Control Requirements
All projects need proper Requirements control
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To be able to Control Requirements you must first have a plan. Your Requirements Management plan is part of the overall Project Plan. There are a lot of the same activities as in Project Management but the focus is on identifying the Requirements Management entities. Requirements Control includes but it not limited to:
One of the most important parts of the Planning activity is obtaining support from your sponsor. You must ensure adequate resources can be allocated to this Phase so that the Business Requirements are really nailed down. Sometimes I hear people say, “Oh, we’ll figure that out when we get to it”. Or, “We don’t have time for that because everybody’s too busy.
The least amount of time spent in Requirements Planning, the more likely a mistake will occur and the more costly it will be to fix it down the road. Project Scope
This section explains the scope of the project and what areas will be affected during the project. For example, “The inventory system currently being used by the warehouse clerks”. Control Requirements Activities What are the activities being used in each of the Requirements Management steps.
Control Requirements Resources This section will describe what resources need to be allocated to Requirements Management. Will there be enough funding in place to support the activities described in the Activity Section? Will the right people be available at the right time? Is there a financial commitment as well as a time commitment? Do you require access to existing systems and their documentation?
Do we need special space available such as meeting rooms? Etc.? Control Requirements Schedule
How long will this activity take place? When are people available? Are there time constraints such as holidays or regulatory deadlines (e.g.January 1, 2000). When are people taking their holidays? Control Requirements Stakeholders
Who will be affected by this project? What are their concerns or problems? What would they like to see fixed? Are they willing to participate in the various activities and what are their schedules? Control Requirements Changes Once the plan has been completed then it is used to execute the subsequent steps of the Requirements Management process.
You must also control subsequent changes and how they will impact the Requirements Management activities and future SDLC phases. Summary
The Requirements Management Control Activity includes the planning of the Activities, Resources, Schedules and Stakeholders necessary to perform the Requirements Management Phase and the controlling of those entities during the execution of the complete Systems Development Life Cycle.
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