This presentation highlights some of the challenges with requirements capture processes, proposes a requirements life cycle / framework for better management, ownership and tracking of requirements and describes what constitutes a high quality requirement. The key takeaways are driven home through a simple yet effective pasta salad illustration.

1. Requirements Management Presented by Varun Poddar, PMP Sponsored by The Talener Group PoddarCo 09/29/09 © 2009 PoddarCo

4. Requirements: Life Cycle 09/29/09 © 2009 PoddarCo Poddar, Varun. (2009). A Project Manager’s Perspective: The Importance of Early and Thorough Requirements Capture from http://www.poddarco.com/papers

8. High Quality Requirements From “ Criteria of a Good Requirement,” by R. Young, 2004, from ralphyoung.net/artifacts/CriteriaGoodRequirement.pdf , Copyright 2004 by Ralph R. Young . Adapted with permission. 09/29/09 © 2009 PoddarCo Criteria Description Verifiable Can it be ensured that the requirement can be met (verified)? If not, success criteria for the requirement should be documented so it can be verified upon completion. Attainable Is the requirement achievable per the current system, scope, budget, resources, etc.? If not, document the constraining factor and revise the requirement. Complete Is the requirement defined in its entirety; are all conditions under which the requirement applies captured? If not, conduct additional requirements capture sessions with the originator of the requirement. Consistent Can the requirement be met without conflicting with other requirements? If not, conflicting requirements should be analyzed and aligned properly. Unambiguous Can the requirement be interpreted in multiple ways? If yes, requirement should be clarified or removed. Necessary Can the system, application, or project needs be met without the requirement? (Leads to must-have vs. nice-to-have requirements) Traceable Can the requirement be referenced throughout the system, back to origin or source? If not, the requirement should be researched further so that it can be aligned with broader project, program, or organization goals.