Thursday, September 27, 2012

It's rarely just a simple checkbox

My client said today, "We want to add a simple checkbox to ask the user [another question]."

Okay...let's see how simple it is!

Q: Do the users understand the wording of the question?
A: Not sure, but they should

Q: Where does that answer get stored in our destination system?
A: Nowhere, today

Q: Does the system storing the question have the same development cycle as the front end?
A: Nope

Q: What do you do with that information?
A: We would like to send it downstream to another group to save them time, but otherwise, it's not part of our core process

Q: How do the users provide that information today?
A: Using a different system that is part of the downstream process

Q: How does it differ from the [similar question you already ask]?
A: Not sure, because we don't know why we ask [similar question]

Aha. So, our simple checkbox needs:
  • Design specification
  • User testing
  • Development
  • QA Verification
  • Integration analysis
  • Release planning across systems
  • Destination system revisions (design, development and QA verification)
  • Downstream system revisions (design, development and QA verification)
  • Education and coordination with other groups
  • Process changes for the users
...and may not even need to be asked to begin with.

Simple!

1 comment:

  1. Excellent breakdown of a "simple" request. I just forwarded this entry to several of my clients.

    ReplyDelete