Great BO Reports Come from Great Requirements

Diane Thierauf, Tammy Campbell-Green

Agenda
Introduction Report Requirements Requirements Management Tool Usage Notes Business Objects Universe Report Characteristics
-

Generic Requirement Specific Requirements

Traceability

RCG Systems Development Reporting Projects

Majority of recent projects 2001+ done using Caliber RM as requirements management tool
eLab QIS RenalNet PeopleSoft FastCap IRIS

Requirements Management Tool Benefits

Ease-of-use
Clean interface Easy to train on

Custom Configuration by Developers for Developers One source for requirements

Text description User defined attributes Links to external documents

Supports our methodology and lifecycle

Development Project Lifecycle

Definition
Concept Feasibility Prioritization

Development

Design
Analysis Design

Implementation Support

Development Functional Testing Load Testing User Acceptance Testing

Systems Development Report Requirements Methodology

Requirements definition specific to Business Objects reporting Customization of data elements One central requirements location Comprehensive definitions of all required fields Reuse of report requirements through versioning References to additional documents on the network

Specific Report Requirement Types

Customizable Allows full documentation of requirements Multi-User Access Provides a template guide

Template Instructions
Technical explanation of report and field characteristics Format and style recommendations Prevents incomplete requirements Helpful tips on certain issues

Universal Data Elements

Business Objects Universe Documentation
Describes all classes and objects in Universe Normally completed and maintained by Developer Trace Universe Objects to specific Reports -Pros

Universe change impact analysis

Personnel turnover -Cons Documentation maintenance Traceability maintenance

Report Consumers
Classify users into groups, based on security Define groups of reports, according to subject Assign reports to groups of users

Allows developers to publish reports appropriately

Generic Report Features

Prompts Sections Report Headers Report Footers Additional Report Tabs

 Format

Specific Report Features (1 of 9)

Orientation: <Portrait vs. Landscape> Header: <Header Style 1> Body of Report: Body Style: <Crosstab, Graph, Other (Explain)> Text: Arial, 8 pt. Data Groupings: <List if present, including Headings for grouping (and see "Mockup")> Statistical Analysis: <Describe if separate calculations are needed - ex: Count, Std. Deviation...> Column Headers: Shading Blue, with white text, Bold Arial, 9pt. Use second ID field for test acronym Alerters: List any shading requirements, bold text requirements ex: Shade every other row, Bold Value when it is Abnormally High

Specific Report Features (2 of 9)

Report Sections: List any report sections (Hierarchical tree).
If universal report section does not apply, list the ones specific to this report. Example: Section Style 1 or Region Facility/Modality: Only show modality specific tests (See Fields for list of modality specific tests)

Footnote: Clinical and or usage comment sometimes needed for

medical/legal clarification. Position one line above Footer.

Footer: <Footer Style 2> Delivery Method: <print by customer as needed vs. BCA, etc>

Specific Report Features- (3 of 9)

Fields: <List out the fields that should be included on the report here (from the Business Objects Universe)>
Example: 1. Class 1/Data Item 1 2. Class 1/Data Item 2 3. Class 2/Data Item 2 4. Class 2A/Data Item 99

Specific Report Features- (4 of 9)

Selection Criteria
<Describe user selection criteria and/or implied selection criteria>

User selection criteria - Report prompts that a user must enter at the time the report is refreshed. These prompts should trace to the Report Prompts Section. Note if it is a required entry and define default value if required.
By user selection criteria-example:

Facility
Patient Type of Diabetes Collection Date Begin: SDm30 (system date minus 30 days). Implied selection criteria: A condition of the report that is not selected by the user-example: Include the following tests: BUN, HCT, ALB..... Choose only Monthly orders

Specific Report Features- (5 of 9)

Sort Criteria
<Describe sort criteria (if any) here> Example: Facility Name ascending Patient Last Name ascending

Specific Report Features- (6 of 9)

Tabs
<Describe all report tabs required in the document> Example: By facility By Physician By Month By Patient By Staff

Specific Report Features- (7 of 9)

Logic
<Describe any logic such as rules, calculations, priorities, etc. here> Example: If three labs are documented within the first month of the quarter, average the lab values and show the average on the report

Specific Report Features- (8 of 9)

Help Text
<Type in required Help text, and the HTML version to be copied and pasted into reports.> English version: HTML version:

Specific Report Features- (9 of 9)

Link to Mock-up Document
<Reference report mockup from References tab> The mockup report should be used for clarifying any aesthetic report items or column headings...

Best Practices
Through extensive research, all potential report characteristics have a home Allows:
Thorough documentation of all report requirement details Standardizes the documentation process Useful for all BI projects

Helpful Tools
Traceability: Impact analysis for change management Baselining: Version control Requirements Comparison: What changed

Whats Hard About Requirements Management?

Organizing and specifying requirements requires discipline Methodology is elusive and requires discipline People go back to old ways of tracking requirements Maintenance of requirements has value, but takes work

Final Thoughts
Helps us know where we are Adds predictability to the development process Requirements repository is our Bible Consumers report higher satisfaction with delivered products Analysts and project managers love this (Seasoned) developers love this
Questions? tgreen@renalcaregroup.com dthierauf@renalcaregroup.com