Telling Stories: A Short Path to Writing Better Software Requirements

Chapter 1. Telling Stories

Intent on a great project to renew the earth, God calls upon Noah, the one man he can trust to carry out his plans. He starts by clearly explaining the problem at hand:

And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.^[1]

A forceful and concise communicator, God then details what he wants done in the first phase of the project:

Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.

And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.

A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.

Having explained the basic requirements of the ark, God moves on to the main processes of phase two of the project, beginning with his own action items:

And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die.

He then returns to what he requires of Noah:

But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee.

And of every living thing ...