Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Visual Models for Software Requirements By Joy Beatty, Anthony Chen; O'Reilly Media

Visual Models for Software Requirements looks at the process of defining requirements from a creative perspective. The premise of the book is that business requirements are not two dimensional like the typical list of "shall" statements. They're layered and multi-faceted mirroring the complexity of business requirements. This book lays out a series of diagramming techniques to help discover all of the intricacies of system flows, business data, and process flows from the level of abstract business goals to individual UI elements.

For someone who is visually minded, these diagrams can be used to plan a system from "soup to nuts." This kind of model reminded me of design thinking, usability design, and system architecture combined. There was very little that I found new, but the way models combined to present a holistic picture is fantastic. It is also an easy to book to read or reference. Each type of diagram has its own chapter with templates, examples, and pitfalls to watch out for. That makes it easy to pick and choose which models best fit your solution and find all the information you need in a concise manner.

Overall, this is a great book to have on the shelf.