How to Write, Document, and Manage IT Requirements

• Product Owners
• Business Analysts
• Requirements Engineers
• Business- and Customer-side Team Members
• Agile Team Members
• Subject Matter Experts (SME)
• Project Leaders and Managers
• Systems Analysts and Designers
• AND “anyone wearing the business analysis hat”, meaning anyone responsible for defining a future IT solution

Upon successful completion of this skill-building experience, you can:

• Identify the Value of High-Quality IT Requirements
• Apply 5 simple rules to improve the understandability of your requirements
• Categorize Business, Stakeholder, Solution (Functional and Non-Functional), and Transition Requirements
• Translate business needs into well-structured business requirement statements
• Write Stakeholder Requirements expressing the what and avoiding the how
• Assess whether IT requirements are in or out of scope for the project
• Write IT requirements that minimize the potential for misunderstanding
• Differentiate between quantitative and qualitative measures
• Recognize business rules and external constraints in Stakeholder Requirements
• Verify the “testability” of Solution Requirements
• Break business and stakeholder requirements into functional and non-functional components
• Drill-down business and stakeholder requirements to identify functional and non-functional solution-level requirements
• Decompose requirements and user stories to identify solution requirements
• Describe 16 common non-functional requirement categories
• Relate non-functional requirements to appropriate functional and informational components
• Baseline the business requirements to set the stage for managing change
• Develop an IT Requirements traceability matrix
• Present the business value of IT requirements management for your organization
• Plan to incorporate selected techniques to improve your performance on the job

1 The IT Requirements Enigma

The Requirements Enigma

• Current User Requirement Structures
• Exercise: Functional versus Non-Functional Requirements

2 Writing Business and Stakeholder Requirements

Writing Requirement Statements

• Business and Stakeholder Requirements
• Rules for a “Effective” Requirement Statement
• Reducing Complexity Increases Comprehension
• A Complete Sentence Forces a Complete Thought
• Think “What”, Not “How”
• Example: Creating Complete Sentence Requirements
• Exercise: Applying the Rules

Enforcing Project Scope

• Rules for a Relevant Requirement Statement
• Relevant Requirements
• Exercise 3: Components
• Common Components of IT solutions
• Requirements in Scope
• The Project Scope Statement
• Exercise: Requirement Statement Relevance
• Rules for a “Effective” Requirement Statement

3 Avoiding Ambiguity and Subjectivity

Minimizing Ambiguity

• Who Needs Clarity, Anyway?
• Misinterpretation Ruins Requirements
• Increasing Clarity of your Requirements
• The Challenge to Understanding
• Ambiguity Ruins Requirements
• The Importance of Asking Questions
• Rewriting Requirements to Reduce Ambiguity
• Exercise: Out-of-Box Thinking to Reduce Ambiguity

Testing the Understandability of Your Requirements

• Rules for an Effective Requirement Statement
• Understanding Non-Functional Requirements
• Clarifying Quantitative Performance Requirements
• Common Measurable Requirements
• Exercise: Clarifying Quantitative Requirements
• Quantifying Qualitative Requirements
• Exercise: Quantitative vs. Qualitative (Subjective)

Ambiguity Hides in Details

• Exercise: Analyzing Performance Components
• Constraints vs. Non-Functional Requirements
• Clarifying Constraining (Environmental) Elements
• Exercise: Business Rules From WasteTheWaist
• Exercise: Applying the Rules

4 Analyzing Business and Stakeholder Requirements

Decomposing Statements Reveals Solutions

• Discussion: Grouping Requirements
• Value of Grouping Requirements
• Potential Pitfalls in a Set of Requirements
• Identifying Inconsistent Requirements
• Exercise: Identifying Inconsistent Requirements
• Solution Requirements Are Specific

The Functional Perspective

• Functions Are Actions
• The Data Dimension
• The Problem Dimension of Requirements
• Functions and Informational Requirements
• Managing Informational Elements
• Exercise: Finding Informational Requirements
• Defining Informational Element Accuracy
• Precision and Currency of Data Elements

The Non-Functional Side of Requirements

• Types of Non-Functional Requirements
• Exercise: Non-Functional in Your Environment
• Non-Functional Requirements vs Ten Critical Questions
• Exercise: Functional Decomposition
• Worksheet: For Your Answer
• Non-Functional Performance Requirements Defined
• Evaluating Performance Requirements

5 Transforming Requirements for Clarity

More Dimensions to Consider

• Common Subjective Performance Requirements
• Exercise: Quantitative vs. Subjective Measures
• Exercise: Performance-related Functions and Data
• Decomposing Business Rules
• Business Rule and Constraint Examples
• Exercise: Subjective Requirements
• Stamping Out Subjectivity
• Exercise: Requirements Types
• Requirements Decomposition Revisited

6 Managing IT Requirements

Requirements Management Concepts and Techniques

• Key Aspects of Requirements Management
• Where Does the Requirements Management Plan Fit?
• Discussion: Requirements Management Challenges
• Requirements Repository
• Requirement Documentation Template(s)
• Requirement Management Tools
• Worksheet: RM Tool Requirements
• Requirements Repositories

Packaging and Presenting Requirements

• Possible Requirements Packages
• What is a Requirements Document Really?
• Common Requirement Containers
• The SRS or RDD Document
• Requirements Structure for an RDD
• Primary Requests for External Solutions
• Discussion: Request for Information
• Request for Proposal TOC
• Award Basis Criteria

Communicating Requirements

• Requirements Communications Plan
• Exercise: Your Requirements Communications Plan
• Reusing Requirements
• Requirements Re-use
• Exercise: Benefits and Challenges of Re-Use
• Critical Success Factors
• Exercise: Identifying Reusable Requirements

7 From Showtime to Go Time!

Personal Improvement Plan

• Understanding the Learning Curve
• Developing Your Personal Implementation Plan