Requirements Elicitation starting 8/12/2020

[hamishmb]

So it's probably about time for me to start eliciting requirements for this system now, so I have the beginnings of a clearly defined project for the dissertation.

Ideally, this would involve some end users, but owing to COVID that will not be possible.

The next best thing would be to talk to fellow volunteers (all of you would be best) because together we can hopefully have quite a good view of what our visitors might want. I could also talk to WMT management and members of the board if we think they will have some useful insights.

I'm thinking a good way to kick this off might be for me to draw up a loose agenda for a meeting, and then anyone interested could join via Teams or Jitsi? I'll need to takes notes and record the audio from this meeting, and I'll summarise the important points somewhere in these forums when done. It seems a good idea to have this scheduled and organised by the end of the week.

Does that sound like a good way to make a start to you guys?

[TerryJC]

Hamish,

By all means we can have a Meeting about this, but I am still confused as to how you intend to separate the Requirements for your project from the Requirements for broadly the same thing that we created back in 2017 for the Canford volunteers, (see https://wmtprojectsforum.altervista.org ... ss_1.0.odt)

Did you see your system being fundamentally different to this? I don't mean implementation (and there are some specifics on this in those Requirements, such as target hardware), but what the Mobile Visitor GUI will have to do.

[hamishmb]

Terry,

Having briefly revisited that requirements document, it seems apparent to me that the requirements could be similar at the highest levels, as it would still need to display a view of the river system, and at least some of the butts groups.

However, the requirements are likely to be quite different in other respects, because there's more of a possibility for user interaction here via the mobile device they use, and we may not want the same level of detail in all situations.

For example:

On the desktop visitor GUI, it seems probable that given a large enough screen, a fairly detailed view of all the components of the river system would be possible at once, on a single page (or view as it were). However, it seems unlike this would be possible (or provide a good experience) on a mobile device, so we will need to consider different approaches to work around this problem, such as:

• The possibility of displaying more detail as the virtual map is zoomed.
• Having a menu where the user could select from eg:
  • An overview of the whole system in low detail.
  • A zoomed in view for specific details of a subsystem, for example the matrix pump.
• A page where historical data or statistics could be shown to present yet another view of the system.

The main change will be the increased potential for user interaction, which allows potential new or changed requirements like the above, but also could allow for completely new ideas such as:

• Simulations/animations/videos to show how particular components of the system work like the matrix pump, or balancing water.
• A high-contrast mode for users with poor vision.
• Support for different languages.
• A voice over or guided tour of the system.
• And so on - there are a lot of different possibilities.

At the very least I would like to go over the requirements we decided for the desktop interface, but because of all the differences in use and context and usability with mobile devices it seems quite likely to me that we may want to change features, or have additional features.

Does that help clarify what I'm thinking?

[PatrickW]

I don't feel like I have much of a stake in the business requirements side of things. I wasn't really involved in previous decisions/discussions about visitor GUIs. Obviously I can offer opinions.

Saying it will not be possible to involve end users owing to Covid does strike me as a bit of a cop out though!

There are always going to be ways of attempting to elicit the opinions of visitors or potential visitors, if you really need to. For example, I am sure my family members would not object to answering a few questions in a short survey, if it came to it.

The real question is whether it is actually necessary, worth the effort and done in a way that upholds the reputation of the organisation and is sanctioned by the powers that be.

Based on the way other projects have been done, I suspect the answer might be that the organisation would prefer to justify the basic requirements based on what the organisation already knows about visitors, or using a suck-it-and-see approach, rather than necessarily doing a round of intensive market research up front, but I'm not the one say that really.

I know you said you want a meeting, but I've thought of some questions to raise, so I may as well write them down:

The requirements you've just mentioned to Terry, and the requirements in the requirements document for the existing GUI project, all seem quite detailed. The details have to be addressed, but do we have anything higher level? I feel like we've skipped a step here. What's the big picture? Why are we having a mobile visitor GUI and what are the aims in doing so?

