Role: Ambassador User |  |
The Ambassador User generally comes from the business area being addressed and becomes an integral part of the development team.
Role Sets: DSDM Roles
Relationships
Additionally Performs | Find and Outline Requirements Detail Requirements Manage Iteration Plan Iteration Plan the Project Create Test Cases Run Tests Outline the Architecture
Modifies | Work Items List Project Plan Iteration Plan
Main Description
This role provides the key focus for design decisions. Working closely with the Project Manager, Developer(s), Tester(s) and the Architect, the Ambassador User drives the system's requirements, bringing input and ideas to the various sessions on behalf of the users; and keeping the other users informed of what is happening. The holder of the Ambassador User role must have the desire, authority, responsibility and knowledge to be able to ensure that the right system is built for the business. This does not necessarily imply a senior position within the organisation, but a level of empowerment during the project to fulfil the role and a clear allocation of time to participate in the project as required. ## Responsibilities Providing key input to business requirements and design sessions Communicating with other users and getting their agreement Providing input into prototyping sessions Reviewing documentation Reviewing and accepting delivered software Providing user documentation Ensuring user training is adequately carried out Organising and controlling user testing
Staffing
Skills | Knowledge of the relevant business area goals and the organisation politics High-level view of how the computer system should function to support the business Good communication skills Ability to disseminate knowledge and ideas.
Assignment Approaches | Ambassador Users should have a positive attitude towards the development since they will be exposed to a whole raft of new ideas and technologies that can be daunting. For some critical projects, it may be necessary for Ambassador Users to be on the project full-time, but this is often not possible and may even be counter-productive. It is perfectly acceptable for an Ambassador User to be part-time. However, the presence on the project needs to be continuous, e.g. at specified times of the day and/or on agreed days of every week.
Key Considerations
Ambassador Users must be representative of the entire community of users. The whole user community should see them as such - not just the user management. They must have authority delegated to them to make decisions and to guide the work of the developers. This is particularly important when considering changes of scope due to time limitations.
More Information
Guidelines | Ambassador User - Typical Phase by Phase Activities
This program and the accompanying materials are made available under the Eclipse Public License v1.0 which accompanies this distribution. OpenUP Copyright. OpenUP/DSDM Copyright.