Paperbuilding - making it work

Iterate - don’t try to finish any element in a single bash. Get all the main documents started, and they’ll feed each other - each rake-through sheds new light and builds the model up. Sessions should be weekly, a maximum of three hours each, spread over a month (or two, max).
Include - have representatives of all the stakeholders involved. Give each one a document to keep on top of - no one is allowed to just sit and watch. Once they join in, they will own the project, and will fight for its success.
Lead - have a strong chair to keep things moving. Don’t allow people to get bogged down in detail – make a note and give it to them as homework, to sort out later and bring it to next week’s session. Make sure the business need leads the IT and not the other way round.
Test - stick it up on the wall and get users, funders, and managers to imagine using it. For example, I want to send a booking confirmation. How? Where is it done in the system? Where is the data held? How does it get there? Success lies in the detail.

Before you start paperbuilding

Resources

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