What is a requirement?
The American Traditions Dictionary defines a requirement as “Something that is required; a necessity”. PMI defines a project requirement as “the characteristics of the product, service or result that the project was undertaken to deliver”.
The overall nature of these definitions is a perfect illustration of the problem. If you ask ten individuals for the definition of a requirement, you will get ten different answers. It is no surprise that identifying and managing requirements is one of the biggest IT management problems.
Within the context of IT, a requirement should “identify the purpose, characteristics, features, functions and/or expected outcomes”. Unfortunately, business stakeholders and IT project teams have a different expectation when they discuss requirements. IT Processes must recognize these differences by acknowledging the following types of requirements:
Business Outcomes should be defined using measurements or accomplishment criteria. The talk concerning the expense of IT organizations is proportional to the inability to define considerable outcomes. Models of corporation advantages consist of:
- Improved functionality to cut back fees or raise worth
- Automation of manual processes to minimize effort
- Hazard Decrease Regulatory submission
Functional technical specs establish the facts working capacities that are required to achieve the organization final result. Functional prerequisite include:
- Input - The level of inputs and exactly how they have to be attained with the method (manual, stored data, interfaces)
- Business Suggestions … precisely what the system needs to do with all the data?
- Outcomes or Outcomes of the functional course of action mainly because it relates to the required organization result
- Features
Complex or Architectural capabilities standardize programs, take care of costs/quality, and properly reply to organization technical specs. These prerequisites are frequently not known to company. They contain:
- Services potential and comfort (servers, networks, etc.)
- Functional advice necessitates
- Needs and IT Best Practices
- Accepted Progress Languages and Operating Systems
Assigning responsibility for defining each requirement within the scope of the project is necessary. In order to manage changes and quality the absolutely has to be a strong link between business outcomes and functional requirements. In order to comply with technical requirements there needs to be a role that translates business requirements into functional requirements. When put into the context of the of the construction industry, this task is the responsibility of the architect.
The IT companies are still increasing this actually also and this will never be naturally discussed. Business Pros were made to have an understanding of techniques and enterprise to help out with this discussion. However, extremely little B/A’s have this mix of expertise. The Enterprise Creator should find out the standard attributes and exactly how it may need the company but most Organization Architects are extremely specific and do not have the business comprehension.
The long-term remedy of individuals complications makes it necessary that we first see the various different different specifications and improve our concise explanation capabilities and duties and devices using the business. Ultimately, a profession path needs to be produced where folks can learn the blend of company and technical comprehending vital to successfully coordinate different kinds of requirements.
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Nicholas Spanos, Principal Consultant, Computer Aid, Inc
Thirty years of experience in the IT industry developing and supporting applications, managing projects, and management consulting. For the last 10 years, he has analyzed the service delivery effectiveness of IT organizations and has managed the implementation of processes and tools for improving organizational effectiveness and agility.
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