- Paperback: 160 pages
- Publisher: John Wiley & Sons (6 Mar 2009)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0470437006
- ISBN-13: 978-0470437001
- Product Dimensions: 15.2 x 1 x 22.9 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,148,485 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
Telling Stories
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Product Description
Product Description
From System Designers to Top Management, Everyone loves a good story
Once upon a time, it was well understood that stories teach better than plain facts. Why then are most software requirements documents a baffling hodge–podge of diagrams, data dictionaries, and bullet points, held together by little more than a name and a staple? Telling Stories teaches you to combine proven standards of requirements analysis with the most ancient and effective tool for sharing information, the narrative. Telling Stories simplifies and refines the classic methods of Structured Analysis, providing organization, design, and old–fashioned writing advice. Whether you?re just getting started or an experienced requirements writer, Telling Stories can help you turn dull, detailed material into an engaging, logical, and readable story, a story that can make the difference for your project and your career.
- Learn why readers believe and remember what they learn from stories
- Work with team members to gather content, tell their stories, and win their support
- Use stories to find every requirement
- Create diagrams that almost tell the story on their own (while looking clear and professional)
- Explain everything important about a process
- Use precise language to remove the ambiguity from requirements
- Write a forceful executive summary that stands on its own and sells a project to senior management
- Summarize often to keep the reader focused on key issues
- Structure the document so every part has a clear place and purpose
From the Back Cover
From systems designers to top management, everyone loves a good story
Once upon a time, it was well understood that stories teach better than plain facts. Why then are most software requirements documents a baffling hodge–podge of diagrams, data dictionaries, and bullet points, held together by little more than a name and a staple? Telling Stories teaches you to combine proven standards of requirements analysis with the most ancient and effective tool for sharing information: the narrative. Telling Stories simplifies and refines the classic methods of Structured Analysis, providing organization, design, and old–fashioned writing advice. Whether you′re just getting started or an experienced requirements writer, Telling Stories can help you turn dull, detailed material into an engaging, logical, and readable story, a story that can make the difference for your project and your career.
Learn why readers believe and remember what they learn from stories
Work with team members to gather content, tell their stories, and win their support
Use stories to find every requirement
Create diagrams that almost tell the story on their own (while looking clear and professional)
Explain everything important about a process
Use precise language to remove the ambiguity from requirements
Write a forceful executive summary that stands on its own and sells a project to senior management
Summarize often to keep the reader focused on key issues
Structure the document so every part has a clear place and purpose
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
Intent on a great project to renew the earth, God calls upon Noah, the one man he can trust to carry out his plans. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
Intent on a great project to renew the earth, God calls upon Noah, the one man he can trust to carry out his plans. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.8 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Like a great college class, with a cool professor, 24 April 2009
By Rachel Cottone - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Telling Stories: A Short Path to Writing Better Software Requirements (Paperback)
"Telling Stories" offers the simple truth that people learn best through storytelling and that the best software requirements are plotted with this in mind. Having spent a good many years as a student, teacher, and technology writer myself, I appreciate a book that gets to the heart of communication and in the process makes me smile.
Ben Rinzler is a great storyteller and his funny insights into the workings of the workplace, with all its communication challenges, ring true. There is a lot of material here, including a surprisingly broad survey of different informing disciplines (the work of Joe Williams is referenced, for example). Despite the quantity of material covered, it never feels like a plod and has lots of good visuals and examples all the way through.
"Telling Stories" continues to be a good "go to" reference and it now lives on my desk at work, right between the computer and Strunk and White.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
a bit too thin for forty dollars, 26 Mar 2009
By arzewski - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Telling Stories: A Short Path to Writing Better Software Requirements (Paperback)
You don't see everyday a brand new book on requirements, so this one caught my eye. First thing I noticed is the price: $40. In my hands, judging from the thickness of the paperback, it felt I was holding a short handbook of style. There are some good thoughts in this book: examples of ambiguous and weak writing, and how to changed them to make them more active and measurable. There is a chapter on charts and how to improve them, by showing some chart nodes that seem to be mixing a state (static) with a process (action) and suggestions on how to improve what the chart maker is trying to communicate to the reader. One small item that i found a bit disappointing is that the words used in the language of defining requirements, such as SHALL, WILL, MAY was in a small paragraph towards the end. It's a good book to improve how to convey information in a more forceful and communicative way, but if you can get someone else to buy it, since those 140 pages are worth their weight in gold.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This book saved my life!, 20 Sep 2009
By Leora Bersohn - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Telling Stories: A Short Path to Writing Better Software Requirements (Paperback)
A month into a new job, I was given two weeks to gather and write business requirements for software, something I'd never done before. Thank God for Telling Stories, which was clear, witty, and above all instructive. I followed Ben Rinzler's step-by-step instructions and produced a document that made the clients happy. If you are new to requirements or need a refresher, this book is a lifesaver!
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