Requirements Lifecycle Management Supplements Project Management and System Development Lifecycle Methodologies Requirements Lifecycle activities and quality of project / program outcomes are dependent upon Business Analysis (BA) leadership and capabilities as critical success factors. The ultimate BA value proposition is about continuously delivering sustainable value and profitability — in a landscape of increasingly more complex systems where change and new influences are
constant, innovation is mandated, and optimized deliver is essential: our consumer-empowered, global economy and new reality of the 21st century. The range, possibilities, and stages are reflected in this 4-level model:
As we consider Requirements Lifecycle methodology, we must determine where we are and want to be on this BA Value Proposition spectrum. Level 4 is “the new norm” – no longer “the holy grail”. Many companies are still struggling at or below Level 2, in spite of substantive investment and attention to project methodology improvement for many years. The trick to achieving Level 4 effectiveness is largely about 1) leadership alignment, 2) embracing Business Analysis capabilities as a strategic asset, 3) integrating Requirements Management methodology for optimal value, and 4) adopting appropriate enabling technologies for efficiency gains and higher-quality deliverables.
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Requirements Lifecycle Management Supplements Project Management and System Development Lifecycle Methodologies
Stakeholder and Business Requirements, Solution Scope, Constraints, Requirements Plan, Tracking
Agreed Protocol Change Control Approvals Signatures
Elicitation Elaboration Analysis Design / Prototype
Proposed Solution Design Validation, Prototype Feedback, Constructed Solution Testing, Traceability Oversight Regardless of the thematic implementation approach — Adaptive (Agile), Iterative, or Waterfall — the Requirements Lifecycle embodies these four focus areas of activities that are cyclical in nature and a subset of both project management and system development lifecycle methodologies. What may vary are the underlying activities, timing of those activities, and specific outputs. In addition, broadly defined BA capabilities may be delivered by generalists or specialized analysts and architects. Titles and job scope will vary by organizational design and must be appropriately aligned for efficient collaboration and throughput.
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Methodology Planning Guide V 1.4
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Requirements Lifecycle Management Supplements Project Management and System Development Lifecycle Methodologies
Focus Area
Relevant Activities and Considerations
Inputs
Outputs
Planning & Monitoring
1. Maturity alignment, complexity assessment and implications for methodology rigor and skill level 2. Integration and alignment with project and program lifecycle management 3. Software development lifecycle (SDLC) approach and alignment 4. Alignment of PM and BA leadership roles 5. Agreement on lifecycle approach 6. Business, technical, and information architecture alignment 7. Business process design alignment 8. Scope elaboration and approach validation 9. Stakeholder analysis 10. Testing strategy alignment 11. Alignment with relevant enterprise standards and governance 12. Selection of and access to enabling technologies 13. Agreement on elicitation approaches and artifacts 14. Agreement on business rule management 15. Agreement on approval process and signoffs 16. Agreement on single source of truth for all solution definition content 17. Agreement on expected reuse of content 18. Agreement on visual structures and use of models and modeling languages 19. Agreement on traceability management approach 20. Agreement on status reporting and escalation 21. Secure staffing and leadership commitment 22. Plan to address training needs or skill gap 23. Identify other key gaps with plan to close the gap 24. Risk Management 25. Communication Plan
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Approaches: SDLC aligned o Adaptive / Agile o Iterative o Waterfall Process aligned o Six Sigma o Lean Also o Plan-driven o Change-driven
Key Reference: IIBA® BA-BOK
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Earlier Project Artifacts and Content for Reuse Relevant Retrospectives Enterprise Standards and Governance Enterprise Analysis and Discovery Output Change / Transformation Goals and Vision Business Case / Problem Statement Voice of the Customer Relevant Competitive Benchmark Data Value Proposition Known Constraints Success Criteria Failure Criteria Enterprise Architecture (business, information, data) Project Management Methodology SDLC Methodology Process Design Methodology Job Descriptions and Boundaries
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Lifecycle Approach Requirements Lifecycle Management Plan Solution Scope & Approach (prioritized features to be included and what is excluded) Success Measures Key Dependencies Key Assumptions Use Case domain diagram or comparable holistic solution context visual of TO BE solution Preliminary Requirement Elaboration (actor, capability / characteristic, goal, customer appeal, and innovation grade) Design Approach Testing Approach Initial Stakeholder Impact Analysis Status Reporting Guidelines Risk Management Report Templates to be Used Vendor Management Plan
Copyright © 2012 AH Consulting LLC
Requirements Lifecycle Management Supplements Project Management and System Development Lifecycle Methodologies
Focus Area
Relevant Activities and Considerations
Inputs
Outputs
Development
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
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(Elaboration, Analysis, and Design) Collaborators:
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Business Analyst Systems Analyst Solutions Architect Test Analyst Developers Data Analyst Process Analyst Vendors Customers
Key Reference: IIBA® BA-BOK
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8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31.
