Even today the numbers of software projects failure are still high.
Somehow software managers continue to rush into projects without even
thinking why past projects failed. According to an industry research, a
majority of project managers do not receive adequate trainings or know
how to plan a project. Many project managers confused a project plan
with a project schedule. A schedule is only a small part of a project
plan; it usually takes the form of tasks complete within a timeline. The
project plan is a roadmap providing guidance on the priority of
activities, the scope of work, the life cycle, the method and tools to
be used. It identifies customers, users, business strategy, quality,
risks, and how project costs and people will be managed.
Most projects fail due to bad requirements. This is the number one issue that causes scope change, which leads to more time and budget necessary to complete the project. That is why the job of requirements engineer or business analyst is important but few companies have these roles and few schools teaching this skills. Many companies expect that project manager should be responsible for project requirements and this is a big mistake. Requirements and customer relationships require a different skills and a lot of efforts and a busy project manager cannot adequately manage the project and the customers at the same time. This is also where some management textbooks failed to address. Bad requirements or poorly defined requirements will lead to a bad project plan. Since the project plan reflects the work, the resources, the budget, and time necessary to satisfy requirements, it is easy to see the importance of getting the right requirements and the project.
A requirements engineer is trained to work with customers and ensure agreement from all customers before project planning. A requirements engineer work with customers to collect their needs, understand their problems and document them in a requirements specification. Customers must review the requirements documents and approve before the planning phase of the project. Requirements engineer work with project manager to translate these requirements into the project scope statement, as well as the major components that will satisfy the scope. There are several essential elements that need to be included in the project definition:
• A description of the business problem and the solution to that problem
• A description of the benefits of the project (the business case)
• A definition of the project vision, goals, scope and budget
• A list of the major deliverables which, when delivered to customers will completely satisfy the requirements of the project)
• Project committed delivery dates
The project definition is the first part of project planning where the project team will be involved to breakdown these requirements into smaller components. The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is the foundation of the project plan. It is a hierarchical logical structure that represents all the work necessary to produce all the project deliverables.
By spending more efforts in the beginning, the project can avoid unnecessary requirements changes and project managers can organize the project to better chance of success.
Prof John Vu
Carnegie Mellon UniversityMost projects fail due to bad requirements. This is the number one issue that causes scope change, which leads to more time and budget necessary to complete the project. That is why the job of requirements engineer or business analyst is important but few companies have these roles and few schools teaching this skills. Many companies expect that project manager should be responsible for project requirements and this is a big mistake. Requirements and customer relationships require a different skills and a lot of efforts and a busy project manager cannot adequately manage the project and the customers at the same time. This is also where some management textbooks failed to address. Bad requirements or poorly defined requirements will lead to a bad project plan. Since the project plan reflects the work, the resources, the budget, and time necessary to satisfy requirements, it is easy to see the importance of getting the right requirements and the project.
A requirements engineer is trained to work with customers and ensure agreement from all customers before project planning. A requirements engineer work with customers to collect their needs, understand their problems and document them in a requirements specification. Customers must review the requirements documents and approve before the planning phase of the project. Requirements engineer work with project manager to translate these requirements into the project scope statement, as well as the major components that will satisfy the scope. There are several essential elements that need to be included in the project definition:
• A description of the business problem and the solution to that problem
• A description of the benefits of the project (the business case)
• A definition of the project vision, goals, scope and budget
• A list of the major deliverables which, when delivered to customers will completely satisfy the requirements of the project)
• Project committed delivery dates
The project definition is the first part of project planning where the project team will be involved to breakdown these requirements into smaller components. The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is the foundation of the project plan. It is a hierarchical logical structure that represents all the work necessary to produce all the project deliverables.
By spending more efforts in the beginning, the project can avoid unnecessary requirements changes and project managers can organize the project to better chance of success.
Original source:
0 comments:
Post a Comment