Roles and Responsibilities in REM - Requirements Engineering and Management for Software Development Projects - page 155

Procedures help a new entrant to perform on par with an experienced resource
and an experienced resource to perform at the peak efficiency.
A standard is something that is established by authority for use in the perfor-
mance of an activity. In an organizations, standard is a document that consists of
the selected alternative for use by the organizational resources from among various
available alternatives. A standard is a restriction because it restricts the freedom of
people in selecting the alternative of their choice. But by spending effort and
resources to evaluate all the available alternatives beforehand to select the optimal
alternative for use within the organization, it helps resources by reducing their
effort to make a wise decision in every project. It also ensures a uniform level of
quality in the deliverables of all projects. It is because of standardization the cost
of various products including cars have come to affordable levels.
A guideline is akin to a standard except that the standard is prescriptive while a
guideline is suggestive. A guideline guides a person in selecting a suitable alter-
native and various other aspects associated with it but stops short of prescribing a
specific alternative.
A format is a document with a prescribed organization of information that aids
in capturing information comprehensively in the first place and to aid in under-
standing the information contained in the document by the reader. It delineates the
documents into sections, tables and frames to capture and present information
efficiently.
A template document is similar to a format document except that it contains
explanation in each cell about what information to be placed in the cell. It would
also contain selection lists so that instead of entering information some boxes can
be checked.
A checklist is a list of items usually neglected in a deliverable document.
A checklist contains a number of items against which, we need to enter either
''yes'' or ''no''. Usually, all items must have a ''yes'' marked against it. All items
that are marked ''no'' need to be revisited again. A checklist is used by the authors
to ensure that the deliverable is comprehensive and by the quality control persons
to ensure that nothing is left out of the deliverable.
It is the responsibility of the organization to define a process that is appropriate
for the organization and implement it. As change is constant in modern organi-
zations, the organization also needs to institute a mechanism to review the process
periodically and improve it to ensure that the process is relevant even in the
changed conditions. Normally each software development organization would
have a Software Process Group which would initially define the process, then
implement it and capture suggestions for improvement. The improvement
suggestions are evaluated and appropriate ones are picked up and dovetailed into
the process periodically.
A well-defined process for requirements engineering is a prime requisite for
ensuring that it is carried out efficiently in the organization and it is the respon-
sibility of the organization performed through the organizational process group.