Elaboration and prioritization of requirements AS IS context TO BE definition Innovation and creativity facilitation Customer immersion Observation of people and existing systems Requirements workshops, interviews, surveys, business rule and document analysis, etc. Clarifying and restating real requirements Allocating requirements to subsystems Decision Trees and Tables Scenarios / use cases / user stories Process Modeling Data Modeling Data Flow Diagrams Root Cause Analysis SWOT Analysis Sequence Diagrams State Diagrams Functional Decomposition Structured Walk-throughs Functional / Non-Functional Analysis and Design Modeling and Prototyping Systems / Technical and Interface Analysis Analytics and Information Management Metrics and key performance indicators Organization and Visualization Requirement Gap Analysis Documentation generation and reviews Baseline setting and version control Traceability Infrastructure and Links Vendor Assessments and Engagement
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Transformation Goals and Vision Requirements Plan Preliminary Requirements Solution Scope Information Models Glossary Stakeholder Analysis Design and Testing Approaches Vendor Management Plan Quality Standards Well-defined industry standard techniques
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Prioritized Stakeholder Requirements User Requirements Functional Requirements Non-Functional Requirements Prototypes / mockups Business Rules Data Requirements User Interface Mock Up Report Mock Ups Queries Controls and Balancing Approach Transition Requirements Functional Design Implementation Baseline Data Mapping
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Requirements Lifecycle Management Supplements Project Management and System Development Lifecycle Methodologies
Focus Area
Validation & Verification Key Reference: IIBA® BA-BOK
Relevant Activities and Considerations Validation (Proposed Solution) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13.
Cost / Benefit Analysis Traceability Management Force Field Analysis Deployment Planning Organizational Readiness Analysis Adoption Management Planning Service Model Impacts and Readiness Transition Planning Training Development Job Analysis and Organizational Design PR Planning Marketing Alignment Packaging Completion
Inputs
Outputs
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Evaluation and Acceptance Criteria Decision Analysis Methods Approved Requirements Assumptions and Constraints Solution Design(s) Release Allocation Solution Scope Dependencies Constructed Solution
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Incremental Solution Component Finalized Solution / Product Training Plan Organizational Impact and Transition Plan Sales and Marketing Activities Roll-out Benefit Realization Management Plan
Verification (Constructed Solution) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
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Test Cases Defect Management and Resolution Problem Tracking Root Cause Analysis Pilot Program Early Adopter Program
Methodology Planning Guide V 1.4
Copyright © 2012 AH Consulting LLC
Requirements Lifecycle Management Supplements Project Management and System Development Lifecycle Methodologies
Focus Area
Relevant Activities and Considerations
Inputs
Outputs
Change Management
1. Impact Analysis 2. Change Control Recommendation 3. Approval Process 4. User / Customer Review and Feedback 5. Version Control 6. Undo Changes 7. Plan-driven Approach 8. Change-driven Approach
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Key Reference: IIBA® BA-BOK
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Established Baseline Change Request Change Control Process Prototype or Simulation Constructed Solution Change Control Log
Modified Requirements Modified Design Modified Solution Updated Change Control Log
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