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Getting your business software requirements right

It’s all in the definition

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Whitepaper Why do few developers get requirements definition right? Understanding what end-users want from a software project at the outset is crucial if projects are to remain on track. Yet a combination of poorly understood processes and inadequate tools often compromises this important phase.

The US-based research firm Standish Group’s regular Chaos report details IT project success and failure rates. Its 2010 figures showed an improvement, but general success rates are low. In 2004, only 28 per cent of projects were said to have been delivered on time and on budget, with the required features and functions.

Using proper requirements definition tools integrated into the overall software development lifecycle can offer significant benefits, including more effective test generation, the prioritision of testing based on risk analysis, and the traceability of testing.

Our Register whitepaper How to succeed in business software development: First catch your requirements, explores these notions and benefits to productivity. It has written in association with Micro Focus and highlighst five areas in which software development can be improved.

Download this paper here to explore how your quality assurance team can use these tools and experiences to do their jobs more effectively, and increase their standing in the company. ®

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Anonymous Coward

Wot heresy

Everyone knows that you start coding first and then badger your customer in the agile way to make them accept what you cobbled together.

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@"Why do few developers get requirements definition right?"

... lessons on analysis and Design are taught in a lot of dry university lectures or highly detailed documentation. Which most development students tend to dislike and skip over. It lacks all the glory of short term success, bells and whistles.

* Many of the developers out there today have never been near any of it.

* Few and far between are the programmers who understand the one central nugget of gold amidst the blather. **Extensions happen. Design it to be stable even when demands change**

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Interesting white paper but

it does really just point out the obvious facts that any systems or software engineer have figured out for themselves. Another bit of software to capture requirements won't make much difference given that the vast majority of schedule slip issues are introduced by the customer themselves and the poor management of the changes by team leads.

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