If, for example, the purpose is to inform and entertain visitors so that they learn something, enjoy their visit and tell all their friends, then that might lead to a different outcome than if the purpose was to make people spend more money in the shop, or to recruit new volunteers to help maintain the river system. The purpose might seem obvious, but I for one don't actually know 100% what it is, and I think it's worth being clear about it, because the other requirements flow from it.

I would have thought an important thing to consider for a mobile GUI is where and when people are going to use it. If people are walking around with their phone, then they might want to stop and watch the relevant parts of the river system in action while referring to the GUI. Perhaps there could be markers at those points with QR codes, or short codes for people to type in, to bring up the relevant information. Or, are there any points where we would want to try to somehow discourage people from lingering? Alternatively, would we expect people to use this GUI in one of the seating areas, or while stood on the high ground near the giant chess set, where they could get a physical overview? Will we be encouraging people to pay attention to the physical water butts and other infrastructure as points of interest, or is the focus more on the logical representation of them?

In the (hopefully) short term, Covid restrictions might alter the way people use this. Maybe they can't linger as much in the narrower parts of the site, or certain areas are closed off to them.

How does this work in groups of visitors, like a family or a group of adult friends? Do we want to make this something that people will share with the rest of their group, or something that everyone will use individually? That probably has some bearing on the design of the GUI too.

Are there any requirements in terms of branding or colours? I would hope that any branding keeps out of the way of the main functionality.

[hamishmb]

Saying it will not be possible to involve end users owing to Covid does strike me as a bit of a cop out though!

Yeah, you're right. I don't personally know anyone who visits the model town with any regularity, but if you do then it seems like a good idea to gather their thoughts to me. A survey would probably do nicely, though I'll have to take some time designing one.

The real question is whether it is actually necessary, worth the effort and done in a way that upholds the reputation of the organisation and is sanctioned by the powers that be.

Based on the way other projects have been done, I suspect the answer might be that the organisation would prefer to justify the basic requirements based on what the organisation already knows about visitors, or using a suck-it-and-see approach, rather than necessarily doing a round of intensive market research up front, but I'm not the one say that really.

This is very possible, I guess that's a good one to discuss on the call maybe?

The requirements you've just mentioned to Terry, and the requirements in the requirements document for the existing GUI project, all seem quite detailed. The details have to be addressed, but do we have anything higher level? I feel like we've skipped a step here. What's the big picture? Why are we having a mobile visitor GUI and what are the aims in doing so?

If, for example, the purpose is to inform and entertain visitors so that they learn something, enjoy their visit and tell all their friends, then that might lead to a different outcome than if the purpose was to make people spend more money in the shop, or to recruit new volunteers to help maintain the river system. The purpose might seem obvious, but I for one don't actually know 100% what it is, and I think it's worth being clear about it, because the other requirements flow from it.

Primarily I would say entertainment and educational value. However, this is just another thing that we need to establish really - my view on why it's useful is not necessarily the same as everyone else's, especially the visitors and the management.

would have thought an important thing to consider for a mobile GUI is where and when people are going to use it. If people are walking around with their phone, then they might want to stop and watch the relevant parts of the river system in action while referring to the GUI. Perhaps there could be markers at those points with QR codes, or short codes for people to type in, to bring up the relevant information. Or, are there any points where we would want to try to somehow discourage people from lingering? Alternatively, would we expect people to use this GUI in one of the seating areas, or while stood on the high ground near the giant chess set, where they could get a physical overview? Will we be encouraging people to pay attention to the physical water butts and other infrastructure as points of interest, or is the focus more on the logical representation of them?

In the (hopefully) short term, Covid restrictions might alter the way people use this. Maybe they can't linger as much in the narrower parts of the site, or certain areas are closed off to them.

This sounds like a nice idea, but as you say I think COVID might get in the way in the short to medium term. Additionally, I think an existing issue we have for the mobile audioguide and quiz is that not many people are aware it exists, so it'd be good to try to come up with ways to combat that. Might also be good to add some form of statistical generation to that system to get an idea of how much it is used.

How does this work in groups of visitors, like a family or a group of adult friends? Do we want to make this something that people will share with the rest of their group, or something that everyone will use individually? That probably has some bearing on the design of the GUI too.

