Java™ Application Development on Linux - Dator

11.6 Requirements for the Budget <strong>Application</strong>269• Who is going to use the data that comes from the use of the software (i.e.,who will read the reports generated from the data collected either directlyor indirectly from the running of the software)?• Who is going to support the software and who will support the machineson which it will run?All these people can be considered “stakeholders” in the project.So where do you start? That’s a political more than a technical question.Start with your boss and with whoever is the major backer of the project. Thenask your customers. For in-house IT projects, the “customers” are usually veryaccessible; for software products, the customer’s point of view may need to berepresented by marketing and/or customer support people who have had directcontact with the customer base.11.6REQUIREMENTS FOR THE BUDGET APPLICATIONLet’s take a look at how such requirements might evolve. We’ll look at thesituation through the eyes of a fictional IT guy named Bob. 211.6.1 Monday Morning, 10 A.M.Bob gets called in to the office of his manager, Ellen. The conversation goessomething like this:Bob: Yes, Ellen, you wanted to see me?Ellen: Come in, Bob. Yes. We’re just about to enter another budgetplanning cycle. We’ve got to propose our next year’s budget to the VP by theend of the quarter, and I got to thinking . . .Bob: Uh-oh.Ellen: . . . on my way to work today, I got to thinking that we ought tobe able to develop a software tool that would help us do a better job of thisprocess.2. We’re avoiding giving Bob a title because titles vary so much within our industry. Callsomeone an analyst and it may mean that they never code. Call someone a programmer and itmay mean that they only code and never deal with requirements or even designs. Some usethose terms interchangeably. We’ll just call him an IT guy.