Requirements and Bridging the Silos (Part 3 of 3)
by Andrew Hayward
The first and second parts of Mr. Andrew Hayward’s three part series on Requirements and Bridging the Silosdescribed how, in larger development efforts, the division of resources into roles often reduces the effectiveness of communication and hinders understanding of requirements (see part 1 of Requirements and Bridging the Silos) and how to increase the understanding of project requirements within and between the testing and implementation silos (see part 2 of Requirements and Bridging the Silos).
The final installment continues with some examples of how silos have hindered communication and, therefore, understanding of requirements, and the solutions these organizations applied to resolve these problems. Following this is a list of eight best practices to bridge the silos in your organization.
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| Requirements_and_Bridging_the_Silos_(Part_3_of_3).pdf | 153.38 KB |
Assembly Lines produce Products
A manufacturing assembly line assembles already defined/designed products, these days allowing for a lot of variations as well.It does not start with "what are we going to assemble", that is already done. So, a software assembly line already has defined for it what kinds of software it will produce. For example, application software structured as services over SOA, connected by BPM tools and controlled by Business Rule Engines or Enterprise Decision Management. To be assembled, software cannot be just a shapeless blob from which something emerges through use of the latest/greatest methodologies or techniques.
Sure, not all software should be created this way. Studies and famous books have shown that the most brilliant products emerge from talented people working together with passion and not enough time... but that's rare and prone to failure as much as not, and isn't needed for the great majority of useful software.
David Wright