tech series
‘Use cases’ describe how your IT system will be used – at check-in, for example
What looks good on paper
can quickly become impractical under real life usage
required for a system. Formally known as ‘use cases’, these scenarios can be as light or as detailed as circumstances require, making them much easier to articulate and, more importantly, to modify. For example, a use case might describe the perfect scenario required for a successful check-in, but then go on to map the ‘extensions’ – all the many things that could go wrong, and which the system needs to be able to handle gracefully. In this situation, scenarios based on ‘forgot card’, ‘owes money’, ‘out of hours’ and so on can all be used to measure the best fi t of your prospective system. Nigel Maglione, chief fi nance offi cer of
Sports and Leisure Group, successfully applied this agile approach when implementing a new leisure management system for the operation of its 11 PlayFootball Centres. He explains:
“With over 2,000 individual player visits a week, combined with a range of scenarios unique to our small-sided football model, we needed a fl exible way to describe our requirements. Taking things in small steps enabled us to quickly identify what we really needed and what business processes we were prepared to change. This way, we could also get valuable input from actual users and not just people who thought they knew what was required.” By writing your requirements as
scenarios rather than features, you can keep your selection process on
56
track – particularly during product demonstrations where you, rather than the salesperson, are then able to drive the agenda.
avoid feature shopping During a software demonstration, it
can be all too easy to get dazzled by slick features or to be wooed by ‘the more features, the better’ approach. It’s much better, however, not to allow yourself to be distracted by the things you will probably never use. The Standish Group’s CHAOS
report asked the question: “Of the functionality which was delivered, how much of it was actually used?” An astounding 45 per cent of respondents said the functionality was never used, and a further 19 per cent said it was rarely used. In other words, even on so-called ‘successful’ projects, there can be signifi cant wastage. It comes back to the difference
between what the system does, versus how it does it in relation to your desired business process. Once you have your main scenarios described, categorise them into ‘must have’, ‘should have’ or
‘nice to have’. This will enable you to draw a line of minimum functionality below which you will not drop. Armed with the list of requirements
based on your particular operating scenarios, ask the salesperson to demonstrate how the system will behave in these circumstances, starting
Read Health Club Management online at
healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital
with your ‘must have’ list. This will quickly fi lter out those companies which can’t fi t your needs.
get into a dialogue, not a monologue Many operators want an arm’s length relationship with potential suppliers, expecting detailed written proposals and prices based on a lengthy requirements document. However, these are the very companies who often end up with the wrong system; the best solution can only be investigated jointly, through open and honest dialogue. It’s important to set aside suffi cient
time to allow suppliers to speak to key stakeholders so they can ask questions, seek clarifi cations and challenge stated assumptions: the results can often bring up surprising information that may change your requirements. Sean Maguire, managing director of
leisure management software supplier Legend, is clear about the need for such dialogue: “The customer is expert in its requirements and needs to describe the problem well, while the supplier is the technology expert and needs to solve the problem in the best way possible. Once the solution is proposed, the parties can debate it openly and reach a good decision together.” But if you don’t have the internal
resources to manage this dialogue, don’t be afraid to involve third party experts, says John Treharne, CEO of budget club
october 2011 © cybertrek 2011
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84