"digging at a requirement's
roots" ~ The Metamodel Inquiry Technique
In our last WEBinar we introduced the dual tool of framing
a requirement in a "problem" and
"solution" frame, this time, we're going to
demonstrate a technique called the MetaModel. The
Focus. The
MetaModel is a mentation technique. Mentation means the
process of thinking (especially thinking carefully). And this WEBinar will
turn you into a speech investigator. This technique
will enable you to recognize and eliminate vagueness and
ambiguity in your customer's requirements, in fact, in their
speech, from the "get-go" instead of finding out
what they really meant when the project is nearly complete.
The vagueness and ambiguity in requirements may cause
confusion, misunderstanding, and cause us to waste a great
deal of time.
"Everything is vague to a degree you do not realize till you have tried to make it precise." ~Bertrand Russell, The Philosophy of Logical Atomism
WEBinar Format. After a brief orientation and demonstration,
we will cover the 10 "metamodel violations" of
generalization, deletion, and distortion. Your customers
will use these "exceptions" as they tell you their
requirements. By hearing these speech irregularities,
you can use special questions to help your customers
understand their true needs: perhaps better than they
originally knew themselves. If you have ever had to deal
with scope creep, building something that it turned out wasn't
needed, required, or asked for, or failing to build a thing
that was asked for (if only you'd understood!) this WEBinar is
for you.
What you'll be able to do: With the tools introduced in this
WEBinar (and practice), you will be able to:
- Recognize cues in your customer's speech that indicate even
they "don't know what they're talking about" (So,
how could you?)
- Learn the appropriate question or response - or, in fact,
learn an inquiry system - to "challenge," probe, and
recover deleted or distorted information
- Understand how this is all part of the human condition and
yet controllable by you - the requirements gatherer. This is
"damage control" that everybody ought to be doing,
now!
Conducted Wed., September 6th, 2006
On demand Recording
More Detail
This program is an excerpt from an evening program during our 5-day
Managing Projects Well public seminar, as well as our program, Words
That Change Minds.
Note: for more detail on the key learning objectives of the
full course go to Managing
Projects Well. |
