝贵的资源。"

Preface

WhatThisBookIsAbout

IwroteBeyondRequirementstopaintapictureofanalysisinITprojectsandhowitcan

beappliedwithanagilemindsettomakethoseprojectsmoreeffective.Forthepurposes

ofthisbookIthinkofanalysisastheactivitiesinvolvedwith

•Understandingstakeholders

•Understandingcontext

•Understandingtheneed

•Understandingthesolution(s)

•Organizingandpersistingsolutioninformation

Performingtheseactivitieswithanagilemindset,whichIexplaininChapter1,best

positionsteamstosatisfystakeholderneeds.Asaresult,Iassumethatpeopleare

approachingworkwithanagilemindset(whichisuptoeachindividualtoadopt)andthat

theyareusingagiletechniques.MostofthetechniquesIdescribecanalsobeusedinother

environments,ofcourse,butthey’remosteffectivewhencombinedwithagileapproaches.

WhoIsThisBookFor?

Ifyoufindyourselfperforminganalysisonaprojectinordertomakesuretheprojectis

deliveringtherightthing,thisbookisforyou.Youmayidentifyyourselfasabusiness

analyst(orderivationofthattitle),productowner,productmanager,projectmanager,

tester,ordeveloper.

Ichosetotargetthoseperforminganalysisactivitiesorpossessinganalysisskillsrather

thananalystsasarole,orevenanalystsasaprofession.Whileitistruethatthepeople

whoaremostendowedwiththeanalysisskillsetarethosewhogenerallyfillananalyst

role,Ididn’twanttheadviceinthisbooktogethungupondiscussionssuchas,“The

analystdoesthis,thedeveloperdoesthat,thetesterdoesthisotherthing.”I’dmuchrather

focusondescribingwhyandwhentechniquesaremostappropriateandleaveituptoyou

andyourteamtodeterminewhoisthebestpersontodovariousactivities.Inmanycases,

multiplepeopleonyourteamwillendupdoinganalysisinordertotakeadvantageof

strongtechnicalandbusinessknowledge.

Thebusinessanalystroleexistsprimarilybecauseinthepastseveralorganizationsused

aprescriptive,phase-basedapproachtosoftwaredevelopment.Inthisapproach,therewas

atimeperiodintheprojectwhenthemainworkwaselicitinganddocumenting

requirements.Sinceitmadesensetostructurethesoftwaredevelopmentorganization

accordingtohowprojectworkwasdone,allthepeopledoingworkintheanalysisphase

werelumpedtogetherandcalledbusinessanalysts.Butgatheringanddocumenting

requirementsdidn’tgeneratemuchrespectforthepeopledoingit.Membersofthe

analysiscommunitylonginglyeyedthesuccessprojectmanagershadenjoyedby

proclaimingprojectmanagementaprofession,andtheychosetodothesame.

Alotofgoodthingshavecomefromthe“professionalization”ofbusinessanalysis,

includingmoreconsiderationof,trainingon,andattentiontoanalysisskills.However,the

benefitsaresomewhatdilutedbytheeffortrequiredtojustifyaseparateprofessionfor

peoplewhoelicit,document,andmanagerequirements,andtheoverspecializationthat

mayresult.Thateffortwouldbebetterspentfiguringouthowanalysiscanbeusedto

makeprojectsmoresuccessful.

Thatdoesn’tchangethefactthatyouhaveabusinessanalysttitleandyouhavespenta

considerableamountofyourcareerhoningyourbusinessanalysisskills.Wheredoesthat

leaveyou?Lookingatanalysisasanactivitymorethanarole,title,orprofessionmeans

thatyoucanuseyourin-depthknowledgeofanalysistechniquestohelpyourteamssolve

therightproblemsintherightwayandhelpoutwithotheractivitiesontheproject

wheneverpossible.

ToWhatContextDoesThisBookApply?

ThisbookfocusesontheanalysisthatoccursonITprojects.AnITprojectisanyproject

thatresultsinsolutions,ofteninvolvingsoftware,thatsupportinternalbusinessprocesses,

automatemanualprocesses,orstreamlinecurrentprocesses.Examplesincludebuildinga

systemtosupportthesessionsubmissionprocessforaconference,implementingasystem

tocalculateanddelivercommissions,reportinganddatawarehousingsolutions,or

implementingasolutiontotrackstudentinformationatanonprofitschool.

Ichosethisfocusforafewreasons.First,activitieslabeledasbusinessanalysisandthe

roleofbusinessanalystseemtobemoreprevalentinITprojectsthaninactivitiesfocused

onproductdevelopment.Second,mostoftheexistingliteratureintheanalysisspace

seemstoassumeaproductdevelopmentcontext,andthecontextoftheITdepartmentsof

anorganizationstrikesmeasunderserved.Third,andprobablymostimportant,it’swhere

mostofmyexperiencelies,sofocusingonthattopicgivesmetheopportunitytowrite

fromactualexperience.

