Establishing the Product Vision and Project Scope

80 Part II Software Requirements Development
Conflicting Business Requirements
Business requirements collected from multiple sources might conflict. Consider
a kiosk containing embedded software, which will be used by a retail store's
customers. The kiosk developer's business objectives include the following:
• Generating revenue by Ieasing or selling the kiosk to the retailer
• Selling consumables through the kiosk to the customer
• Attracting customers to the brand
• Making a wide variety of products a vailable
The retailer's business interests could indude the following:
• Maximizing revenue from the available floor space
• Attracting more customers to the store
• Increasing sales volume and profit margins if the kiosk replaces manual
operations
The developer might want to establish a high-tech and exciting new direction
for customers. The retailer wants a simple turnkey system, and the customer
favors convenience and features. The tension among these three parties
with their different goals, constraints, and cost factors can lead to inconsistent
business requirements. The project sponsor must resolve these conflicts before
the analyst can detail the kiosk's system and software requirements. The focus
should be on the fundamental objectives for the product that will deliver the
maximum business value ("increase sales to new and existing custorners"). lt's
easy to be distracted by superficial product characteristics ("innovative user
interface that attracts customers") that don't really state the business objective.
lt's also up to the project sponsor (or sponsors) to resolve conflicts among
various business stakeholders, rather than expecting the software team to
somehow figure these out. As more Stakeholders are identified and more constituencies
with competing interests climb aboard, the risk of scope creep
increases. Uncontrolled scope creep in which Stakeholders overstuff the new
system in an attempt to satisfy every conceivable interest can cause the
project to topple under its own weight, never delivering anything of value.
Resolving such issues is often a political and power struggle, which lies outside
the scope of this book.