Traceability, Change and Quality – Chapters Traceability, Change and Quality – Chapters 27-29 Requirements Text27-29 Requirements Text

Steve Chenoweth & Chandan RupakhetiRHIT

Question 1

Traceability: Primary QuestionsTraceability: Primary Questions

Why is tracing important?

Why we care – remember this triangle?

Question 2

Traceability: The ProblemTraceability: The Problem

How do you know, if you’re at one of these later stages, that you have a requirements fault?

In general, how to trace…In general, how to trace…

Use Traceability matrices

Tracing User Needs to FeaturesTracing User Needs to Features

Feature 1

Feature 2

... Feature n

Need 1 X

Need 2 X

… X X

Need m X

Tracing Features to Use CasesTracing Features to Use Cases

Use Case 1

Use Case 2

... Use Case n

Feature 1

X

Feature 2

X

… X X

Feature 3

X

Tracing Requirements to ImplementationTracing Requirements to Implementation

Tool SupportTool Support

Spreadsheets◦ Maintaining and updating the links is difficult

Relational Databases Requirements Management Software

Question 3

Factors for ChangeFactors for Change

External Internal

Unofficial sources contributed up to half of the total scope of the project

Question 4

Managing Change: Primary QuestionsManaging Change: Primary Questions

How do you capture change requests?

How do you respond to these (individually & overall)?

How does this tie-in with tracing requirements?

A Process for Managing Change A Process for Managing Change

Step 1: Recognize that change is inevitable, and plan for it

A Process for Managing Change A Process for Managing Change

Step 2: Baseline the requirements◦ This means they are signed-off on, and

◦ From then on, they fall under change control – see below

• Step 3: Establish a single channel to control change– No ad hoc additions– No ad hoc fixes, either

A Process for Managing ChangeA Process for Managing Change

In this big picture, you especially need to know what “release management” is!

Step 4: Use a Change Control System to Capture ChangesStep 5: Manage Change Hierarchically

Question 5

Follow the linkFollow the link

There is a dependency between the various artifacts involved in requirements mgmt

Follow the chain and make sure that the change is propagated

Products vs. ProcessesProducts vs. Processes

Organizations that produce high-quality products invest in high-quality processes.

Product quality can be measured through testing. How can we measure process quality?

Review MethodsReview Methods

Informal◦ Ask a peer to read and give comments

Formal◦ Ask a peer to prepare for review

◦ Record and report results of review Active

◦ Interrogate reviewer

Start Question 6

ChecklistsChecklists

Look for anticipated defects Some defects apply to almost all artifacts

◦ Does the artifact exist? Some defects are artifact-specific

◦ Have you identified all stakeholders?

End Question 6

Problem Statement ChecklistProblem Statement Checklist

1. Has a problem statement been drafted?

2. Is it written in an easy-to-understand way?

3. Does the team understand it?

4. Has it been circulated for agreement to the key stakeholders, including management?

5. Do the team members have agreement that this is the problem they are trying to solve?

Supplementary Specification Checklist (1/2)Supplementary Specification Checklist (1/2)

1. Have you established an appropriate template?

2. Are all functional requirements not specified by use cases included in the supplementary specification?

3. Have requirements for usability, reliability, performance and supportability been captured?

Supplementary Specification Checklist (2/2)Supplementary Specification Checklist (2/2)

4. Have design constraints been identified?

5. Have supplementary requirements been linked to use cases where appropriate?

Extra Credit

Find two web based requirements management software tools (by searching on the Internet, etc.), and briefly describe the features they support.

How are requirements captured in the agile and extreme methodologies? Read Chapter 30 and write a report.

Submit using Moodle (Lessons – Extra Credit – Week 6)