validating requirements - project...

Advanced Project Management Series

Validating Requirements

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© 2015 Core Performance Concepts Inc.

Things to Know…

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Questions are welcome.

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Moderator

Denise Rodriguez

Project Insight

Marketing

[email protected]

www.projectinsight.net

Diane C. Altwies, MBA, PMP

CEO, Core Performance Concepts Inc.

Training in project management,

PMP® and CAPM® certification, leadership,

business analysis, agile and six sigma

[email protected]

www.coreperformanceconcepts.com

Presenter

PMP® and CAPM® are registered trademarks of the Project Management Institute

4


Goals of the Advanced Series

Expand your knowledge of more complex tools and techniques

Identify practical ways to begin using advanced techniques

Explore methodologies or techniques to enhance project

management competency

Build leadership skills to manage people more effectively


Presenter

Mr. Jan Birkelbach, MBA, PMP

Provides program and project management

consulting, strategic business analysis, and

training in all areas of project management.

Helped recent client establish best practices in

project requirements, scheduling, portfolio-

project office strategy and implementation.

[email protected]® is a registered trademark of the Project

Management Institute


We don’t manage projects based upon a requirements

document

Our organization doesn’t validate requirements against a

project’s business purpose before proceeding

There is confusion in distinguishing requirements

validation and verification

Customers are not held accountable to documented

requirements, or requirements go unverified

Do You Experience these Challenges Regarding

Requirements?


Objectives of the Webinar

At the end, you will better understand how to:

� Validate requirements against a project’s business purpose

� Distinguish requirements validation from verification

� Manage requirements based upon defined roles

� Explain the value of documented requirements to project

success


Types of Project Documentation

Project Charter

Scope Statement

WBS

Requirements

� Business solution requirements

� Functional requirements

� Non-functional requirements

Requirements traceability matrix

Technical Specifications

Design documents

Use Cases

� Scenarios

� Flow Diagrams

� Descriptions

Verification and Test Plans

Training Documentation


Requirements Definition

Understand the problem the project is supposed to solve;

Collecting expected outcomes, wants and requirements

Requires:

� Organization and structure

� Ability to visualize and articulate

� Excellent interviewing and analytic skills

� Ingenuity and persistence

� Iterative revision, chipping away, refining

� Prioritization and Validation


Validation Definition

Are we building the right product?

Techniques to evaluate whether stated

requirements and specifications will

deliver expected business benefits from

project deliverables and outcomes*

* Adapted from BABOK® Guide 2.0


Verification Definition

Have we built the product right?

Techniques of evaluating a component or

product to ensure it complies with

specifications and meets requirements.

Adapted from BABOK® Guide 2.0


Agile Methodology

• Validation and Verification take

place in-process, for each product

iteration or release

• Effectiveness in delivering

validated requirements each at

iteration is a key driver to agile

project velocity

• Velocity is defined as “speed in

the desired direction”

• Accordingly, as the product

becomes more fully articulated,

good validation provides

increased levels of customer

satisfaction, faster, while

minimizing missteps, side trips,

and cost.


Validating Requirements

Understand

� The problem that is to be solved by the project

� The expected outcomes; success requirements

� How the project is anticipated to solve the problem

� The contributing relationships among the parts

Requires

� A strategic project vision

� Logical solution framework

� Identification of requirements

� Definitions and specifications


Your Project’s Requirements?

Clarity of Purpose

Culture and Habit

Validation

Solution Integrity

‘Mis-implementation’


Roles & Responsibilities for Validation

Role Responsibility

Project Manager Ensure that the project ultimately delivers on project

objectives and solves the business problem

Business Analyst Identify business requirements and provide the process to

ensure that requirements will be validated prior to, then

verified during and after project completion

Quality Assurance Team Perform validation tests

•Technical personnel

•Business personnel


Roles for Successful Validation

Who is

Responsible?Follow an orderly, standardized process

Define roles and responsibilities through

task assignments and use of a responsibility

matrix (such as a RACI chart)

Review Roles and Responsibilities with your

team, listen and gain buy-in.


Example: Website for Wine Bar

• Create a website for a wine bar to increase its sales revenue

Project business objective

• Increase revenues by 10% within one year of website launch

• Acquire new customers by x%

• Increase purchases from existing customers by x%

Objectives


Problem > Business Solution

Problem and Proposed Solution

Need to increase revenue year over year

Build a new website to better attract new customers and to sell more to current customers

How will that work? Rationale?

What’s needed to make it work?

Solution Metrics and Validation

Objective: 10% Revenue growth

Baseline: $1,000,000

Responsibility: CFO to CEO

Timeline: 1 year

Define tactical components’ contribution to the objective

Requirements to achieve each


Validating the Business Solution

An objective should be defined to solve the business problem

Every requirement should provide support to an objective

Every requirement should be validated against the solution

You should be able to PROVE that if all requirements have

been met, that the solution will work

It may take time beyond project delivery to verify success

Technical requirements are validated in a similar manner


Validation: What’s the Value of it ?

Value of meeting project objectives?

Consequences of not meeting them?

Effort invested in validation?

Benefit Cost Ratio or Margin

Decision to Validate / how thoroughly?


Tips for Validation

Take

Action

Steps

Adopt methods for validating business requirements and project objectives that are specifically suited to your business.

Identify who is responsible for solving the business problem, determining and evaluating the metrics for success, and providing supporting requirements.

Clearly define responsibilities, milestones, and necessary coordination.


More Tips for Validation

Take

Action

Steps

Dedicate part of the project budget to

requirements validation, and associated

meetings, through tasks in WBS work

packages, work authorization controls, and

stage gates.

Use requirements traceability tools to

ensure that direct relationships exist between

project scope, product specifications, and

stated requirements before building or

procurement.


Review

Validate requirements against a project’s business purpose

Distinguish requirements validation from verification

Manage requirements based upon defined roles

Explain the value of documented requirements to project success

Questions & Discussion


What Else?

The First 5 Attendees to Email

[email protected]

Will Receive FREE 45-Day Access To Our

Online PMP® Exam Testing Center

Test Your Knowledge ... Whether You Have Your PMP® or NOT!More Than 1,400 Test Questions ...

Based on the New PMBOK® Guide 5th Edition

Run Simulated 200-Question Practice Exams

Run 25-Question Knowledge Area Exams


Special Promotion

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skills. Core Performance Concepts offers a

10% discount on their online courses for

anyone attending the webinar.

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2015 Advanced Webinar Series

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