Software Engineering Planning Activities

Complete the following activities in groups or pairs as specified by your instructor.

Activity P1:

Using the POS System Statement of Needs document create a list of system “features”. Note that a feature is a function initiated by the user to accomplish a goal. An example in a banking ATM system might be “Withdraw Cash”. Depending on the starting point for describing the system, some (or all) of these features may have been identified. This is a good starting point, but should not stop the development team from looking for functions that have not been explicitly stated. This will help to establish the “scope” of the project.

Activity P2:

Using the lists generated by the groups, create a composite list of features for the project. Using this list, go back into groups and prioritize the order in which features should be completed and why. Compare results with the rest of class and again arrive at a composite list features ordered by priority.

What influences which order features are delivered in?

• Customer priority, business value – system could be useful in a partial state
• Development priority – select a feature that helps to define the initial design, ideally a feature that touches many classes and helps to create a design skeleton, or decide on architecture.
• Features that once implemented help in making requirements clearer
• Mitigating Risk – attack technically risky features first