“BA as Translator”
This is post three of five that shares learning and insight gained during a recent consulting experience. There are generally two types of requirements1) Functional: describes WHAT the system/process does – the processes, workflows, validations, and calculations – the system either will or will not perform.
2) Non-Functional: describes HOW the system does what it does – considered a “quality” criteria that is associated with the system performance. It does not define the action the system does, but it does define how well the system needs to perform the action.
Most business clients have an easy time describing the functional requirements of a solution because it is things that the solution will do. Non-functional requirements are more difficult to describe because they are more subjective, but they are just as important because they influence whether or not a client will find a solution “usable” and “acceptable”. Non-Functional requirements for an IT system design and implementation project may include:- Scalability
- Availability
- Maintainability
- Language
- User interface
- Security
- Responsiveness
- Interoperability
- And many others (take a look at Wikipedia for a long list)
- Usability
- Texture
- Fit
- Form
- Function
- And others
1) Exercise expert judgement about client expectations and document the non-functional requirements with little consultation, or
2) Conduct a standard elicitation activity (interview, focus groups or workshop), but phrase the questions in business terms so that the stakeholder(s) recognize(s) the items you are addressing and do not realize that they are defining non-functional requirements.
For example, rather than speaking about capacity and availability of a system, ask questions about tangible items in the context of the business.Non-Functional Requirement Type | Sample question to pose to stakeholder |
Capacity |
|
Availability |
|