Project Requirements Definition Activities


The activities for defining project requirements do not need to be performed linearly. Figure 4.6 indicates which activities can be performed concurrently. The list below briefly describes the activities associated with Step 4, Project Requirements Definition.

  1. Define the requirements for technical infrastructure enhancements.

    You should have already reviewed the technical infrastructure components to determine whether they can support the BI application or whether changes are required. Requirements for technical infrastructure components could include one or more of the following:

    - New or additional hardware

    - New database management system (DBMS) or upgrades to the existing DBMS

    - New development tools

    - New data access or reporting tools

    - New data mining tool

    - New meta data repository or enhancements to it

    - New network requirements

  2. Define the requirements for nontechnical infrastructure enhancements.

    You should have also reviewed and evaluated the nontechnical infrastructure components. If changes are required, define these requirements now. Nontechnical infrastructure components to be added or revised could include:

    - Estimating guidelines

    - Roles and responsibilities

    - Standards

    - Procedures for:

    • Use of a methodology

    • Scope management (change control)

    • Issues management

    • Security process

    • SLAs

    • Prioritization

    • Testing process

    • Support functions

    • Dispute resolution

    • Meta data capture and meta data delivery

    • Data quality measures and triage process

    • Communication

  3. Define the reporting requirements.

    During the interview process, collect or create sample report layouts and queries. Define and document business rules for deriving data and for creating aggregations and summaries. It is advisable to determine who will be the stewards of the query libraries and universes (data views in OLAP tools).

  4. Define the requirements for source data.

    Define the detailed data requirements and select the most appropriate source files and source databases from the potential list of sources created during prior steps. Spend some time on defining the data-cleansing requirements and the critical business rules for the data. Perform some cursory data analysis on suspected poor-quality data so that the scope and the effort estimates created during Step 3, Project Planning, can be validated .

  5. Review the project scope.

    Compare the detailed requirements to the high-level scope in the project charter. Determine whether the scope is still doable and whether the estimates are still realistic. If you have learned something that puts the commitment in the project charter in question, it is time to renegotiate.

  6. Expand the logical data model.

    A high-level logical data model was probably produced during earlier steps (Step 1, Business Case Assessment, or Step 3, Project Planning). Using the information from the interview sessions, expand the logical data model with newly discovered entities, relationships, and attributes. If a logical data model was not produced during prior steps, create a high-level logical data model for the data requirements in preparation for the data analysis activities.

  7. Define preliminary service-level agreements.

    Although many technicians may argue that it is much too early to commit to SLAs, most business people will ask for them because they constitute the acceptance criteria. It is best to find the outermost acceptable limits for each of the following SLAs and refine them as the project progresses:

    - Availability

    - Security

    - Response time

    - Data cleanliness

    - Ongoing support

  8. Write the application requirements document.

    In the application requirements document, itemize the requirements for functions, data, cleansing, performance, security, and availability. In addition, list the requirements for enhancing technical and nontechnical infrastructure components during the BI project. Include the high-level logical data model in this document.

Figure 4.6. Project Requirements Definition Activities

graphics/04fig06.gif



Business Intelligence Roadmap
Business Intelligence Roadmap: The Complete Project Lifecycle for Decision-Support Applications
ISBN: 0201784203
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 202

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