This Focused Performance Weblog is a "business management blog" containing links and commentary related primarily to organizational effectiveness with a "Theory of Constraints" perspective. TOC is noted for its applications in Project Management and Multi-Project Management (Critical Chain) and Operations Management (Drum-Buffer-Rope), as well as in Marketing, Strategic Planning and Change Management (TOC Thinking Processes). If you are on an archive page, current postings are found here.
Tuesday, September 23, 2003
PMI Congress Notes: Requirements Management for Improved Project Performance (Victoria Kumar) -- Requirements - capabilities that a product must meet to satisfy a user's need to solve a problem. Functional (what it does), non-functional ( quality of doing: performance, usability, reliability). Leading cause of project failure...ineffective requirements management processes (inability to manage scope creep). Requirements -- features, functions -- product scope. Work to deliver them is project scope.
Development - Gathering - Identify stakeholders. Collect known reqs (needs and constraints), clarify, organize, prioritize, record, document. Result...common understanding of users' expressed needs. Tools...workshops, facilitated meetings, interviews, focus groups, JAD performed by skilled reqs analysts and facilitators.
Development - Definition - Requirements Definition Documentation (specs), statement of work, WBS, Use case
Development - Analysis - Discover unknown reqs. Uncover users' needs not expressed. As early as possible in project life cycle. Stakeholder analysis, RDD review/approval, Reqs Traceability Matrix (linking RDD to development plan, functional specs, tests), skilled Reqs Analyst.
Verification - Assures stated reqs satisfied. Analsys of how reqs are addressed in development plan, user acceptance testing (old functions as well as new), validation. Formal acceptance required. Early, continuous, sufficient customer involvement.
Change Management - Change Control Procedure, Board. (fp - More necessary the more detailed you develop reqs up front as opposed to in a JIT manner. I'm beginning to appreciate the agile message more and more.)
Challenges - Unavailable users, too many user groups, no reqs skills, no clear business processes, users can't articulate needs. Can't get out of test mode. Lack of clear acceptance criteria. Buy-in to change control. Enforcement.
Benefits - Opportunity to cross train staff. Discovery of new reqs. Collaboration...
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