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Subject:RE: Requirements From:"Evans, Diane L (Rosetta)" <diane_evans -at- merck -dot- com> To:techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com Date:Mon, 13 Aug 2007 07:28:15 -0700
> Do you think that developers should be involved in this process?
Requirements are my life -- it is what I do best.
You need to understand that there are many types of requirements. I
perform validation testing from the user requirements. For example, the
user might have a requirement "I want to start the car with a key." The
user doesn't care how that happens; the developers would need to figure
out how to make the key interface with the car's starter. If the car
starts with a key, the requirement is met.
Should the developers have been in the initial requirements-gathering
process? Only if they will add value to the discussion. Suppose the
user wants a new type of car. You know that they might have
requirements such as, "I want a car with wheels that swivel to make
parallel parking easy." You would want a developer in this discussion
that would say, "We can do that, but it will add xxx time to the
development and xxx to the final cost."
I have both types of requirements meetings. If we are just updating an
existing application, I am most likely meeting with the users alone. If
we are creating an entirely new system, the lead developer is invited
along to add some sanity to the users' desires.
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