Introducing the stakeholders,

Following the meeting with Farouk…

Nancy Bobbi sits down at her desk and takes a few moments to reflect and collect her thoughts.
Bobbi Today I’ve met with Dave and Oliver from IT and Farouk from Finance.  I better start recording the requirements or I’ll loose track of them.  Yesterday I made note of Valerie’s business objective, and this morning I made note of the IT Operations requirements for the solution. Trace Requirements
Bobbi I’ll have to leave some placeholders for additional functional requirements associated with the solution, because I have not had a chance to speak with anyone from inventory management, supply chain management, legal or the warehouse. Trace Requirements
Bobbi The good news is that I had a great conversation with Farouk.  He provided a clear description of the rational for the change as well as some insight that will serve as project constraints.  He didn’t specify any formal requirements, but he did provide me with a good understanding of  the context that the solution will need to work within.  Perhaps I’ll consider these as non-functional requirements or stakeholder requirements. Trace Requirements
Nancy Bobbi continues to enter the requirements and links the requirements together so that it is possible to understand the association. Trace Requirements

The next day Bobbi visits the IT Team

Bobbi Hi Dave. Good day Oliver. How are things today?
Dave Just great thanks.  So, how have things been going with gathering the requirements for Valerie’s pet project?
Bobbi My investigation has been going well…. and it’s not Valerie’s pet.  The project is also important to Farouk. In fact, it is important to all of us and the profitability of the company.   I had no idea the impact that a few delayed shipments can have on our company.  Farouk helped me understand the value and outcomes that are required by this project.
Dave That’s good… Say Selena’s back in the office today.  Are you here to speak with her?
Bobbi Actually,  yes.  I’m here to speak with Selena and Oliver. Maintain Requirement
Narrator Selena walks around the corner.
Selena Did someone mention my name?
Bobbi Yes.  I did.  I need to talk with you regarding some requirements for a new project I’m working on.
Nancy Bobbi and Selena talk for a while.  They discuss several elements of the current IT environment as well as the security risks associated with different solutions.  Some of the comments that Selena makes may be considered functional requirements.  Others will be constraints on the solution. Bobbi notices Oliver down the hall.
Bobbi Say Oliver.  How are you?
Oliver I’m well thanks.  What’s up?
Bobbi Well, I was reviewing the documentation that you sent, and after talking with Selena, I’m confused about something.   I’m hoping that have a few minute to talk with me and help clarify our requirements.  Also, after speaking with Farouk, I’m not sure the company can afford a top-of-the-line solution.  So, I’d like to get your thoughts on the relative priority of the various things we discussed.  Perhaps we can group them into 4 categories: those that are an absolute must, those that should be in the solution, those that could be in the solution (or may otherwise be considered nice to have) and those that we can drop. Maintain Requirement Prioritize Requirements
Oliver Sure thing Bobbi.  Let’s find a conference room, so that I can draw some pictures for you.  It’s always easier for me to explain things when I draw a picture.  As for the prioritization,  I’ll wait until I see how you have prepared the requirements, and then I’ll be happy to provide my prioritization. Prioritize Requirements

Back at her desk

Nancy Bobbi collects her thoughts and determines her next step.
Bobbi Selena provided many significant requirements.    I’ll add them to the requirements management system, and associate them with the other solution requirements. Trace Requirements
Bobbi I’ll also update the IT Operations requirements that I wrote yesterday.  I’m glad that I took the time to speak with Oliver to clarify my understanding. Maintain Requirements

Two days later…. after a requirement prioritization session

Bobbi I realize that it is difficult to hold a requirement prioritization session with several different functional groups, which is why I prefer to have several smaller sessions, but when I come back to my desk, sometimes I’m more confused than before I started.  Everyone thinks that their requirements are the most important. Prioritize Requirements
Bobbi How can one compare the relative priority of the IT security requirements vs the ease of use requirements from the inventory management team?  Perhaps I’ll have a conversation with Patricia or Valerie, to seek some guidance about how they would like me to proceed.
Nancy Bobbi speaks with Patricia to gain perspective and insight
Bobbi I’m glad I spoke with Patricia.  She helped me understand the prioritization scheme that is commonly applied to requirements and projects within the organization.    She also identified another stakeholder that I will need to speak with, which could change the requirements for the interface.

After meeting with the new stakeholder

Bobbi The more people I talk with, the more requirements I get.  Thankfully the chat with the Manager of the Supply Chain team didn’t change the nature of their requirements too much.  I’ll just adjust the changes that were provided by his team earlier in the week. If the change would have been major, it may have caused significant rework to the presentation that I’m preparing for Valerie. Speaking of Valerie, I want to discuss the high level requirements and preliminary options analysis with Patricia and the other functional leads before we meet with Valerie at the end of this week.    I need to confirm if Patricia has identified any other requirements and if the functional leads approve the requirements for their unit.  If there are any changes they will need to be assessed and incorporated before the proposal is presented. Maintain Requirement Changes and Assess Requirement Changes
Nancy Bobbi sits down to study the requirements management system.  If the functional leads have approved the way she has phrased their requirements, she will have a light afternoon.  If anyone has identified an issue, she’ll need to speak with them to understand the concern and work to resolve the issue. Approve Requirements

The meeting with Valerie

Valerie Patricia, Bobbi. Good day.  Thanks for coming to my office.
Valerie I’ve reviewed you proposal.  I like the way it is laid out. Bobbi, your work on the high level requirements gives me confidence that you have addressed all the key stakeholders and addressed the major dimensions of this problem. Patricia,  the project charter is comprehensive, yet light.
Valerie Bobbi,  I have just one question.  The proposal does not mention whether the requirements have been approved by the functional leads.
Bobbi I received the last approval just moments before this meeting.  There was some last minute adjustment in the wording of a requirement for the supply management team.  The change does not affect the intention of the requirement, but the management thought it was important.  So at this point in time, yes,  all requirements have been approved by their respective functional lead and the leads. Assess Requirement Changes and Approve Requirements
Valerie In that case, I give my approval of the requirements as well. Based upon the options analysis presented, it appears that we will be procuring a new supply change management system.  It is unfortunate that we couldn’t find a way to retrofit something onto the existing system, but I do understand that it is very old and that technology and capabilities have changed significantly Approve Requirement
Valerie Given the scope of the investment required, I’ll need to make a proposal to the Senior Management Team. Bobbi, please start developing the detailed set of requirements that we will use to evaluate the different vendors. Patricia, please assemble a budget and schedule estimate.  I realize that you won’t be able to finalize the cashflow or schedule until we have selected a vendor, but I need to present my peers some idea of the investment and timeline in front of us.
Nancy Bobbi is happy that Valerie liked her work.  She is excited by the new challenges that lie ahead.