Principles to Remember for Better Requirements Management

To help you develop better requirements and improve your ability to manage both requirements and expectations throughout the project, review the following principles:

• Requirements definition is an evolutionary process. Plan your project approach and requirements management tools accordingly.
• The requirements definition process should consist of a combination of gathering techniques. The specific techniques you choose should be based on risks and characteristics of the project.
• The requirements review and approval process should facilitate clear understanding and engaged participation, and ensure feedback is properly handled.
• Requirements should describe what, not how.
• Requirements should avoid any unnecessary constraints.
• Requirements should be complete, explicit, realistic, and understandable by all parties.
• Requirements should be linked to the intended solution.
• Requirements should be prioritized.
• Listen; do not pre-judge or draw conclusions too quickly.
• Strive to convert expectations into requirements.
• Educate appropriate stakeholders on the requirements process.
• If requirements are for an enhancement, change, or addition to an existing solution, update the original requirements artifacts that define the total working solution versus relying solely on new, specific, separate artifacts for the requested change.
• Use a tool to manage requirements that meets the needs of the project, solution, and organization. CautionIf requirements are for an enhancement, change, or addition to an existing solution, update the original requirements artifacts that define the total working solution versus relying solely on new, specific, separate artifacts for the requested change.

Guidelines for Better Requirements

To avoid the common problems identified earlier and greatly increase your requirements definition prowess, note these guidelines:

• Focus on user experience. Understand how the user interacts with the targeted solution.
• Understand the user’s workflow.
• Understand the user’s work environment.
• Always ask “why?”
• Include other non-language exhibits or models as part of the requirements definition.
• To drive out unstated expectations, understand the following from each user representative:
  • What are the biggest problems now, and why?
  • What functions or features will be the most useful, and why?
  • What aspect of the new solution are you most anticipating, and why?
  • What are your quality and performance expectations for the final solution, and why?
• To help make better design decisions, define requirements in both present and future needs whenever possible.
• Identify each requirement with a unique ID.
• Document any accompanying assumptions.
• Use a quality checklist to improve the effectiveness of your requirements.
• Monitor and control changes to requirements.
• Whenever possible, involve the people who will be testing the targeted solution in the requirements definition process.
• Use a requirements traceability matrix (RTM) to link each requirement to one or more aspects of the final solution. This is a powerful tool to ensure that every requirement is accounted for and to better control “gold-plating.” TipLeverage development approaches that enable stakeholders to see the product as soon as possible. Early feedback helps ensure alignment on requirements and engagement from customers.

The Absolute Minimum

At this point, you should have a solid understanding of the following:

• The goal of managing expectations is to have a common set of expectations shared by all stakeholders in terms of what is being delivered, what it will accomplish, when, and at what cost.
• Managing expectations is more than managing project scope.
• The master principles of expectations management are the following:
  1. Get buy-in
  2. Take care of business
  3. Communicate the big picture
  4. Listen and be alert
  5. Take the stakeholders’ perspective
  6. Never assume
• Two key tools for managing expectations are kickoff meetings and requirements management.
• Requirements management mistakes to avoid:
  • Poorly written requirements
  • Incomplete set of requirements
  • Unstated expectations
  • Inflexible process
  • Inadequate definition process
  • Lack of stakeholder education
  • Ineffective review process
  • Using the wrong tool for the job
  • Focus on the user experience for better requirements
• Other key expectations management tips include the following:
  • Avoid surprises
  • Keep people informed of status (project health)
  • Avoid last-minute communications
  • Clearly communicate what is expected by team members

Figure 18.3 summarizes the main points.