Requirements Workshops
Key Points
The requirements workshop may be the most powerful technique for eliciting requirements.
It gathers all key stakeholders together for a short but intensely focused period.
The use of an outside facilitator experienced in requirements management can help ensure the success of the workshop.
Brainstorming is the most important part of the workshop.
Accelerating the Decision Process
In the prior chapter, we introduced interviewing as a primary requirements gathering technique. In this and following chapters, we'll introduce additional techniques that can be used to elicit and organize requirements. In general, the more elicitation and requirements gathering techniques the team has in their toolkit, the more effective the team will be. However, occasionally the team does not have the luxury of time to either master or apply a variety of techniques. They have to pick one technique and go.
If we were to be given only one requirements elicitation technique—one that we had to apply in every circumstance, no matter the project context, no matter what the time frame—we would pick the requirements workshop, which we will describe in this chapter. The requirements workshop may well be the most powerful technique in this book and one of the few that, when mastered, can really help change project outcomes, even when it's the only elicitation technique applied.
The requirements workshop is designed to encourage consensus on the requirements of the application and to gain rapid agreement on a course of action, all in a very short time. With this technique, key stakeholders of the project gather together for a short, intensive period, typically no more than one or two days. The workshop is facilitated by a team member or, better yet, by an experienced outside facilitator and focuses on the creation or review of the high-level features to be delivered by the new application.
A properly run requirements workshop has many benefits.
It assists in building an effective team, committed to one common purpose: the success of this project.
All stakeholders get their say; no one is left out.
It forges an agreement between the stakeholders and the development team as to what the application must do.
It can expose and resolve political issues that are interfering with project success.
The output, a preliminary system definition at the features level, is available immediately.
Many organizations have had great success with the workshop technique. Together, we have participated in hundreds of such workshops, and rarely, if ever, has the workshop been unsuccessful in meeting its desired goals. The workshop provides a unique opportunity for stakeholders from various parts of the organization to work together toward the common goal of project success.
In this chapter, you will learn how to plan and run a successful requirements workshop.
Preparing for the Workshop
Proper preparation for the workshop is critical to success.
Selling the Concept
Proper preparation is the key to a successful workshop.
First, it may be necessary to sell the concept inside the organization by communicating the benefits of the workshop approach to prospective members of the team. This is typically not a difficult process, but it's not unusual to encounter resistance: "Not another meeting!" "We can't possibly get all these critical people together for one day." "You'll never get [name your favorite stakeholder] to attend." Don't be discouraged; if you hold it, they will come.
Ensuring the Participation of the Right Stakeholders
Second, preparation also involves identifying stakeholders who can contribute to the process and whose needs must be met in order to ensure a successful outcome. These stakeholders will have already been identified if the team followed the problem analysis steps, but now is the time for one last review to make sure that all critical stakeholders have been identified.
Attending to Logistics
Third, a conscientious approach to logistics is necessary and will pay dividends in that a poorly organized workshop is unlikely to achieve the desired result. Logistics involve everything from structuring the proper invitation to travel arrangements to the lighting in the workshop meeting room. A literal belief in Murphy's Law—"Whatever can go wrong will go wrong"—should be your guideline. If you approach logistics with a high degree of professionalism, it will be obvious to the attendees that this is indeed an important event, and they will act accordingly. You'll also have a more successful workshop.
Providing Warm-Up Materials
Fourth, send materials out in advance of the workshop to prepare the attendees and also to increase productivity at the workshop session. These materials set each attendee's frame of mind. We call this "getting their minds right." One of the messages we need to deliver is that this is not yet another meeting. This may be our one chance to get it right.
We recommend that you provide two types of warm-up materials.
Project-specific information. This might include drafts of requirements documents, bulleted lists of suggested features, copies of interviews with prospective users, analyst's reports on trends in the industry, letters from customers, bug reports from the existing system, new management directives, new marketing data, and so on. Although it's important not to bury the prospective attendees in data, it's also important to make sure they have the right data.
Out-of-the-box thinking preparation. Part of "getting their minds right" is encouraging attendees to think "out of the box." "Forget for a minute what you know and what can't be done due to politics. Forget that we tried to get management buy-in last time and failed. Forget that we haven't yet solidified our development process. Simply bring your insights on the features of this new project, and be prepared to think 'out of the box.'"
Warm-up materials should spur both in-context and out-of-the-box thinking.
The workshop leader can assist in this process by providing thought-provoking and stimulating articles about the process of creativity, rules for brainstorming, requirements management, managing scope, and so on. In this atmosphere, creative solutions will more likely result.
Tip
Do not send the data out too far in advance. You do not want the attendees to read it and forget it, and you don't want the long planning cycle to decrease their sense of urgency. Send the data out anywhere from two days to one week in advance. In all likelihood, the attendees will read it on the plane or at the last minute anyway. That's OK; it will help them be in the right frame of mind for the session.
To help you with your out-of-the-box thinking and to help set the context for the workshop activity, we've provided a memo template in Figure 11-1. Parenthetically, we'll also "read between the lines" a little bit to provide insights on some of the challenges you may already face in your project and on how the workshop is intended to address them.
Figure 11-1. Sample memo for kick-starting a requirements workshop
Choosing the Facilitator
If possible, have a facilitator who is not a team member run the workshop.
To ensure success, we recommend that the workshop be run by someone outside the organization, a nonstakeholder, someone who is unaffected by any particular outcome and has no role in the company other than to see a successful workshop outcome. Ideally, the facilitator will also have experience with the unique challenges and charged atmosphere of the requirements management process. However, if this is simply not practical in your environment, the workshop could be facilitated by a team member if that person:
Has received some training in the process
Has demonstrated solid consensus-building or team-building skills
Is personable and well respected by both the internal and external team members
Is strong enough to chair what could be a challenging meeting
If the workshop is to be facilitated by a team member, that person must not contribute to the ideas and issues at the meeting. Otherwise, the workshop is in danger of losing the objectivity that is necessary to get at the real facts, and it may not foster a trusting environment in which a consensus can emerge.
