May 18, 2010 at 9:27 am
nelsonj-902869 (5/18/2010)
Trying to get users and staff to open up as to what they REALLY want the system to do can be a two edged sword. Sometimes what the user wants is fairly easy to resolve and I'm a hero. Sometimes that user is unreasonable in their request and I and perhaps others have to come up with a "creative solution" to an issue that seems 'easy' to a user, but in fact is quite difficult to resolve. Sometimes there is not a solution and you might have to tell your user that their request is not something that can be done 'in house', or perhaps should not be done. In this event, be prepared to show the requesting party the whys and wherefores for this decision. Now you have entered into the grey area of getting a user to understand the costs involved in their request, or perhaps a security issue that the user was not aware of; or perhaps there is a political or some other business reason why the request has been deemed "unworkable".
Yes, and sometimes the user simply does not know what he/she is asking for, so then you have to put your "interpreter" hat on. I have had some people in the past that talk so high level it is almost a waste of time and energy holding meetings trying to figure out what they wanted in the first place just to find out after hours of interpretation and development that is not what they wanted in the first place. They just simply don't know what they want. I have a motto that I use with alot BA's and BI's. "I will try my best to give you what you what, but you have to give me a little more detail. Don't tell me you want me to give you the "whole store" when what you were really after was just a "candy bar on isle 3"! This wastes my time as well as yours. I love to help people, but I sometimes have to remind them to be more specific because "I left my crystal ball at home today". Being specific with your requirements sometimes requires a little more effort and research upfront, but helps everyone out in the long run:-D
"Technology is a weird thing. It brings you great gifts with one hand, and it stabs you in the back with the other. ...:-D"
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