DECT2004/DTM-57329 Computer support for requirements management in an international product development project

Requirements management is a challenging task. For complex products, many thousands of requirements need to be managed; initially set, allocated, changed, verified etc. An approach to solving this problem is to use IT-based requirements management tools. The paper presents an empirical study of the application of such a tool in an international defense material development project through participation in the project team as well as through interviews, with the aim to observe and explain the use and utility of the tool. The requirements management process in the product development project has been mapped out through the adoption of a qualitative system approach, and by using multiple information sources, such as project documentation, interviews and project participation. More specifically, we have identified different actors’ needs for tools and information, and the process of introduction, training and utilization of a requirements management tool. The findings are presented, analyzed and discussed with respect to the factors that underlie the observed phenomena. Finally, guidelines are presented for how to introduce requirements management tools in product development projects. 1. Background Requirements management has become a focused issue in many high-tech companies today: The increased product complexity has brought about a need to systematically address thousands of requirements. Development outsourcing forces communication with suppliers to be focused on the fulfillment of certain functional requirements rather than the manufacture of a design solution. Some customers, for example defense materials administrations, also require that the supplier has a well-defined requirements management process based on standards, and may require that dedicated IT tools are used to manage it. This has put a larger emphasis on defining a structured, comprehensive requirements management processes both for internal use in the organization as well as to present to the stakeholders. Requirements management is, however, a challenging task. For complex products, many thousands of requirements need to be managed; initially set, allocated, changed, verified etc. This is a highly dynamic activity: It is common that more than 50% of a system’s requirements will be modified before it is put into service [1]. Moreover, many product and system failures originate in the requirements analysis and management processes. The Standish Group [2] showed that nearly 53 percent of the large software projects in the early nineties were completed and led to operational products, but exceeded budgets, ran over time,