Are there any requirements in terms of branding or colours? I would hope that any branding keeps out of the way of the main functionality.

Maybe a bit too-open ended for a quick reply here to do it justice?

Essentially though, these are exactly the kinds of questions I've been thinking of. The reason for a call in the first instance is that it's a lot more time-efficient than doing loads of long posts here, for the initial discussion. I could create a requirements document/heavily edit the desktop visitor GUI requirements document during that call to cover what we discussed and post it here for comments and refinement.

I feel like once we've got the land of the land, so to speak, it'll be easier to discuss refinements this way. Either way, it'd be most ideal to have the requirements fairly well defined by the end of December, though the cut-off for that is when the module starts in February - it's just good to have everything in good shape at that point

Does all that sound reasonable?

Hamish

[hamishmb]

I've done all this talk of calls, but haven't asked when is best for other people.

I can be flexible, but afternoons and evenings are best for me. Weekends are also okay. I can do any day from tomorrow onwards (though it'll take me a small amount of time to find a good way to record the call).

What would everyone else's availability be?

[hamishmb]

NB: Currently seeking extra confirmation that I'm allowed to begin this process now, though I'm pretty sure I am. I'll probably hear back very soon so no need to delay discussions about availability.

[PatrickW]

I don't personally know anyone who visits the model town with any regularity, but if you do then it seems like a good idea to gather their thoughts to me.

I didn't mean to imply that I knew people who visit regularly. More like: I know people who have visited at least once in their life, and people who might consider visiting (again or for the first time). And not many of them. I was really trying to make a more general point that you wouldn't necessarily have to go to the Model Town and interview people who are there, which seemed to be what you were implying you wouldn't be able to do because of Covid.

I may have misread what you meant by end-users. I assumed you meant mainly visitors by that, but now I realise you could have been using the term in a stricter sense to refer to all end users, whether visitor or otherwise. But the point stands, either way.

Just to be clear, the questions I posed were things I thought we might like to try and answer as part of a requirements gathering exercise, rather than necessarily things I was asking you personally.

I probably need to avoid this Friday for calls.

I'm not really clear about the purpose of the call. Do you want to gather requirements directly from us, or do you want to discuss the broader question of requirements? I can contribute questions (like the ones I already posed), but probably not many answers. If it's answers you want, then I may not be your man.

[hamishmb]

I don't personally know anyone who visits the model town with any regularity, but if you do then it seems like a good idea to gather their thoughts to me.

I didn't mean to imply that I knew people who visit regularly. More like: I know people who have visited at least once in their life, and people who might consider visiting (again or for the first time). And not many of them. I was really trying to make a more general point that you wouldn't necessarily have to go to the Model Town and interview people who are there, which seemed to be what you were implying you wouldn't be able to do because of Covid.

I may have misread what you meant by end-users. I assumed you meant mainly visitors by that, but now I realise you could have been using the term in a stricter sense to refer to all end users, whether visitor or otherwise. But the point stands, either way.

Just to be clear, the questions I posed were things I thought we might like to try and answer as part of a requirements gathering exercise, rather than necessarily things I was asking you personally.

Ah okay, that's fair enough. I was referring to visitors, but of course that depends on there not being any other end users - which I guess is probably another thing to discuss.

I probably need to avoid this Friday for calls.

I'm not really clear about the purpose of the call. Do you want to gather requirements directly from us, or do you want to discuss the broader question of requirements? I can contribute questions (like the ones I already posed), but probably not many answers. If it's answers you want, then I may not be your man.

Avoiding Friday is fine. I may or may not be able to do tomorrow depending on time and the response from the OU, so planning from weekend onwards is probably safer. I've also realised I'll need to make at least a brief list of points to go over, and it'd probably be good to give that to all of you ahead of time.

You're all stakeholders, or at least potentially interested parties with useful insights, so it would be both gathering requirements and broader questions. I'll be able to give exact details after I've gotten the okay from the OU and have prepared my list of points.

[hamishmb]

The OU people have confirmed I can make a start.

What's everyone's availability over the next week or so?