Business Analysis, Requirements, and Project Management: A Guide for Computing Students

Description

IT projects emerge from a business need. In practice, software developers must accomplish two big things before an IT project can begin: find out what you need to do (i.e., analyse business requirements) and plan out how to do it (i.e., project management). The biggest problem in IT projects is delivering the wrong product because IT people do not understand what business people require. This practical textbook teaches computer science students how to manage and deliver IT projects by linking business and IT requirements with project management in an incremental and straightforward approach. Business Analysis, Requirements, and Project Management: A Guide for Computing Students presents an approach to analysis management that scales the business perspective. It takes a business process view of a business proposal as a model and explains how to structure a technical problem into a recognisable pattern with problem frames. It shows how to identify core transactions and model them as use cases to create a requirements table useful to designers and coders. Linked to the analysis are three management tools: the product breakdown structure (PBS), the Gantt chart, and the Kanban board. The PBS is derived in part from the problem frame. The Gantt chart emerges from the PBS and ensures the key requirements are addressed by reference to use cases. The Kanban board is especially useful in Task Driven Development, which the text covers. This textbook consists of two interleaving parts and features a single case study. Part one addresses the business and requirements perspective. The second integrates core project management approaches and explains how both requirements and management are connected. The remainder of the book is appendices, the first of which provides solutions to the exercises presented in each chapter. The second appendix puts together much of the documentation for the case study into one place. The case study presents a real-word business scenario to expose students to professional practice. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Introduction Chapter 1: Business Concept Models Why Start Here? The Basics of Business Concept Models Why Bother with Business Concept Models? Business Data or Database Data? Introducing the Case Study Definition of Terms Notes Chapter 2: Business Process Modelling BPMN: A Very Useful Subset for Whilst at University Activities and Pools/Swimlanes – What Happens Where Sending Messages Data and Databases Errors and Cancellations From Concept to Process Case Study: Fizzit in BPMN Notes Chapter 3: Problem Frames Elements of the Problem Frame Making Use of Problem Frames When We Can Multiframe Problem for Google Translate Progression of Problems Deriving Problem Frames from Business Processes Notes Chapter 4: Requirements and Specification More about Requirements Types of Requirements Ways to Gather Requirements Specification of Requirements How to ‘Specify’ a Requirement in 10 Easy Steps Notes Chapter 5: Use Cases Use Case Diagram Elements of the Use Case Diagram The Slight Problem with Use Case Descriptions Clerk closes the account Use Case Description Writing Rules Seven Style Rules Two Structure Rules Note Chapter 6: A Brief Discussion of Software Project Management Management and Requirements The Idea What’s the Official Record of Software Projects? What’s the Point of Project Management? Project Management Tools of You But…before We Move On Why Not Just Propose Scrum? Notes Chapter 7: Product Breakdown Structure Basic Process and How to Get It Wrong Example Product Breakdown Structure (PBS) Work or Product? Breakdown Structure A Note on Risk Management Notes Chapter 8: Gantt Chart Feature-Driven Development (FDD) Task-Driven Development? Creating the Gantt Chart Notes Chapter 9: Kanban Boards What the Columns Mean Why Do We Need So Many Columns? Notes Chapter 10: Summary Appendix 1: Solutions Chapter 1. Business Concept Models Chapter 2. BPMN Chapter 3. Problem Frames Chapter 4. Requirements Chapter 5. Use Cases Chapter 7. Product Breakdown Structure Chapter 8. Gantt Chart Chapter 9. Kanban Appendix 2: Fizzit.com Case Study Business Rules Concept Model Diagram Fizzit Definition of Terms Fizzit Business Process Models Drop-Off Location Process Fizzit QA and Payment Problem Frames Drop-Off Location (Workpiece) QA Check (Workpiece) Requirements Requirements Specification Tables Use Cases Use Case Descriptions UC1. Get Price Offer UC2. Conduct Trade UC3. Log Drop-Off UC4. Price Updates UC5. Check Item Quality UC6. Pay Customer UC7. Email Customer UC8. Collect Package UC9: Access Customer Account Product Breakdown Structure Gantt Chart Kanban Board Index