Approved Requirements
Approved requirements undergo a two-fold process of verification and validation.
Verification
Verification ensures that the requirements are of "sufficient quality." This aspect focuses on confirming that the requirements are well-defined, unambiguous, and clear. This is essentially a quality control step to make sure that the requirements are up to standard before they go any further in the project lifecycle.
Validation
Validation, on the other hand, confirms that the requirements meet the underlying business needs. This step ensures that the requirements are not only well-written but are also aligned with the strategic goals and objectives of the business. The key stakeholders often participate in this process to affirm that the specified requirements serve the business purpose.
Approval Mechanisms
Once the requirements are both verified and validated, they gain the status of "approved." This approval is an indication that stakeholders with decision-making authority are in agreement with the requirements as they stand. How these requirements get approved could vary. It may involve written sign-offs, or in some scenarios, even verbal acceptance is considered sufficient. During the planning stage, the product team determines the approval process, including identifying the roles that should participate in this process.
Adaptation in Different Project Lifecycles
- Adaptive Life Cycle: In projects using an adaptive life cycle, the approved requirements often take the form of a prioritized backlog ready for development. They could also be in the form of "stories" that have been selected from the product backlog as the planned work for the upcoming or a future iteration.
- Predictive Life Cycle: In predictive projects, once the requirements are reviewed and approved, they establish a "requirements baseline." Change requests in such a lifecycle are evaluated against this baseline for impact analysis.
Functionality in Subsequent Processes
Approved requirements serve as a baseline for various comparisons and assessments in the later stages of the project. For example, they are used to conduct impact analysis when changes are proposed in predictive life cycles. They are also employed for making release decisions to ascertain the congruence between what was initially approved and what has been implemented.
In summary, approved requirements are pivotal in setting the trajectory of the project, serving as a basis for future development, comparisons, and evaluations.