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Requirements and Planning

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In this section, we will cover the essential steps for gathering requirements and planning your capstone project. This phase is crucial as it sets the foundation for the entire project, ensuring that you have a clear understanding of what needs to be built and how to approach it.

Objectives

  • Understand the importance of requirements gathering.
  • Learn how to define project scope and objectives.
  • Create a project plan with milestones and deliverables.
  • Identify potential risks and mitigation strategies.

  1. Understanding Requirements

What are Requirements?

Requirements are the conditions or capabilities needed by a user to solve a problem or achieve an objective. They can be functional (specific behaviors or functions) or non-functional (performance, usability, reliability).

Types of Requirements

  • Functional Requirements: Describe what the system should do.
    • Example: "The system shall allow users to log in using their email and password."
  • Non-Functional Requirements: Describe how the system performs a function.
    • Example: "The system shall load the user dashboard within 2 seconds."

Gathering Requirements

  • Interviews: Conduct interviews with stakeholders to understand their needs.
  • Surveys/Questionnaires: Distribute surveys to gather information from a larger audience.
  • Observation: Observe users interacting with current systems to identify pain points.
  • Workshops: Organize workshops to brainstorm and gather requirements collaboratively.

Practical Example

**Project**: Online Bookstore

**Functional Requirements**:
1. The system shall allow users to search for books by title, author, or genre.
2. The system shall allow users to add books to a shopping cart.
3. The system shall process payments using credit cards and PayPal.

**Non-Functional Requirements**:
1. The system shall handle up to 10,000 concurrent users.
2. The system shall have a 99.9% uptime.
3. The system shall be accessible on mobile devices.

  1. Defining Project Scope and Objectives

Project Scope

The project scope defines the boundaries of the project, including what will and will not be included. It helps prevent scope creep, which can lead to project delays and budget overruns.

Defining Objectives

Objectives are specific, measurable goals that the project aims to achieve. They should be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound).

Practical Example

**Project Scope**:
- **In Scope**:
  - User authentication and authorization.
  - Book search functionality.
  - Shopping cart and checkout process.
  - Payment processing.
- **Out of Scope**:
  - Integration with third-party book suppliers.
  - Advanced recommendation engine.

**Objectives**:
1. Launch the online bookstore within 6 months.
2. Achieve a user satisfaction score of 90% or higher.
3. Process at least 1,000 transactions in the first month.

  1. Creating a Project Plan

Milestones and Deliverables

Milestones are significant points in the project timeline, while deliverables are tangible outputs produced during the project.

Gantt Chart

A Gantt chart is a visual representation of the project schedule, showing tasks, durations, and dependencies.

Practical Example

**Milestones**:
1. Requirements Gathering (2 weeks)
2. Design Phase (4 weeks)
3. Development Phase (12 weeks)
4. Testing Phase (4 weeks)
5. Deployment (2 weeks)

**Deliverables**:
1. Requirements Document
2. Design Specifications
3. Source Code
4. Test Cases and Results
5. Deployment Plan

Sample Gantt Chart

Task Start Date End Date Duration Dependencies
Requirements Gathering 01/01/2023 14/01/2023 2 weeks
Design Phase 15/01/2023 11/02/2023 4 weeks Requirements
Development Phase 12/02/2023 06/05/2023 12 weeks Design
Testing Phase 07/05/2023 03/06/2023 4 weeks Development
Deployment 04/06/2023 17/06/2023 2 weeks Testing

  1. Identifying Risks and Mitigation Strategies

Common Risks

  • Scope Creep: Uncontrolled changes or continuous growth in a project's scope.
  • Resource Availability: Key team members may become unavailable.
  • Technical Challenges: Unforeseen technical issues may arise.

Mitigation Strategies

  • Scope Creep: Clearly define and document the project scope. Use a change control process.
  • Resource Availability: Have backup resources and cross-train team members.
  • Technical Challenges: Conduct technical feasibility studies and have contingency plans.

Practical Example

**Risk**: Scope Creep
**Mitigation**: Implement a strict change control process and regularly review the project scope with stakeholders.

**Risk**: Resource Availability
**Mitigation**: Identify backup team members and ensure knowledge transfer.

**Risk**: Technical Challenges
**Mitigation**: Conduct a technical feasibility study and allocate time for research and development.

Conclusion

In this section, we covered the essential steps for gathering requirements and planning your capstone project. By understanding and documenting requirements, defining the project scope and objectives, creating a detailed project plan, and identifying potential risks, you set a solid foundation for a successful project. In the next section, we will move on to the implementation phase, where you will start building your project based on the plan you have created.

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