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Here is a Creative Way to Gather Your Client’s Project Requirements.
A Journalist Technique Known as Immersion Reporting!
It is fabulous feeling when you start working with a new client, but that feeling can quickly fade if a consultant is unable to gather the data and information they need to be successful.
Occasionally, traditional techniques such as interviews and observations do not completely identify requirements. Sometimes interviews are impossible to schedule because a key stakeholder has limited time. Periodically, some people being interviewed or observed are guarded only providing the information they think you should or want to know.
If the traditional data-gathering techniques are not providing the data and information necessary to create solid requirements, be creative. Consider another option that is often not used. The option is to employ a journalist approach known as immersion reporting in which the requirements are discovered by living the experience.
The Scenario
After a year of development, the much-awaited day arrived. The new customer ordering system went live. However, within six weeks, Management halted use of the new system because the staff and customers were struggling and complaining. Frustration by the staff led to the system being dubbed “the OOPS system.”
