Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Set the expectation with the stand-in parties that there will be
substantial rework costs if the end users ask for changes on seeing
the application very late in the process. It is to the business office's
advantage to encourage access early.
Prioritizing Stakeholders
Some stakeholders are more important than others; these include:
The sponsors, who are either funding the project, or will become
the deployment champions
The subject matter experts (SMEs) who understand the business
Those who will be involved in user acceptance testing
It is also to be carefully understood that software delivery is a techno-
political process and stakeholder dynamics change with the dynamics of
the organization. There is neither a textbook approach to identifying the
stakeholders, nor is the list of stakeholders constant throughout the project.
Using Policies
In reality, it is difficult to talk to all stakeholders. In good process-driven
companies, there would be policies that stand in for the need to talk to
all stakeholders. For example, there may be a well-defined policy regarding
security requirements. If these are treated as “applicable” requirements (or
constraints on requirements), the policy can be said to represent security
stakeholders with a reasonable degree of accuracy. Good policies reduce
the communication overheads involved during requirements development.
The Nature of Requirements
Formal Requirements
Whenever speaking of requirements, we invariably refer to formal require-
ments. But requirements need not always be formal and explicit. They
can be implicit also. For example, when a company wants to purchase
something, it invariably raises a formal purchase order. But when one
goes into the grocery store, one expresses an intent to buy something by
bringing it to the register. This is a more simplified process of purchasing.
Occasionally, the requirements are embedded in the work order itself.
When you bring in your car for servicing, your requirements (whether or
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