It’s no secret that the extensive and continuous engagement of appropriate customer representatives is a critical success factor in software development. Part III sheds some light on specific aspects of customer participation.

Agile development methodologies frequently use the phrase on-site customer. I applaud the concept, but I disagree with the implication that a single individual can be found to serve as the voice of a diverse customer base in most situations. Instead, Chapter 6, proposes using a small group of product champions to work with requirements analysts to develop and validate requirements. Chapter 7, suggests many questions the analyst might ask when working with customer representatives to develop both business and user requirements. The chapter describes the purpose of each question so that you can think about how to adapt them to suit your personal interviewing style.

Reviewing the requirements specifications and associated deliverables is a vital element of customer engagement. Unfortunately, busy customers often don’t participate constructively—or perhaps at all—in requirements reviews. Chapter 8, suggests some strategies that might increase the chance that the right people will take the time to find requirements errors at an early stage through peer review.