In any case, the facilitator plays a pivotal role in making the workshop a success. After all, you have all the key stakeholders gathered together, perhaps for the first and last time on the project, and you cannot afford a misfire. Some of the responsibilities of the facilitator include the following.
Establish a professional and objective tone for the meeting.
Start and stop the meeting on time.
Establish and enforce the "rules" for the meeting.
Introduce the goals and agenda for the meeting.
Manage the meeting and keep the team "on track."
Facilitate a process of decision and consensus making, but avoid participating in the content.
Manage any facilities and logistics issues to ensure that the focus remains on the agenda.
Make certain that all stakeholders participate and have their input heard.
Control disruptive or unproductive behavior.
Setting the Agenda
The agenda for the workshop will be based on the needs of the particular project and the content that needs to be developed at the workshop. No one agenda fits all. However, most structured requirements workshops can follow a fairly standard format. Table 11-1 provides a typical agenda.
Table 11-1. Sample Agenda for the Requirements Workshop Time Agenda Item Description 8:00–8:30 Introduction Review agenda, facilities, and rules 8:30–10:00 Context Present project status, market needs, results of user interviews, and so on 10:00–12:00 Brainstorming Brainstorm features of the application 12:00–1:00 Lunch Work through lunch to avoid loss of momentum 1:00–2:00 Brainstorming Continue brainstorming 2:00–3:00 Feature definition Write out two- or three-sentence definitions for features 3:00–4:00 Idea reduction and prioritization Prioritize features 4:00–5:00 Wrap-up Summarize and assign action items, address "parking lot" items Running the Workshop
Problems and Tricks of the Trade
You can see that the facilitator has a crucial role to play. To make matters even more exciting, these workshops are often characterized by a highly charged atmosphere. In other words, there are reasons why it is difficult to get consensus on these projects; nearly all these reasons will be present at the workshop.
Indeed, the setting may even be politically charged, confrontational, or both. This is yet another reason for having a facilitator; let the facilitator take the heat and manage the meeting so as to not exacerbate any problems—past, present, or future—among stakeholders.
Many facilitators carry a "bag of tricks" with them to help manage this highly charged atmosphere. At RELA, we evolved a set of highly useful "workshop tickets." Although they seem pretty odd, and even juvenile at first, you can trust us that they have proved their worth in a variety of settings. The more difficult the workshop, the more valuable they become! They also tend to spur "out-of-the-box" thinking. What's more, they are fun and they contribute to a positive tone for the session. Figure 11-2 provides a sample set of workshop tickets. Feel free to adapt them and use them, along with "instructions" for use.
Figure 11-2. Workshop tickets
Table 11-2 describes some of the problems that can occur in the workshop setting and also provides suggestions on how you can use the workshop tickets to address the problems. The facilitator must also introduce these rules at the beginning of the meeting and, ideally, reach a consensus that it's OK to use these silly tickets for this one day.
Brainstorming and Idea Reduction
The most important part of the workshop is the brainstorming process. This technique is ideally suited for the workshop setting: it fosters a creative and positive atmosphere and gets input from all stakeholders. We'll cover brainstorming in the next chapter.
Production and Follow-Up
After the workshop, the facilitator distributes the minutes from the meeting and records any other outputs. Then the facilitator's job is over, and responsibility for success is again in the hands of the development team.
Table 11-2. Problems and Solutions in the Requirements Workshop Setting Problem Solution Time management:
It's difficult to get restarted after breaks and lunch.
Key stakeholders may return late. The facilitator keeps a kitchen timer for the meeting and times all breaks. Attendees who are late must contribute a "Late from Break" ticket while they have one or pay $1 to the penalty box. Grandstanding, domineering positions The facilitator enforces use of the "5-Minute Position Statement" ticket to regulate input. He or she also creates a "parking lot" list for later discussion of ideas that deserve discussion but are not relevant to the agenda item. Lack of input from stakeholders The facilitator encourages attendees to use their "5-Minute-Position Statement" tickets and their "That's a Great Idea!" coupons. Make it clear that no one should leave the workshop without having used the tickets or received a "That's a Great Idea!" coupon from others. (Suggestion: Make a simple reward for the use of each one.) Negative comments, petty behaviors, and turf wars Use "1 Free Cheap Shot" tickets until the participants don't have any more; thereafter, have them make charitable contributions to the box (the group decides how much). Flagging energy after lunch Do whatever you can do to keep things moving. Serve a light lunch, provide mid-afternoon snack breaks, move the furniture, rearrange the participants' seating, change the lighting or temperature. Thereafter, it's the project leader's job to follow up on any open action items that were recorded at the meeting and to organize the information for distribution to the attendees. Often, the output of the meeting will be a simple list of ideas or suggested product features that can be turned over immediately to the development team for further action. In some cases, additional workshops with other stakeholders will be scheduled, or additional elicitation efforts will be necessary to gain a better understanding of the ideas fostered at the workshop.
Summary
In this chapter, we've introduced the requirements workshop, which can serve as an accelerated requirements gathering technique in a variety of project settings. So far, we've primarily described the mechanics of the workshop, yet it is the creative part of the workshop that delivers the real value, for it is in the creative sessions that new ideas are generated and a clearer vision for the new project emerges. In the next chapter, we'll look more closely at the creative process within the workshop setting.