Caliber Tip: Exporting Traceability Diagrams to a PDF or image file

The traceability diagram feature in Caliber RM is pretty nifty. Rather than viewing traceability relationships in the traceability matrix, it allows you to see those relationships mapped out diagrammatically. One of the problems with the traceability matrix is that it can be printed, but there is no native functionality in Caliber that allows you to save the diagram as an image. This can be problematic if you want to show the diagram to anyone who doesn't use Caliber. Well, not to fear! There are actually two ways to save a view of the traceability diagram so that you can distribute it to stakeholders who do not use Caliber.

The first method does not require any additional software, but will only save an image of the diagram and none of the metadata:

1. Open Caliber RM and create a traceability diagram
2. Adjust the view of the traceability diagram to your liking.
3. Create a screen capture of the active window by clicking Alt + Print Screen.
   
4. Open Microsoft Paint
5. Paste either by clicking Ctrl + V, or through the "Edit" menu

You've now pasted the diagram into paint and can save the diagram as a .jpg , .bmp, or .gif. This works pretty well, but I much prefer the following method--exporting the diagram to a .pdf:

For this method, you need a good Print-to-PDF utility. I really like pdf995, because it also allows you to convert your Microsoft Word 2007 documents to pdfs, which comes in handy in all sorts of situations. Once you've installed your utility, do the following:

1. Open Caliber RM and create a traceability diagram
2. Adjust the view of the traceability diagram
3. Choose, "Print" from the "File" menu in the traceability diagram window.
4. In the Printer drop-down, choose "PDF995" or whatever utility you have installed.
   
5. Do NOT check the "Print to File" box.
   
6. Click "OK".
7. You will be prompted for a location to save the file to as well as what you would like to name the file. Name your file and Click "Save"

That's it! I prefer the .pdf method because, although it is not as easily modified as a .jpg or .gif, it displays a nice header and some metadata information about the diagram.

Do You really Believe in What you Do?

I have a question for all of you BA/ RE/PDM people in the world. Do you really believe in what you do for a living, or is it just a job? My wife needs a new mode of transportation. Her current ride is 12 years old, has more than 240K miles on it and is beginning to require more repair than I’ve got time. So now we’re out looking at all the different vehicle options. I have to say that that I find this very frustrating because she really has no idea of what she wants. We get home from our first shopping trip and she can see that I am obviously put out by all of the "I don't know" answers she gave me while trying to find her a car. She says, “So I guess you don't want to go look again in the morning.”

Ding! The light bulb went off.

I told her we needed to figure out what our requirements were before I set foot on another car lot.

The next morning we set down with pen in hand and I started asking her what was important to her -What her needs were. We created a nice long list of items. Next, we looked at each item on the list to determine what need each of the items addressed. Finally, we prioritized the wants from the needs. We talked about number of passengers, baby seat mounts, fuel efficiency, heated seats, number, size and placement of cup holders, as well as just about anything else you can imagine. I now have a more defined idea of what she needs and what she wants in her next car, but more importantly, so does she. After all of the headache, I wondered why I did not complete the exercise sooner. This is what I do for a living. I help customers define their needs, identify requirements, separate wants from needs and prioritize it all.

If it works everyday for the job, why not use it at home? It’s hard to beat having a job that’s so helpful in so many situations.

When was the last time you found your BA/RE work to be helpful outside of work?

Why Business Analysis Matters More During A Recession

In a recent blog post, I wrote about creating successful projects with fewer resources. Given the state of the economy at the end of 2008, that seemed an appropriate topic. Unfortunately for us all, the start of 2009 has been worse, and there are definitely fewer resources around. Here's a list of just A FEW of the technology companies that have announced layoffs in 2009: NEC - 20,000 people, Sprint Nextel - 8,000 people, Intel - 6,000 people, Microsoft - 5,000 people, Ericsson - 5,000 people, Motorola - 4,000 people, Texas Instruments - 3,400 people, and EMC - 2,400 people.

The question now isn't how to do more with less, it's how to make sure you're around to do anything at all. While there are any number of reasons why each of us wants to keep his or her job, business decisions are typically made at the organizational level, not the individual level. Therefore, we need to focus our efforts on protecting the role of business analysis, rather than protecting the job of John or Jane Doe. Which of course begs the question, does business analysis still matter in these rough economic times? My position is that it matters now more than ever.

Good business analysis helps you make sure you build the right thing, at the right time, for the right reasons. By focusing on an organization's business objectives, tracing those to a viable solution with the necessary set of features, and then tracing further to detailed requirements, Business Analysts ensure that the organization's efforts are focused on the right things (features and requirements) for the right reasons (business objectives). In this economy, no company has the luxury to "build one to throw away" or even "fix it in release two." We all have to get it right the first time, and that's exactly what business analysis lets you do.

Additionally, business analysis has its name because of its focus on THE BUSINESS. For many years, there has been an ongoing discussion in publications like CIO Magazine about the importance of aligning IT with the business. Strong business analysis helps provide that essential link. By aligning IT efforts with the goals and objectives of the business, Business Analysts show that IT as a whole, and BAs in particular, are essential partners in the organization's success, not costs which easily can be reduced.

This is an excellent time to create or renew those partnerships. Everyone's swamped, they're probably overworked, and they're certainly stressed out about their jobs. In this environment, it's easy to lose sight of the overall goals and instead fall into fire-fighting mode. The noise, worry and stress all around means that we need strong business analysis work, done by great Business Analysts, to make sure that requirements don't get overlooked. A Business Analyst's ability to focus the team, elicit and document the requirements, and manage them through the storm can relieve a great deal of stress for a great many people on the project team.

Finally, BAs give companies options. When costs must be cut, many organizations look for new, less-expensive ways of doing what they've done (at a higher cost) in the past. One way I've seen organizations adopting to the times is by trying out Agile development methodologies. Rather than fearing new SDLC methodologies, Business Analysts should embrace them. In a time of change, BAs provide the necessary support and bridging required for any SDLC approach. If teams want to try Agile or iterative methods in order to speed time to market or reduce costs, BAs can support that transition by focusing the group on delivering the right thing for the right reasons even faster than before.

To close, I'd like to point out that I've said repeatedly that GOOD business analysis matters. The job title or the role within the company is only essential if we make it essential through consistent, quality work. If you focus that work on concrete business objectives, your work is tied directly to the company’s success. When your day-to-day actions prove how invaluable business analysis is, those actions will make the argument for you.