Requirements quality is tangible. This hard-hitting 10 minute video microcast presents the concrete rules that will allow you to quickly assess a requirements document and determine if it will likely lead to an effective implementation.
“flawed requirements trigger 70% of all project failures.”
In evaluating requirements quality, it is essential to ask yourself the following key questions:
1. Is the structure of the requirements document reasonable? Good requirements should not be overly technical or complicated. High quality requirements start with the business process and address what the business is trying to achieve, rather than focusing on how the goals will be accomplished.
2. Did the team define the data needed? There is more to requirements excellence than just being organized. There cannot be any ambiguity in a requirements document.
3. Are the interdependencies documented? This will come from effective, cross-functional elicitation meetings. If interdependencies are not captured, you will have major problems.
4. What is the quality of the objectives? Are they specific, measurable, achievable, results oriented, and time bound?
5. Was the process for getting the requirements efficient for stakeholders? Great requirements are all about process rather than the document itself. If the process for eliciting requirements is poor there is likely something wrong and you have a high probability of failure.
This session is designed for the members of project steering committees that want simple, practical methods for evaluating risk in business requirements.