Why focus on requirements?

I just read an interesting article from Bob Larivee of AIIM (‘Requirements, we don’t need any requirements’ ) about the importance of requirements. He writes ‘Know where you want to go and how you want to work then address the technology and you will achieve higher levels of success.’

I find this a very good summary of the importance of requirements. We often get project requests in which a few written lines explain the needs of the customer. And each time I am wondering ‘what do I miss here and what should I ask the customer’. The biggest problem is that often the customer himself doesn’t know exactly what he needs. And if he does know, it is clear in his mind, but this clearness has to be communicated to us, the knowledge has to be transferred.

I just read an interesting article from Bob Larivee of AIIM (‘Requirements, we don’t need any requirements’ ) about the importance of requirements. He writes ‘Know where you want to go and how you want to work then address the technology and you will achieve higher levels of success.’

I find this a very good summary of the importance of requirements. We often get project requests in which a few written lines explain the needs of the customer. And each time I am wondering ‘what do I miss here and what should I ask the customer’. The biggest problem is that often the customer himself doesn’t know exactly what he needs. And if he does know, it is clear in his mind, but this clearness has to be communicated to us, the knowledge has to be transferred.

I just read an interesting article from Bob Larivee of AIIM (‘Requirements, we don’t need any requirements’ ) about the importance of requirements. He writes ‘Know where you want to go and how you want to work then address the technology and you will achieve higher levels of success.’

I find this a very good summary of the importance of requirements. We often get project requests in which a few written lines explain the needs of the customer. And each time I am wondering ‘what do I miss here and what should I ask the customer’. The biggest problem is that often the customer himself doesn’t know exactly what he needs. And if he does know, it is clear in his mind, but this clearness has to be communicated to us, the knowledge has to be transferred.

I just read an interesting article from Bob Larivee of AIIM (‘Requirements, we don’t need any requirements’ ) about the importance of requirements. He writes ‘Know where you want to go and how you want to work then address the technology and you will achieve higher levels of success.’

I find this a very good summary of the importance of requirements. We often get project requests in which a few written lines explain the needs of the customer. And each time I am wondering ‘what do I miss here and what should I ask the customer’. The biggest problem is that often the customer himself doesn’t know exactly what he needs. And if he does know, it is clear in his mind, but this clearness has to be communicated to us, the knowledge has to be transferred.

‘Know where you want to go’

This is where requirements should start: describe the context; describe the business context, the current situation and the scope of the project. And in most requirements I get to see, people forget to write about this. They simply start right away with their specific project needs and the underlying database. But the reader of such document won’t understand anything unless he is able to put it into the right context.

‘Know how you want to work’

Next to requirements, this is the single most important aspect of project success: clear knowledge + agreement on how to work. Often people prefer ‘tell me what it costs and just start working’. In a situation where a customer and a supplier have to start cooperating, the rules of the game have to be clear. There needs to be a clear mutual understanding of how the project will be developed, what is expected of each party, which phases will be pursued.

A project should be split up into clear phases. The first phase is always the functional requirements gathering phase. And for this phase, time should be assigned to the supplier in order to clear up everything. The second phase should define the technical structure, the systems that will be used, database structure. And only after this thorough preparation, the actual building phase is started.

The main problem is that in order for the supplier to come up with an estimate of the workload, phase 1 has to be completed (and in bigger projects also phase 2). But the customer usually just wants to know ‘what does it cost’ and isn’t ready to pay for the hours spent in phase 1. So phase 1 has to be limited in time, otherwise the supplier will invest too much time and money in making offers, which affects the project and the eventual quality.

In summary, ‘good requirements’, contain context (where we want to go), process (how we want to work) and a clear functional description of all the needs, supported by wireframes or screenshots. These ingredients give a project a fair start and greatly increase the chances of success.

‘Know where you want to go’

This is where requirements should start: describe the context; describe the business context, the current situation and the scope of the project. And in most requirements I get to see, people forget to write about this. They simply start right away with their specific project needs and the underlying database. But the reader of such document won’t understand anything unless he is able to put it into the right context.

