Getting the right requirements are important for project success. Whether you are in a dual role or collaborating with a business analyst, project managers should make sure all their projects include, at a minimum, these three basic types of requirements:
- Business requirements usually represent the rationale - high-level goals and objectives - for undertaking a project. These should include the key benefits anticipated from a successful project. Often business requirements can be found in the business case or project charter, or through a discussion with the project sponsor or senior executives.
- Functional requirements provide details of the features and functions that the solution (product, service, or other results -aka the project) must possess to meet stakeholder needs. These requirements can only be obtained through careful elicitation and clearly written documentation.
- Nonfunctional requirements define performance and quality expectations as well as any constraints or other properties of the functional requirements.
Want to learn more about how to integrate these practices into a project methodology? Check out our Micro Guide to the PROJECT Methodology.
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