Duration
5 days
OVERVIEW
Requirements Analysis and Specification Writing are sciences practiced by many, mastered by surprisingly few. And yet, the payoff from achieving excellence in these areas is large. The two aspects, Requirements Analysis and Specification Writing, are treated as separate but related topics, each in a course of three and two days duration.
The three-day Requirements Analysis course addresses the techniques used to capture, validate and gain a complete understanding of requirements communicated at all stages of the system life cycle. The two-day Specification Writing course addresses in detail the conversion of individual requirements into effective requirements specifications. The course focuses on the structure and language of requirements specification.
BENEFITS
- The three-day Requirements Analysis module provides highly effective tools for both the capture of requirements, and for validation of those requirements, in any scenario involving the receipt of requirements from one or more stakeholders who have a need.
- A workshop approach is used extensively in this module, to maximize learning and practical application.
- Effectiveness of the techniques, collectively comprising a complete methodology, is independent of the domain of application, and independent of the specifics of the need. These techniques have been used with great success.
- The Specification Writing module provides detailed instructions on the conversion of requirements into highly effective requirements specifications.
- Issues of structure (organization of information) and the use of (English) language throughout a requirements specification are examined in considerable detail.
- Public domain specification standards are overviewed and compared. High quality templates/guides are provided for the specification of systems, software, interfaces and services, respectively, with examples.
- The course is strongly activity oriented throughout.
- The techniques of specification writing that are taught have been used to great effect in scenarios that include acquisition, supply, product definition (both hardware and software), enterprise internal projects, business analysis and engineering projects of diverse types, large and small.
- At the conclusion of the requirements analysis module, delegates will have the knowledge and understanding of overall concepts of, and activities within, requirements analysis, to serve as requirements analysis team members, and to develop real experience in the field through on-the-job experience supported by course resources.
Module 1 – Introduction & Importance of Emphasize Requirements?
- Issues and terminology
- Lessons from real projects
- The origin of requirements
- Concept of the system boundary
- The modeling boundary
- The systems engineering process
- Development of system architecture and detail design, related to requirements
- Requirements traceability
Module 2 – Requirements within the System Life Cycle
- Summary of terms relating to requirements
- Baselines and their use
- The waterfall life cycle paradigm
- Incremental acquisition/development
- Evolutionary acquisition/development
- Workshop - requirements engineering principles
- Common requirements pitfalls in the system life cycle
Module 3 – 3. What are Requirements?
- Definitions and views
- Relationship to design
- Relationship to baselines
Module 4 - Types of Requirements
- Why categorize requirements by type?
- Eight basic types
- Workshop - categorizing requirements by type
- Other categories - architectural design drivers, critical, global, priority, importance, stability
Module 5 - The Quality of Requirements
- Correctness
- Completeness
- Consistency
- Clarity
- Non-ambiguity
- Traceability
- Testability
- Singularity
- Feasibility
- Balance
- Freedom from product/process mix
Module 6 - Requirements Analysis Methodology
- Contexts within which requirements analysis is performed
- Stakeholder identification
- Initial assessment by document (if any) review, and planning
- Measuring requirements quality
- Context flow analysis
- States & modes analysis
- Requirements parsing analysis
- Functional analysis - needs analysis, operational analysis, use cases
- Rest of scenario analysis
- Out-of-range analysis
- Entity-Relationship-Attribute (ERA) analysis
- Other constraints search
- Stakeholder value analysis
- Methods of engaging in requirements dialog
- Verification requirements development
- Operational concept description
- Clean-up - keyword-based searching for residual requirements defects
- Special issues of the human interface
- Supplementary methods and notations
- Common pitfalls in requirements analysis
Module 7 - Coping with the Real World
- what to do when the user "doesn't know"
- how to respond to "moving goalposts"
- protecting yourself from the communication chasm
Module 8 - Tool Support to Requirements Analysis & Verification
- tools supporting requirements analysis
- tools supporting requirements management
- examples of available tools
- common pitfalls in using tools
- requirements reviews
- keyword search techniques
- use of metrics
Module 9 - Management of Requirements Analysis
- management issues
- using and managing "TBD's"
- designing a requirements codification scheme
- managing resolution of requirements issues
- defining reviews and reports
Module 10 - Transforming Requirements into Requirements Specifications
- what is a requirements specification?
- how requirements specifications relate to requirements
- how requirements specifications relate to configuration baselines
- preparing for the transition from requirements to requirements specification
- using a requirements database to automate requirements specification production
Module 11 - Requirements Flow down into Requirements Specifications
- the specification tree
- special considerations for interface requirements
Module 12 - Requirements Specification Types
- types of requirements specification
- IEEE specification standards
- US Military and other international specification standards
- score sheet for public domain specification standards
Module 13 - Requirements Specification Types
- types of requirements specification
- IEEE specification standards
- US Military and other international specification standards
- score sheet for public domain specification standards
Module 14 - Structuring Your Requirements Specification
- what to put in your system requirements specification, the statement of work
- structuring a statement of work
- structuring a system requirements specification
- dealing with variants
- states and modes
- functional versus design oriented specifications
Module 14 - Requirements Specification Writing
- review of requirements quality
- requirement structural template
- requirements construct
- cross-referencing
- defining terms
- context dependence
- reference to applicable documents
- use of precedence
- using success criteria to express otherwise vague requirements
- paragraph headings
- use of supporting data
- mission profiles/use cases
- baseline designs
- benchmarks
- linking the specification to the statement of work or conditions of contract
- verification specifications
- optional workshop - evaluation of example specifications
NoteActivities on high team interaction and role-plays will be incorporated during training session with all participants to further facilitate and strengthen candidates understanding on Requirements Analysis & Specification Writing concepts and methodology in an overall manner.
Programme scope, delivery arrangements and suitability are confirmed during enquiry.