Tokyo, February 09, 2011
Fujitsu today announced a new approach to the method of requirements definition(1) for analyzing and proposing improvements in business processes, and building ICT systems that contribute to customer businesses. Starting April 2011, the Fujitsu Group in Japan will begin adopting the newly developed Tri-shaping methodology for projects over 300 million yen in principle.
Tri-shaping enhances, expands, and systematizes Fujitsu's new requirements definition methodology, which was announced in October 2009, and is composed of the following three methods:
1. shapingBR (shaping Business Requirement – formerly the new requirements definition methodology)
Business requirements formulation method for clarifying the needs(2) of management and business divisions, enabling solution generation and decision making.
2. shapingBP (shaping Business Process)
Business process formulation method that analyzes existing business processes and designs simpler and more flexible business processes.
3. shapingBS (shaping Business Specification)
Business specifications formulation method that reduces omissions and ambiguity in business process rules and accelerates ICT system development.
Fujitsu plans to offer a fee-based training service for customers beginning in the second half of fiscal 2011. This will enable Fujitsu to work together with customers to address challenges, ensure the development of ICT systems that contribute to business, and help speed up the pace of business transformation.
Background
In today's rapidly changing business environment, it is essential for companies to determine how to drive business transformation that will give them a competitive edge. Business processes and ICT systems serve as the underlying foundation for business, and must be capable of rapidly responding to change while being able to contribute to business. The process of requirements definition acts as a bridge between businesses and ICT systems and is an increasingly important link.
Fujitsu has brought together the know-how acquired through its hands-on field experience and comprehensively systematized it as Tri-shaping: a requirements definition method that helps accelerate business transformation and improve quality – two challenges commonly faced by customers. The company plans to employ the methodology in its future projects.
Three Methods of Tri-shaping
In defining requirements, companies are faced with a variety of challenges when implementing business processes and ICT systems that contribute to business. These include ensuring that requirements definitions accurately reflect the needs of stakeholders (management, business divisions, and ICT systems divisions) and improving the quality of requirements definitions to avoid having to make excessive revisions during ICT systems development. To address these challenges, Fujitsu developed the following three methods and has incorporated them into 15 different types of tools, including procedural manuals and analysis sheets. Starting April 2011, Fujitsu will begin applying Tri-shaping to its projects.
1. shapingBR (shaping Business Requirements) formulation method – solution generation and deciding needs
A method for clarifying and improving the accuracy of needs such as the objectives of business transformations, and the means to meet these objectives. By employing this method, companies can get a clear picture of how the objectives and means will impact management and business operations, thereby enabling them to determine the specific high-quality needs for developing business processes and ICT systems. As part of the expanded method, Fujitsu has enhanced the process of eliciting needs from stakeholders to enable the management of needs from not only customers' internal stakeholders, but external stakeholders in the areas of the environment and social contribution, as well.
* shapingBR is an expanded version of the new requirements definition methodology announced in October 2009
2. shapingBP (shaping Business Process) formulation method – business process analysis and design
A method for designing simple and flexible business processes. This method analyzes overly-complex and enlarged business processes, determines the key configurations, and simplifies and removes other unnecessary parts, thereby enabling the design of simple and flexible business processes, as well as ICT systems that can prepare unforeseeable changes in the business environment.
3. shaping BS (shaping Business Specification) formulation method – business specification elaboration
A method for correctly identifying all operational rules and conveying them in unambiguous descriptions to on-site business personnel and ICT system developers. This helps to reduce misunderstandings between business divisions and ICT system developers, reduce revisions during ICT system development, and accelerate the development process.
Features of Tri-shaping
1. Brings together know-how based on decades of experience
Based on the management and operational expertise that comes from handling 20,000 customer projects a year for different types of business processes in a wide variety of industries, in addition to over 30 years of experience in applying defined requirements, the 15 different types of tools in Tri-shaping contain significant know-how. The approach incorporates advanced international and industry standards, such as the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK)(3), as well as methods combining the practical wisdom accumulated at Fujitsu.
2. Improves the quality of requirements definition documents with original perspectives
With Fujitsu's original perspectives including methods to ascertain the essence of given operations or methods for uncovering business process patterns, the elaboration of requirements definition documents is supported. This enables improvements in the content quality(4) of requirements definition documents, which is the most difficult aspect of defining requirements.
3. Enhances the precision of requirement definition management processes
When defining requirements, it is essential to accurately manage and control the process, taking appropriate measures at the appropriate time while forming a consensus among the stakeholders, picking up the requirements, and monitoring progress. With Tri-shaping, Fujitsu has incorporated management methods that enable the requirements to be refined and decided upon before the deadline when the definition of the requirements have been fully approved by the stakeholders.
Since 2007, the Fujitsu Group has been engaged in the standardization and promotion of work processes and documents for defining requirements, nurturing the development of personnel skilled in defining requirements, and mandating that all projects over 300 million yen in principle, have their requirement definition documents evaluated. By promoting the Tri-shaping approach, Fujitsu will first train its personnel to be able to apply these methods to actual front-line operations. By doing so, Fujitsu will work together with customers to define requirements and contribute to the management and operational success of customers by helping to build appropriate ICT systems that enable them to flexibly adapt to changes in the business environment. Moreover as of the second half of fiscal 2011, by providing fee-based training services to customers, Fujitsu will help customers to nurture the development of employees who can facilitate the defining of requirements.
Application Target
Application to 100 projects by the end of fiscal 2011
