Requirements Maturity Model Overview

REQUIREMENTSMANAGEMENTMATURITY
Overview of the Maturity Model

Maturity Levels

Project Performance by Maturity
On-time, On-budget, Meeting Requirements and Objectives

Key Differences from Level One to Level Four Organizations:
On budget: 41% vs 81%
On time: 32% vs 82%

(a capable and fully institutionalized requirements practice)
(undefined, informal requirements practice)
from 2009 IAG BA Benchmark Survey. N=437

Requirements Performance by Maturity
Projects Delivering Expected Functional Requirements

54% of projects deliver all required functionality in Level One organizations vs. Level Four organizations where over 90% met functional requirements

% of projects meeting functional requirements
% of missed requirements*
* Of those projects that do not deliver 100% of expected requirements

Requirements Expenditure by Maturity Level
Actual Spend on Requirements Definition and Management

BA Benchmark Study shows a direct correlation between the amount of effort applied to requirements discovery and management, and the overall maturity of organizations.
Higher maturity companies dedicate more effort to ensuring that requirements are right versus their low requirements maturity counterparts.

% of project budget spent on requirements

Requirements Effort by Maturity Level
Actual Weeks Spent on Requirements Definition and Management

2009 BA Benchmark study showed that the average $1 million project required twelve and nineteen weeks to prepare requirements.
IAG believes this is too long and is the direct result of sub-optimal processes.

Average weeks spent (per $1M project) on requirements definition*

Cost of Poor Requirements by Maturity Level
% of Development Budget consumed by poor requirements practices

On average, poor Requirements Practice wastes 34% of an organization’s IT budget.
An organization at Level 2 can cut waste by ¼ by improving their requirements maturity to Level 3

Requirements Maturity Model

The Requirement Management Maturity Levels
Level 0: Incomplete
Characteristics
No defined requirements process, practices
No standardized templates for requirements deliverables
No specialized requirements software tools used
No Business Analyst position
At this level, the practice of business analysis essentially does not exist. Requirements definition is not regarded as a necessary activity in the project management or application management lifecycles. Some areas may have some capable individuals involved in some requirements definition; however, it is generally unsupported.

Level 1: Performed
Ad-Hoc
Characteristics
Informal requirements process often reliant on related standards
Practices applied are based on individual skill and choice
No defined requirements process, practices
No standardized templates for requirements deliverables
No specialized requirements software tools used
Requirement activities are not defined across the organization, resulting in unpredictable, poorly controlled and inconsistent results There may be areas within the organization use industry or locally developed best practices, but there is no organizational direction and oversight.

Level 2: Defined
Individual-Centric
Characteristics
All critical requirements activities are defined
Select activities and standards (e.g., in elicitation and definition) being implemented
Inconsistent use of process, techniques, technology and documentation standards
Inconsistent results
Focused on communication, training and development activities to lead to Level 3
At this level, formal definitions for the business analysis practice are introduced along with the provision of select standards. Although requirement activities are defined, and may be fully understood, there is little consistency above a team or project level.

Level 3: Implemented
Consistent
Characteristics

All processes and practices well defined with clear standards and workflow guidelines.
Process and documentation standards mandated and managed through governance process
Formal organizational infrastructure
Requirements Management Office or Center of Excellence, etc.
More consistent and improved results
Focused shifts to institutionalization of standards through measurement and management activities

At this level, the business analysis practice is refined and begins to be integrated with application and project management lifecycles. Standard deliverables are produced, often with the support of requirements software tools. Practices and deliverable standards are managed centrally and routinely audited.

Level 4: Institutionalized
Becoming Part of the ALM Culture
Characteristics

Results routinely measured through a balanced scorecard framework
All requirements-related processes, practices and standards are integrated within project, product and application management workflows
Processes universally followed according to defined guidelines and standards
Practitioners fully trained and qualified
Achieving consistent, Tier 4 results¹

Business analysis, requirements definition and management are recognized as essential value added capabilities in the application, product and project management lifecycles.
¹Target balanced scorecard measures for Level 4 organization

Level 5: Optimized
Adaptive
Characteristics

Focused on
Process optimization
Advanced capabilities
Innovations and extensions
Evaluation and implementation of enhanced, advanced and/or emerging processes, methods, and technologies
Organization is able to adapt to quickly and easily adapt to changes or advancements in business, products or IT

The requirements organization is continually improving its processes, technology and people. Performance is measured, managed and optimized. Various continuous improvement, business process management and performance management systems are in place to manage and optimize how requirements are defined, managed and used to achieve the organization’s business objectives.

The Capability Areas
Multiple Capability Areas
Six Dimensions of Requirements Management Maturity

Process
Integration and management of the requirements lifecycle
The level of definition, implementation, integration and management of the requirements lifecycle.
Planning, elicitation, definition, analysis, change management and implementation
May be applicable to multiple methodologies and/or development approaches
The mature requirements organization follows a well defined requirements process (or processes) with clear standards and task definitions that are integrated with other practice areas throughout the organization, are consistently followed, and are measured, management and continuously improved upon.

Process
Integration and management of the requirements lifecycle

Practices
Requirements Practices & Techniques
The definition and management of the various requirements practices and techniques. e.g.,
use-case modeling,
facilitating requirements discovery sessions,
writing user stories,
data modeling,
burn down charts,
business rule definition, etc.
In determining the maturity level, we look at :
Definition: the extent and formality to which these techniques are defined within the organization
Support: management support
Performance: in terms of consistency, efficiency and effectiveness of the techniques used

Practices
Requirements Practices & Techniques

Technology
Requirements Authoring and Management Tools
The level of:

Availability,
Implementation,
Support,
Standardization,
Integration,
Usage, and
Management

of software tools in support of requirements authoring, modeling, definition and management.

Technology
Requirements Authoring and Management Tools

Staff Competency
Developing Knowledge, Skill and Ability
The level of competency in the knowledge, skills, and ability of the practitioners involved in business analysis, requirements definition and management activities.
BA Competency Model

Analytical and Systems Thinking
Change Leadership
Client Relationship Management
Consensus and Agreement Building
Requirements Planning
Requirements Elicitation & Analysis
Requirements Management
Domain Knowledge

Staff Competency
Developing Knowledge, Skill and Ability

Organization
Infrastructure, Governance, Management and Support
Organizational infrastructure supporting requirements definition and management. e.g.,
Business Analysis Team
Requirements CoE
BA Competency Center
Requirements Management Office

Organization
Infrastructure, Governance, Management and Support

Deliverables
Work Products and Results
The work products and deliverables of the requirements process. e.g.,
Document or Report Templates
objects in a repository or requirements software tool
The standardization and management of the outputs or results

Deliverables
Work Products and Results

Requirements Maturity
Where are you? …and… Where should/could you be?