In May 2011 I presented this discussion of why project scope is driven by requirements, how requirements change is inevitable, and how that makes good project estimates very difficult.
I then present one useful technique for managing this challenge.
1. Requirements = Project Scope
Managing Requirements to Achieve Project Success
Craig Brown
Business Analyst World Conference
www.BetterProjects.net
Bangalore
May 26 2010 www.BusAnalysts.com.au
2. 1. Lean how requirements drive project scope
2. And how project requirements change can be anticipated
3. So that project budgets and schedules can properly managed!
LEARNING GOALS
6. IIBA/BABOK
• When reading the BABOK Guide it is vital that
‘requirements’ be understood in the broadest
Requirements
possible sense.
• Requirements include but are not limited to past,
present and future conditions or capabilities in an
enterprise and descriptions of organisational
structures, roles, processes, policies, rules and
information systems.
IEEE
• A condition or capability needed by a user to
solve a problem or achieve an objective
• A condition or capability that must be met or
possessed by a system or system component to
satisfy a contract, standard, specification, or
other formally imposed document
• A documented representation of a condition or
capability as in (1) or (2)
7. Scope: The sum of the products, services, an results to be
provided as a project.
Scope Project scope: The work that must be performed
to deliver a product, service or result with the
specified features and functions
Product scope: The features and functions that
characterise the product, service or result.
Scope creep: Adding features and functionality (project scope)
without addressing the effects of time, costs and resources, or
without customer approval
8. Requirements = Scope
Product Scope Drives Project Scope
Product/Service
Work to be Done
Capabilities
Requirements Budget and Schedule
18. Budget
compliance
Simply
Scope
getting it
compliance
finished
People
Schedule
learning from
compliance
the process
Value Quality
generated compliance
39. 2000
1500
~ 2000 1000
Story Points
500
0
Work to do Work remaining Work done
250
200
~ 250 150
Stories 100
50
-
Work to do Work done Work remaining
40. May June July….
Number of requirements
Number Completed this
month
Number remaining
Requirements by size
Small
Medium
Large
41.
42. Concluding
Requirements = Scope
You drive Scope
You need to manage expectations
You need information
Here is a simple technique
43. Go collect your data and report back to me
Better Projects Blog
www.betterprojects.net
/Measuring Requirements/
http://www.betterprojects.net/p/measuring-
requirements.html
44. 1. Lean how requirements drive project scope
2. And how project requirements change can be anticipated
3. So that project budgets and schedules can properly managed!
LEARNING GOALS
45. May June July….
Number of requirements
Number Completed this
month
Number remaining
Requirements by size
Small
Medium
Large
46. Picture Credits
Pic CC @
http://www.flickr.com/photos/subspace-
eddy/2038095329/sizes/l/in/photostream/
Pic CC @
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23065375@N05
/2235525962/sizes/z/in/photostream/