A picture is worth a thousand words. A prototype is worth a thousand lines of code. Two key elements of product management – and of agile development are elicitation and feedback. Low fidelity artifacts can significantly improve both. Polished, codified prototypes can create problems that prevent you from getting the […]
Agile / Business Analysis / Business Rules / Communication / Consulting / Product Management / Software development
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Simple Agile Model Example
A picture is worth a thousand words. Agile values working software over comprehensive documentation, and it values customer collaboration over contract negotiation. With that in mind, how much is a picture of a model worth? Check out a simple example, how it helped, and what we didn’t do.
Business Analysis / Business Rules / Communication / Process Flow / Process Improvement / ROI
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The Impact of a Hidden Decision
Business rules are often hidden in processes as hidden decisions. Once you discover that hidden decision, how do you communicate the impact of exposing and managing the decision?
Business Analysis / Business Rules / Process Flow / Process Improvement / Requirements / Requirements gathering
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Hidden Business Rule Example
A business process is not just a sequence of steps. A business process is a series of decisions and actions. Some decisions are obvious and can be actively managed. Some decisions are hidden, and until you discover them, you can’t manage or improve them. Here is a real-world example of […]
Business Analysis / Business Rules / Requirements
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Business Architecture, Rules, and Requirements
We know to treat business rules and business requirements differently. One example – treat external government regulations as rules (because they are less subject to change than requirements). When you have multiple systems in an architecture, while “rules” makes sense for one system, “requirements” make sense for another. What do […]
Business Analysis / Business Rules / Data management / Requirements / Requirements Models
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Glossary of Terms
Some books on how to write and manage requirements mention using a glossary. Most books on requirements don’t go into enough detail about either the importance of a glossary of terms, or the precise use of the glossary of terms. Or if they do, they under-emphasize the benefits of a […]
Business Analysis / Business Process Modeling / Business Rules / Product Management / Requirements / Requirements Models / Use Cases
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Global Processes and Business Rules
We’ve written before about the importance of separating rules from requirements, particularly in use cases. We wrote that with the goal in mind of reducing the costs of system maintenance. Low-level rules like decision, calculation and inference rules tend to change frequently – and independently of other requirements. So a […]
Business Analysis / Business Process Modeling / Business Rules / Product Management / Requirements / Requirements gathering
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Elicitation Techniques for Processes, Rules, and Requirements
Each elicitation technique we have in our toolbox is a tool. But not every elicitation job is the same. If we have a hammer, we might be working with nails, or screws, or even an egg. In our analysis, we have to develop a deep understanding of our customer’s business(es). […]
Business Analysis / Business Rules / Communication / Consulting / Requirements / Writing
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Why Separate Rules from Requirements
Separation of business rules from requirements is a good thing. Not because of semantic distinctions, but because it allows you to write better software, write it faster, and change it more easily. This article is a response to an excellent comment on our recent article about hidden business rules. Thanks […]