Telling Stories: A Short Path to Writing Better Software Requirements

Chapter 5. Finding and Structuring the Content

Now that you understand data flow diagrams, process descriptions, and other tools and concepts for crafting the story, it's time to look at how to find the content of your story and structure it in the best way possible.

You will find the content of your story in the minds of the members of the project team. The project team is the group of people assembled by management to plan, manage, and possibly execute the development of the system. You may or may not have any actual authority over the team, but as the person designated to write the requirements document, you must become its voice. Your task is to focus the team on a series of questions that will identify the purpose of the system, its main elements, primary actions, and basic requirements. You must establish a basic rapport with the team and capture information in a way that encourages free communication and respectful listening. You don't have to explain all the theory and methodology behind your process to the team, but you need specific information to get started. Once you have the bulk of this information, you will be ready to write an outline that works for the team and the project.

You Are a Very Important Team Member

Without you, the project team will not be very good at making up its mind and expressing itself with clarity or precision. Members of teams without writers often believe an issue has been resolved to their satisfaction, when in fact different team members may ...