Tool Mentor: Eliciting Stakeholder Requests Using Rational ClearQuest
Purpose
This tool mentor describes how to capture and manage stakeholder requests using
the various features provided by Rational ClearQuest®.
This section provides links to additional information related to this tool mentor.
Overview
Rational ClearQuest helps the analyst effectively gather stakeholder requests
by providing a complete and consistent enhancement request form. This form can
be customized as needed for your development workplace. All requests are logged
in a single central change request database. Internal stakeholders (team members)
use the ClearQuest Windows or Web application to submit enhancement requests;
external stakeholders can use the ClearQuest Web application. After enhancement
requests have been submitted, the analyst can further qualify these requests
by adding information to each request.
Tool Steps
This document contains the following steps:
- Log enhancement requests using ClearQuest Web
- Organize enhancement requests in ClearQuest
Windows
- Run queries
For detailed information regarding configuring and customizing ClearQuest forms, see the ClearQuest online help and the Rational ClearQuest
Administrator's Guide.
1. Log enhancement requests
using ClearQuest Web
ClearQuest provides a Web application that can be configured
to provide restricted functionality to non-ClearQuest licensees. With restricted
access, a ClearQuest Web user can submit change requests and is provided access
to a single administrator-defined ClearQuest query. This unique feature allows
key stakeholders who do not belong to the software team building the system to
use the Web to provide feedback. Additionally, these
stakeholders remain informed of the progress of the request and retrieve updated
status by running the limited access query.
To file an enhancement request using ClearQuest Web:
- Start your browser and type the ClearQuest Web URL.
The ClearQuest Logon page appears.
- Type your user name and password, and then click the Logon
button. You are now connected to the ClearQuest database on the Web.
- From the Table of Contents list on the left-hand side of the screen,
locate the Operations heading and click the subheading Submit a
Record. The Select record type page appears.
- In the record type list, select Enhance Request and click
the Submit button. The Submit Enhance Request form appears; it consists of three sections.
- In the Main section, type information in the Headline, Origin,
Customer Priority, and Description boxes.
- In the Attachment section of the record, attach any available
supporting information for the enhancement request by clicking the ADD
button and linking to the external file.
- In the third section of Contact Information, enter all applicable customer
and submitter information (name, company, e-mail address).
- Click OK. The enhancement request is created and
added to the central database.
For detailed information regarding configuring ClearQuest Web to provide restricted functionality to non-ClearQuest licensees, see Editing Web Settings in the ClearQuest Web online
Help.
2. Organize
enhancement requests in ClearQuest Windows
After the enhancement request is submitted, ClearQuest
provides additional fields organized by tabs to complement the originally
submitted information on the record form. The Analysis tab, the Resolution
tab, and the Notes tab allow the analyst
to balance the submitter information with team-specific information, such as
marketing priority and target release, for organizational purposes. The
analyst uses this information to query the enhancement request database to
determine which requests to implement in each release.
To organize enhancement requests using ClearQuest Windows:
- Select the enhancement request and click Action
> Modify on the right side of the Enhancement Request form. This
activates the request and allows you to edit the record.
- Click the Analysis tab to activate it.
- Set values for each of the related fields by clicking the arrow in
each box (Marketing Priority, Request Type, Product, Product Area, Target
Release, and Owner) and selecting the required values. Note: These
fields can be customized as needed.
- When you have finished editing, click Apply to save the changes.
The enhancement requests can now be queried based on the set values.
To view additional information on organizing your enhancement
requests, see the white paper Using Rational ClearQuest and Rational
RequisitePro for Analysts, which is available in Let's Go AnalystStudio.
For information
regarding queries and customizing fields, see the ClearQuest online Help.
ClearQuest provides a powerful query interface that
allows the analyst to query all defects and enhancement requests in the
connected project. The following are queries that the analyst might find helpful
in managing enhancement requests. The analyst might run the following queries:
- Isolate those enhancement requests that are targeted for the specific
release being addressed. Because not all enhancement requests received can
be implemented in the current release, it is helpful to query all
enhancement requests using the "Targeted Release" field. This
query returns a working list of all enhancement requests that have been
triaged and designated for the release indicated in the query.
- List all enhancement requests that have not been associated with a
requirement. This query aids the analyst in viewing those enhancement
requests that are still under consideration, or in the queue, but have not
yet been assigned to a specific software iteration.
- Locate the number of occurrences or instances of the same enhancement
request. This query assists the analyst in determining how many times an
enhancement request has been submitted by stakeholders. This adds to the
weighting process to determine the importance of the request to the
stakeholders and the priority level.
- Distinguish between true enhancement requests and requests for new functionality. This query
shows the progress of the software development. Here the analyst can discern
whether the majority of the enhancement requests are to fix existing
functionality or if they require the addition of new features to the current
product.
The analyst can easily link approved current version enhancement requests with
valid requirements in the requirement database using the ClearQuest and RequisitePro
integration.
For more information
on creating queries in ClearQuest, see the ClearQuest online Help.
For More Information
For information regarding ClearQuest and RequisitePro integration, see the
tool mentor Managing Stakeholder Requests Using Rational
ClearQuest and Rational RequisitePro and the manual titled Getting Started:
Rational Suite AnalystStudio.
|