The document analysis technique is one of the most effective ways of kick-starting the requirements elicitation phase. It is the art of studying relevant business, system and project documentation with the objective of understanding the business, the project background and identifying requirements or opportunities for improvement. Show It’s a means of gathering information before scheduling interviews or other elicitation sessions with stakeholders. It can complement other elicitation techniques like workshops, interviews and prototyping by serving as a means of verifying requirements. To perform document analysis effectively, the analyst should always check the source of documents for possible bias. Document Analysis is performed in 3 stages:
Pros of Document Analysis
Cons
Here’s a list of documents that should be considered during document analysis. Analysts should however, be guided by project peculiarities in determining which document contains the relevant information needed: Business Process Documentation – contains details of current business processes, process participants, handoffs and other process–related information that can help the analyst understand how processes work. Functional specifications of existing system – contains details of how the current system works and may help the analyst understand any missing features or gaps that can be considered in future versions. Business Rule Documentation – contains a list of all the business rules that guide the business process in context; it is usually documented separately from the business process. Organizational Structure – this is a hierarchical representation of the teams or units in an organization, business entities, communication lines and the reporting structure. The analyst can obtain information on which stakeholders to consult during requirements elicitation. Benchmarking Studies – contain information on industry best practices and the actions that other organisations have taken to achieve success. Company Memos - company memos may contain project information, meeting updates and requests. Product Reviews – this is a review of one or more comparable solutions by industry pundits, which typically point at strengths and weaknesses of solutions. Contracts – contains information like service level agreements, customer expectations and the like. Customer Suggestions/Feedback – a catalogue of common complaints by customers can be used to generate a list of requirements to consider. It also represents an "outside-in" perspective. Other documents to be considered are:
The document analysis technique is an effective way of gathering project information before meeting stakeholders. The analyst can also use the technique for generating questions to ask during other elicitation techniques. What has been your experience with this technique? Which document is used for document analysis?Personal Documents, such as date-books, messages, scrapbooks, online journals, Facebook posts, obligation logs, occurrence reports, reflections/diaries and daily papers. Physical Evidence, such as flyers, publications, plans, handbooks and training materials.
Why document analysis is one of the compulsory technique we use in a project?Collect Requirements
In this process, document analysis is used to elicit requirements by analyzing existing documentation and identifying information relevant to the requirements. There is a wide range of documents that may be analyzed to help elicit relevant requirements.
What is InSight document?InSight® is an integrated document management system (DMS) used for tracking, managing and storing files and large volumes of information. It is a contemporary system developed with state-of-the-art technology developed to provide efficient control over the organizations' documents and content.
What is an example of document analysis?Examples include student transcripts, mission statements, annual reports, policy manuals, student handbooks, strategic plans, and syllabi.
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