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| Case Study |
National Cemetery Interment Scheduling System
Situation
This agency receives about a thousand phone inquiries each day regarding its services. Twenty clerks collect data, conduct background checks, qualify applicants, allocate resources, schedule funerals, etc.
The challenge
Because the scheduling process varies for different types of customers, constrained by different business rules, the challenge was to create requirements that cover all possible scenarios in compliance with appropriate business rules. Some types of customers appear frequently, while some seldom require services. Users, the clerks who directly interact with customers, do not know how many types of customers there are or their end-to-end processes. Clerks know what data to collect from a customer when they know the customer, but they do not know how many scenarios there are and what the system should do to support each scenario.
The UCSoft Solution
Step One: Create business process model - We created a business process model. First, we brainstormed all possible types of customers and found eight. Second, we identified process types according to the type of customer. Each type of customer receives only one type of service, which is the funeral service. Therefore each type of customer corresponds to a business process type. A total of eight business process types, four sub-processes, and fifteen tasks were identified. Due to similarities among different process types, sub-processes and tasks are reused whenever possible. Business rules were documented and grouped under business process types. The data model was created concurrently. Step one was delivered in six weeks.
Step Two: Create user model - By introducing technologies and user roles into the business processes, UCSoft derived distinct use cases. Each business process or sub-process corresponded to one or more use cases. Business rules were traced to specific use case steps. Nonfunctional requirements were documented. A wire-frame of the interface was created. Step two was delivered in six weeks.
Step Three: Create architecture - The use case model was translated into component diagrams.
Results
The business model precisely captured our client's business essence. These user requirements are precisely correct simply because they result from direct translation of business requirements. Accordingly, complete business and IT alignment, no intellectual rework, and little overhead such as monitoring, testing, and refactoring were achieved. |
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