Distributed Requirements Management in an Offshoring Context
Suzanne Gietema · Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks · 2012
Requirements are the foundation of each project (Hull et al., 2005). They identify an ability, physical quality, or quality feature restricting a product or process need for which a solution is being sought (Hood et al., 2008). This means that requirements need to be met for internal as well as external stakeholders to be satisfied, expectations to be met, and a project to succeed. There exist two basic types of requirements: functional requirements specify each function to which a solution must adhere, that is, describing what it is supposed to do, and non-functional requirements which describe how a solution will achieve its goal (Ebert, 1998). In a way requirements determine the way a project takes shape and in what way tasks are performed. This chapter will discuss requirements, their importance (in relation to outsourcing), and problems related to (distributed) requirements and requirements methodologies. Based on research done at companies a recommendation is made for a best way to deal with distributed requirements. The information in this chapter enables project managers to better manage requirements in a distributed environment.