Existing Documentation Study and Surveys

What is it? An existing Documentation Study is an inspection of existing document sources to uncover requirements information. Also known as: Market Analysis Requirement’s Reuse

Why do it? Save money by reducing redundant research. Don’t reinvent the wheel! Size up the competition and adjust requirements Learn requirements information from the existing system.

What does it do? Uses information from existing products as a baseline for functionalities

What does it do? Reuses existing documents for efficient engineering of new requirements

Adapts requirements to research of market and competitors What does it do? Adapts requirements to research of market and competitors

What does it do? Identifies operations, definitions and constraints to which the software must conform

Existing Doc Study

Existing Documentation Study and Surveys How do you do it?

Identify the appropriate documentation sources to use. -Ask system and support staff what documentation exist and if it is accurate. -Locate all physical and soft documentation -Search for information on competing products.

Examples of documentation that should be studied: Backup documentation Recovery documentation Help screens Job descriptions Operation manuals and guidelines Strategic and business plan Regulations, industry standards and company policies Published reviews of COTS software in technical journals Standard operating procedures. Systems documentation Prior user requirements User specification documents Support documentations User problem reports, complaint logs and enhancement requests Training materials, user manuals and tutorials Web sites and marketing literature of competing products Online user and discussion groups

Review and analyze the documentation Look for patterns Search for information about nonfunctional requirements Share and review finding with customers and users Use the information to identify areas for further exploration and to uncover missing requirements from a set of already drafted requirements

Prioritize!

Create draft analysis models -Use the information from the study to draft analysis models such as context diagram, a list of use cases, and a data model

SURVEYS

How user-friendly is our software’s interface? Surveys: What is it? & Why? How user-friendly is our software’s interface? Extremely user-friendly Very user-friendly Slightly user-friendly Not at all user-friendly How successful is our software in performing its intended task? Extremely successful Very successful Slightly successful Not at all successful

Surveys: What is it? & Why? How can we improve our software? i Type answer here … Surveys What is it ?

Surveys: What is it? & Why? Gathers information anonymously Open-format or Closed-format WHY ??

Surveys: What is it? & Why? Quick & Inexpensive Provides Subjective & Statistical Data Unobtrusive

What to do Before Survey - Qichang Zheng

3 questions and 5 steps before your survey 1. What you want to learn from the survey 2. Who is your respondent 3. How you want to do this survey

Steps to be followed before survey (Step 1) Establish DISCRETE goals of the survey (What) Example: The usability of the program User satisfaction and dissatisfaction with a current product Bugs to fix Somewhere to improve or some functionalities needed

Steps to be followed before survey (Step 2) Determine the sample group (Who) Group category Group with 150 or fewer participants Consider surveying everyone Group with thousands participants Sample a subset of the user community Segment the customers User base size Frequency of usage Components used

Steps to be followed before survey (Step 3) Choose methodology (How) Online (Web-based) E-mail Telephone On-site survey (administered at the customer’s location) Mailed (Paper) survey

Steps to be followed before survey (Step 4) Design the survey questions (How cont.) Decide if you will use subjective survey questions, objective survey questions, or both Construct unbiased questions Ask short, unambiguous questions Be sure that each question addresses a single issue Start with easy questions that arouse the interest of respondents Group similar questions Use transitional statements Limit the number of questions

Steps to be followed before survey (Step 4) Design the survey questions (How cont.) Include a few real respondents in your test Review the validity and understandability of the questions Record how long it takes testers to complete the survey Use the feedback to modify the questions, instructions, or cover letter

Steps to be followed before survey (Step 5) Test the survey before you distribute it (How cont.) • Include a few real respondents in your test. • Review the validity and understandability of the questions with a sampling of people. • Record how long it takes testers to complete the survey. • Use the feedback to modify the questions, instruc- tions, or cover letter.

During and After the Survey During Survey : Send a pre-notification or cover letter that explains: Why the survey is being done? Who is sponsoring the survey? How the results will be used? An incentive (results or gift) The need for prompt response Policy of confidentiality of responses Include instructions and cover letter or paragraph that provides a name and contact information in case there are any questions Make convenient for respondents to return survey After Survey : Quantify the responses and have survey design experts test the reliability and repeatability of the results Use data to confirm requirements choices or where to focus for further requirements. Present data to the requirement team in a chart (bar/pie chart or matrix)