AsIdescribehowanalysiswithanagilemindsetworksonITprojects,Iwon’tdelve

toomuchintohowtodotried-and-trueanalysistechniques.Therearealreadyenough

resourcesthatdoafantasticjobofexplainingthosetechniques,anditdilutesthefocusof

thisbook.Instead,I’llfocusonwhythosetechniquesarehelpfulandwhentheyarebest

used.Idointroduceafewtechniquesfromotherskillsetsnotcommonlyknownin

analysiscircles,andinthosecasesIprovideamoredetaileddescriptionofhowtoperform

thattechnique.Inallcases,Iprovidemyfavoritereferencesformoreinformationabout

thosetechniques.

Thewordprojecthasacquiredacertainstigmaintheagilecommunity.Thosewho

applythatstigmafeelasthoughtheuseofthewordprojectimpliessomeofthedownsides

ofthewaythatprojectsaremanagedinawaterfallsetting.

Thetermprojectoftensuggeststhefollowing:

•Thetemporarynatureofprojectsisappliedtotheteamsthatworkonthem.People

arebroughttotheworkinsteadoftheworkbeingbroughttotheteam.

•Ittakesawhiletogetaneffortgoingduetotheextensivecharteringandplanning

thatcomewithtryingtopredictthefuture6to12monthsout.

•Eventhoughprojectsareintendedtobetemporary(ormaybebecauseofthat),they

arerarelystoppedoncetheygetstarted.Sponsorsandteamsgetenamoredwith

projectsandbecomemorereluctanttoendaprojectthelongeritgoeson.

•Theprojectfundingapproachmayencouragegroupingmultiplesmallchanges

togetherinordertojustifyexpenditure,increasingthetimebeforethechangesare

deliveredtowaitingstakeholders.

Whiletheseproblemscertainlyexist,merelyusingthewordprojectdoesnotensurethat

theywillhappen.Ireasonedthatmostpeoplearefamiliarwiththeideaoftheproject,and

itwouldbemoreusefultoexplainthatthesepatternsareantipatternsandit’spossiblefor

projectstoworkdifferentlythantouseanewtermforanexistingconceptanddealwith

alloftheconfusionthatcouldcause.AsDeanna,oneofmyeditors,suggested,Ishould

just“ownit”whenitcomestousingthewordproject.

WhatProblemIsThisBookTryingtoSolve?

Analysisisoftenportrayedaselicitinganddocumentingrequirements,frequentlyinterms

thatsoundalotlikeaskingpeoplewhattheywantandwritingitdown.Deep

philosophicaldiscussionsaboutanalysisoftencenteronthebestwaytocapture

requirements:“ShouldIuseausecase,orshouldIuseauserstory?”Requirementsare

important,buttheyareameanstoanend,nottheendinandofthemselves.AsIdescribed

previously,analysisisaboutunderstandingyourstakeholdersandtheirneeds,identifying

thebestsolutionforsatisfyingthoseneedsinyourparticularcontext,andthenbuildinga

sharedunderstandingofthatsolution.Requirementsplayapartinthatwork,especially

arounddescribingtheneed,buttheyarecertainlynottheendproduct.

Onefundamentalproblemthisbookistryingtosolveishowtodeterminewhetheryour

ITprojectisdoingtherightthingandhowanalysiscanhelpyoudothat.It’sabout

changingthepurposeofanalysisfromrequirementsgatheringandcapturetoproblem

solvingandbuildingsharedunderstanding.Alongwiththatcomesasubstantialchangein

howyourteamviewsrequirementsanddesigns.Theyarenolongerdeliverablesthatget

tossedoverthewalltothepeopleperformingthenextstepintheprocess.Nowboth

requirementsanddesignsaretoolsthatteamscanusetobuildasharedunderstandingof

thesolutiontheyseektodeliverinordertoreachadesiredoutcome.

Asecondfundamentalproblemthisbookattemptstosolveistodemonstratehowtodo

analysisinanagilesetting.Asmanyteamsfirstadoptagileapproaches,theystrugglewith

findingtherightbalancebetweenidentifyingaviablesolutionanddescribingthatsolution

intoomuchdetailtooearly.Thisbookaimstoshowyouhowtoperformanalysisinan

iterativefashionsothatyoucantakeadvantageofthelearningthatoccursduring

development,testing,anddeployment.Whiledoingso,italsodemonstratesthatmany

analysistechniquesareapplicableinanagilesettingwithchangestowhenandtowhat

extentyouperformthosetechniques.Isoughttosolvethisproblembecausemanyteams

thatadoptagilethinkanalysisisnolongernecessary,andasaresulttheyendupcreating

solutionsthatdon’tsolvetheidentifiedproblem,ordon’tsolveanyproblematall.

