Tool Mentor:  Developing a Vision Using Rational RequisitePro

Purpose

This tool mentor describes how to use Rational RequisitePro to document a project vision. The Vision document is a general statement of the core project's requirements, and it provides the contractual basis for the technical requirements.

Related Rational Unified Process™ information: Activity: Develop Vision.

Overview

The Vision document (also called Product Requirements Document) provides a high-level—sometimes contractual—basis for the technical requirements. There can also be a formal Requirements Specification. The vision captures very high-level requirements and design constraints, to give the reader an understanding of the system to be developed. It communicates the fundamental "why's and what's" related to the project and is a gauge against which all future decisions should be validated.

Tool Steps

To document the vision using RequisitePro:

1. Create a Vision document
2. Create requirements in the Vision document

1. Create a Vision document

The Vision document contains the product features identified in the Activity: Elicit Stakeholder Requests.

To create a Vision requirements document:

1. On the Tool Palette, click Document > New. The Document Properties dialog box appears.
2. Type a name, description, and file name for the document.
3. At the Document Type drop-down menu, select "Vision Document Type". Click OK. The outline for the Vision document opens in the Word Workplace (the Rational RequisitePro Microsoft Word interface).
4. Replace the default instructional text with project-specific information.
5. In the Word Workplace, click RequisitePro > Document > Save.

For More Information

Refer to the following topics in the RequisitePro online Help:

• Creating a RequisitePro project (Index: projects>creating)
• Creating requirements documents (Index: documents>creating)

2. Create requirements in the Vision document

Create Rational RequisitePro requirements from product features outlined in the Product Features section of the Vision document. This enables you to manage requirement attributes in an Attribute Matrix, and helps you track traceability links between product features and software requirements.

Create requirements from product features outlined in the Product Features section of the Vision document. This enables you to manage requirement attributes in an Attribute Matrix and helps you track traceability links between product features and software requirements.

To create requirements in the Vision document:

1. In the Product Features section of the Vision document, select (highlight) the text that defines the requirement.
2. In the Word Workplace, do one of the following:
   • Right-click and select Create Requirement.
   • Click RequisitePro > Requirement > Create.
     The Requirement Properties dialog box appears.
3. Accept the feature (FEAT) requirement type.
4. Click the Attributes tab and set the Priority attribute to one of the provided values (Low, Medium, High). It's a good idea to record stakeholder priorities when you elicit stakeholder requirement requests. (See Activity: Elicit Stakeholder Requests.)
5. Select the Origin attribute and select an entry that represents the originator of that particular feature. This helps you keep track of the requestors of specific product features, so that you know who to contact if you need to clarify or negotiate a request.
6. At the Rationale attribute, type a reason for the particular feature. This helps focus the work on that feature to meet the intended need.
7. Click OK.
8. You can repeat these steps for each product feature outlined in the Product Features section of the Vision document. When you have finished, click RequisitePro > Document > Save in the Word Workplace.

To view the requirements and attributes:

1. On the Tool Palette, click Window > Show Views.
2. In the Views Workplace, click File > New View.
3. Select the Attribute Matrix view type, and select the FEAT requirement type, which you used in your Vision document.
4. Click OK. Review your feature requirements and their attribute values.

For More Information

Refer to the following topics in the RequisitePro online Help:

• Creating requirements in a document (Index: requirements>creating>)
• Assigning values to requirement attributes (Index: requirement attributes>values, assigning)
• Creating views (Index: Views Workplace>creating views)

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