Tony and I have a new book coming out in June: Visual Models for Software Requirements! Here is a sneak peek at what to expect. We start with an introduction to visualization in software requirements to explain what we mean by “models,” what the requirements modeling language (RML®) is, and why models are so important. We explain a categorization we apply to models called Objectives, People, Systems, Data (OPSD). There are also a couple of chapters that tie the models together, including explaining a Requirements Architecture and how the models are used together on different types of projects.
Beyond the introduction and the chapters that tie the models together, all of the remaining chapters are about one model each. Each chapter has a consistent format where we explain the model in context of real world cases, give you a template and an example from a real project, tell you how to create the model and how to use the model, and give you an exercise from a mock project to practice. The models we are planning to cover are:
Objectives Models
- Business Objectives
- Objective Chains
- KPIs
- Requirements Mapping Models
- Feature Trees
People Models
- Org Charts
- Use Cases
- Roles and Permissions Matrices
- Process Flows
Systems Models
- Ecosystem Maps
- System Flows
- System Interface Tables
- Decision Tables
- Decision Trees
- UI Flows
- Display Action Response Models
Data Models
- Business Data Diagrams
- Data Flow Diagrams
- Data Dictionaries
- State Tables
- State Diagrams
- Report Tables
If you’re interested in ordering the book, Amazon is taking advance orders now. If you’d like to review the book for your IIBA chapter or similar professional groups or publications, please leave a comment and we’ll connect with you ASAP.
