Look For the To-Dos
Have you ever seen something like this listed in a requirements document?
Financial analysts need to manage the month-end close process
If you’re like me, you may wonder, “what does that mean, exactly? How might one manage a month-end close process?”
The problem is the word manage; it can mean nearly anything. Without being a finance expert, you can understand that you manage a month-end close differently than you manage a summer intern—but, for some reason, we use the same word.
When I encounter a similar requirement, I ask this:
What would someone put on their to-do list to finish this work?
In this case, it might be:
Tally the accounts receivable
Tally the accounts payable
Send a profitability report to the executive team
Now we’re getting somewhere! You can begin to imagine what a user might do to complete those tasks, and how you can help that user.