‘Know how you want to work’

Next to requirements, this is the single most important aspect of project success: clear knowledge + agreement on how to work. Often people prefer ‘tell me what it costs and just start working’. In a situation where a customer and a supplier have to start cooperating, the rules of the game have to be clear. There needs to be a clear mutual understanding of how the project will be developed, what is expected of each party, which phases will be pursued.

A project should be split up into clear phases. The first phase is always the functional requirements gathering phase. And for this phase, time should be assigned to the supplier in order to clear up everything. The second phase should define the technical structure, the systems that will be used, database structure. And only after this thorough preparation, the actual building phase is started.

The main problem is that in order for the supplier to come up with an estimate of the workload, phase 1 has to be completed (and in bigger projects also phase 2). But the customer usually just wants to know ‘what does it cost’ and isn’t ready to pay for the hours spent in phase 1. So phase 1 has to be limited in time, otherwise the supplier will invest too much time and money in making offers, which affects the project and the eventual quality.

In summary, ‘good requirements’, contain context (where we want to go), process (how we want to work) and a clear functional description of all the needs, supported by wireframes or screenshots. These ingredients give a project a fair start and greatly increase the chances of success.

‘Know where you want to go’

This is where requirements should start: describe the context; describe the business context, the current situation and the scope of the project. And in most requirements I get to see, people forget to write about this. They simply start right away with their specific project needs and the underlying database. But the reader of such document won’t understand anything unless he is able to put it into the right context.

‘Know how you want to work’

Next to requirements, this is the single most important aspect of project success: clear knowledge + agreement on how to work. Often people prefer ‘tell me what it costs and just start working’. In a situation where a customer and a supplier have to start cooperating, the rules of the game have to be clear. There needs to be a clear mutual understanding of how the project will be developed, what is expected of each party, which phases will be pursued.

A project should be split up into clear phases. The first phase is always the functional requirements gathering phase. And for this phase, time should be assigned to the supplier in order to clear up everything. The second phase should define the technical structure, the systems that will be used, database structure. And only after this thorough preparation, the actual building phase is started.

The main problem is that in order for the supplier to come up with an estimate of the workload, phase 1 has to be completed (and in bigger projects also phase 2). But the customer usually just wants to know ‘what does it cost’ and isn’t ready to pay for the hours spent in phase 1. So phase 1 has to be limited in time, otherwise the supplier will invest too much time and money in making offers, which affects the project and the eventual quality.

In summary, ‘good requirements’, contain context (where we want to go), process (how we want to work) and a clear functional description of all the needs, supported by wireframes or screenshots. These ingredients give a project a fair start and greatly increase the chances of success.

‘Know where you want to go’

This is where requirements should start: describe the context; describe the business context, the current situation and the scope of the project. And in most requirements I get to see, people forget to write about this. They simply start right away with their specific project needs and the underlying database. But the reader of such document won’t understand anything unless he is able to put it into the right context.

‘Know how you want to work’

Next to requirements, this is the single most important aspect of project success: clear knowledge + agreement on how to work. Often people prefer ‘tell me what it costs and just start working’. In a situation where a customer and a supplier have to start cooperating, the rules of the game have to be clear. There needs to be a clear mutual understanding of how the project will be developed, what is expected of each party, which phases will be pursued.

A project should be split up into clear phases. The first phase is always the functional requirements gathering phase. And for this phase, time should be assigned to the supplier in order to clear up everything. The second phase should define the technical structure, the systems that will be used, database structure. And only after this thorough preparation, the actual building phase is started.

The main problem is that in order for the supplier to come up with an estimate of the workload, phase 1 has to be completed (and in bigger projects also phase 2). But the customer usually just wants to know ‘what does it cost’ and isn’t ready to pay for the hours spent in phase 1. So phase 1 has to be limited in time, otherwise the supplier will invest too much time and money in making offers, which affects the project and the eventual quality.

In summary, ‘good requirements’, contain context (where we want to go), process (how we want to work) and a clear functional description of all the needs, supported by wireframes or screenshots. These ingredients give a project a fair start and greatly increase the chances of success.