Java™ Application Development on Linux - Dator

272Chapter 11Balancing Acts: An Imaginary Scenario11.6.2 Back at His DeskBob is now back at his desk pondering the conversation he had with Ellen.“These are not like the requirements we learned about in my software engineeringcourses,” he muses. “I’ve got that sketch of the UI and a brief descriptionof its functionality. But there seem to be so many unanswered questions.”So what is Bob supposed to do? He could go back and try to get more“face time” with Ellen, and ask lots more questions. Sometimes that’s a smartthing to do. Other times such repetition is seen as annoying and a sign of aslow-witted analyst, never mind how obscure the initial discussions were orhow many times someone changed their mind about what they want. You willhave to judge each situation as you encounter it. At some point, though, youhave to deal with whatever information you’ve been given, and try to make thebest of it.So where do you turn? The next best things to do are to begin to documentthe requirements as you understand them, to prototype a solution, andto start getting buy-in from other stakeholders. Each of these activities mayhelp bring out more requirements, but that’s not a bad side effect.11.7DOCUMENTING, PROTOTYPING, AND STAKEHOLDER BUY-INOnce a project is started, the design must be documented. A prototype may bebuilt to validate and refine the design. Finally, everyone with a stake in thesuccess of the design has to be brought up to speed and needs to agree on whatis to be built.11.7.1 DocumentingAfter such a conversation, it’s smart to try to get your thoughts down on paperas soon as possible. Some of what gets said will fade with time, so work quicklyto capture what you can of the requirements that were spoken. Even if you haveto leave lots of blanks, keep moving and get as much of the major requirementswritten down as you can, even if they don’t sound very formal or polished.Then go back, revise and edit your statements, filling in the blanks where youcan. Sometimes you will need to ask others to get the answers to fill in theblanks. Other times you can use your own judgment and initiative to providean answer. Out of this process with its subsequent rewrites will come therequirements document.