HowtheBookIsOrganized
Thisbookisorganizedintothreemainpartstomakeitabiteasiertoconsume.Thefirst
part,“Ideas,”coverstheagilemindsetandsomekeyprinciplesthatunderlietheagile
mindsetandeffectiveanalysis.Thesecondpart,“CaseStudies,”featuresfourcasestudies
thatshowhowtopracticallyapplytheideasinavarietyofsituations.Thethirdpart,
“Techniques,”takesadeeperviewofsometechniquesthatareveryhelpfulforusing
analysisinanagilesetting.
PartI:Ideas
ThefirstsectiontakesalookatsomekeyideasthatIconsideressentialforeffectively
performinganalysisinanagilesetting.Theseincludetheconceptsthatdescribeanagile
mindset,andsomehelpfulconceptsfromoutsidetraditionalanalysisthinkingthat
supplementtypicalanalysistechniques.Finally,Ibuildonthoseideastoplaceanalysis
techniquesincontext.
Chapter1:GuidingPrinciples
AsIhelpteamsadoptagileandtightenuptheiranalysisapproach,Ifindthatadoptingthe
appropriatemindsetismoreimportantthanmasteringaspecificsetoftechniques.With
thepropermindsetandagreatdealofself-disciplineateamcanbesuccessfulwith
minimalprocess.Withoutthepropermindset,teamsfindthattheymustcontinuouslyadd
processtoaidthecollaborationthatcomesnaturallytothosewhohavetherightmindset.
Whatisthepropermindset?Thereareavarietyofperspectivesonthat.Theoriginal
definitionoftheagilemindsetisencapsulatedbythe“ManifestoforAgileSoftware
Development”andthecorrespondingprinciples.Othershaveexpandedonthoseoriginal
ideastodescribetheagilemindset,andIhavedonethesame,placingemphasisonaspects
thatencouragebuildingtherightthing.Idescribemyperspectiveontheagilemindset
throughsevenguidingprinciples:
•Delivervalue
•Collaborate
•Iterate
•Simplify
•Considercontext
•Decidewisely
•Reflectandadapt
Chapter2:HelpfulConcepts
Iusethischaptertointroducesomeideasthatformtheconceptualbasisforthefollowing
chapters.Theideasdiscussedinclude
•Needsandsolutions
•Outcomeandoutput

•Discoveryanddelivery
Chapter3:InfluenceofLeanStartup
ThischapterexploressomeconceptsofLeanStartupanddescribeshowtheseconcepts
canbeappliedeffectivelytothecontextofITprojects.Thoseconceptsinclude
•Customerdevelopment
•Build-Measure-Learn
•Metrics
Chapter4:DecisionMaking
Thischapterdiscussesdecisionmakinginmoredetail,specificallyastructurefordecision
making,theideaofRealOptions,andthecognitivebiasesIfindcangetinthewayof
effectivedecisionmaking.
Chapter5:DeliverValue
InthischapterIdiscusssomekeyconceptssurroundingvaluedelivery,includingFeature
Injection,minimumviableproduct,andminimummarketablefeature.
Chapter6:AnalysiswithanAgileMindset
WhileI’mnotnecessarilyadvocatinganew“analysisprocess,”Iwantedtoprovidea
generaldescriptionofhowanalysisflowsalongsidethelifecycleofaproject.Thischapter
positionsthetechniquesfromChapters11through15intheirusuallocationintheproject
lifecycle.
Idon’tspendagreatdealoftimetalkingaboutthisflowspecificallybecauseitisnot
thesameoneveryproject,butgoingthroughthewholeflowoncehelpsputthetechniques
intotheproperperspectiveandhelpstoexplainwhycertaintechniquesmakemoresense
insomecontextsthaninothers.
PartII:CaseStudies
Inthispartofthebook,Isharefourstoriesintendedtodescribeanalysisinareal-world
setting.ThesestoriesillustratethewaysavarietyofITprojectsusedtheideasdescribedin
Chapters1through6andthetechniquesdescribedinlaterchapters.WhileIcannotcover
everypossiblesituation,Ihopethismixofcasestudiesprovidesfairlybroadcoverageof
thevariousenvironmentsinwhichyoumayfindyourself.Inaddition,theyshouldfurnish
ideasforusingthesametechniquesindifferentsituationsandadjustingyourapproach
basedonyourcurrentcontext.
Chapter7:CaseStudy:ConferenceSubmissionSystem
ThisisthestoryofdevelopingandmaintainingthesubmissionsystemfortheAgile2013
andAgile2014conferences.Thiswasafairlystraightforwardproject,butitprovidesthe
opportunitytopositionseveralanalysistechniquesintheirpropercontext.