[IxDA Discuss] A tool for managing use cases / requirements

[Todd Moy]

Hi Jeff - I think I understand what you're asking, but not well enough
to propose a solution. I have a few in mind, but I'd like a bit more
information.

My questions:
You mentioned subsets of use cases. Can a use case appear as a child
of many different, higher level use cases...or will it have one parent
only?

What is the difference between a user role and a persona, with regard
to how they relate to use cases and to one another? Is there a
relationship between a user role and a persona?

Would there be a primary means of organizing or accessing this
information? For example, could you use a tree as a primary structure,
but annotate the cases and requirements with metadata to provide an
auxilliary method of navigation?

Is there a requirement to version the documents throughout
time--either the use cases, the scenarios, or the requirements?

--

Altogether, it doesn't seem that your dilemma is that unique. I
immediately think of source code versioning systems (like Subversion),
content management systems (like Ellington), Wikis (like Trac), etc. I
use Serena Dimensions for managing artifacts and requirements, but I
hesitate to force that solution on you without more info.

You might also redefine your requirements by thinking broadly about
what you're trying to  accomplish. Once you strip away terms like
"personas", "use cases", and "requirements", it appears that you're
just organizing text and images that can be described by different
attributes. Maybe a basic document management system that provides
both a structured hierarchy and the ability to tag assets would be
useful.

-Todd




On 3/23/07, Jeff Axup <axup at userdesign.com> wrote:
> Hi everyone,
>
> I'm working on a project where we're entering into a large requirements
> analysis stage. This will involve a large number of use cases (often called
> scenarios). The use cases need to be directly tied to corresponding
> requirements. There will be high and low level use cases, with some as
> subsets of others. Additionally, they need to be tied to user roles (and
> personas at times), and there will often be a many-to-one pairing between
> roles and uses cases, and requirements and use cases. So a static tree model
> probably won't work.
>
> This points to the need for a tool to organize this and present it in a
> dynamic manner (via a web page with an underlying database comes to mind.)
> I've been thinking about using Excel, MS project, Word outlines, or a
> hand-coded DB with a web front end, but all seem to fall short in terms of
> effectiveness and ease of use.
>
> Has anyone found a good tool (either specifically for use case organization,
> or for more general management of data in cross-referenced trees) which
> they've used for this in the past? Any thoughts on usability of these
> (potential) products?
>
> Best Regards,
> Jeff
> ____________________________________________________________________________
> Jeff Axup, Ph.D.
> Principal Consultant, Mobile Community Design Consulting, San Diego
>
> Research:    Mobile Group Research Methods, Social Networks, Group Usability
> E-mail:        axup <at> userdesign.com
> Blog:           http://mobilecommunitydesign.com
> Moblog:       http://memeaddict.blogspot.com
> Academic:   http://www.infenv.itee.uq.edu.au
> ____________________________________________________________________________
> ________________________________________________________________
> Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)!
> To post to this list ....... discuss at ixda.org
> List Guidelines ............ http://listguide.ixda.org/
> List Help .................. http://listhelp.ixda.org/
> (Un)Subscription Options ... http://subscription-options.ixda.org/
> Announcements List ......... http://subscribe-announce.ixda.org/
> Questions .................. lists at ixda.org
> Home ....................... http://ixda.org/
> Resource Library ........... http://resources.ixda.org
>


-- 
____________________________
oombrella | User Experience Design
http://www.oombrella.com
oombrella at gmail.com