Business Requirement Structure



A good business requirement structure must contain specific information. For example, let’s look at the following requirement.

“The system must include the new company products.”

This statement is not very specific and is not very measurable. It can be improved by adding some specific information.

First of all we should identify Who wants this requirements. Who has this need? This could be the “sales person”?

What result are they trying to achieve? It could be that they want access to information so they can show their customers. That information is the new company products.

When would they like this information? To be effective in their jobs, they probably want access to this information as soon as possible and sooner then the general public. So let’s qualify this and say one day prior to the new product launch.

So now let’s rewrite the requirement.

”The sales agent must have information about any new products one day prior to the product launch.”

Now let’s look at the structure of the business requirement.

The sales agent <---- who
must have information about <--- what result
any new products <---- what object
one day prior to product launch <--- qualifier

By using this structure the statement now indicates:

  • who would like this requirement – the sales person
  • what is the result they are looking for - have information
  • what is the object the requirement addresses - new products
  • what is the qualifier that is measurable – one day prior to product launch

As a result, this requirement is clearer, less ambiguous and measureable.

Clearly Put, a consulting company specializing in Requirements Management, has developed a good approach to Business Requirement Structure.


Summary

A good business requirement structure must contain specific information. It is composed of four distinct parts: 1) the user; 2) the result; 3) the object; and 4) the qualifier.

Requirementing Steps