Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Requirements for Outsourcing

  1. If anything can be misunderstood it probably will be - check the ambiguity and possible interpretations of any terms
  2. Writers are responsible for readers wrong renditions - misunderstood requirements are the fault of the spec writer
  3. Assume nothing, specify everything - specify everything about the systems, possibly using a pre-defined template
  4. Too much is safer than too little - one-liner requirements can easily become a full page when given all the background information
  5. If they ask a question, document and integrate the answer -everyone will have the same answer to the question and the answer can be checked if still true over time
  6. Quality control before sending - set a requirements process exit level e.g. a maximum number of potential defects
  7. Evolve requirement delivery - divide the project into multiple delivery increments so problems can be analysed and correctly early
  8. Quantify quality - do not simply require "highest levels of quality", "state of the art reliability" etc.
  9. Constrain explicitly - explain explicitly what you don't want as well as what you want
  10. Connect relationships - help outsourcers understand the relationships between requirements and stakeholders and risks

Methods & Tools - Winter 2007

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