Project Requirements
Project Requirements are conditions or tasks that must be completed to ensure the success or completion of the project.
They provide a clear picture of the work that needs to be done.
They align the project’s resources with the organization’s objectives.
What are the benefits
The benefits of effectively gathering Project Requirements include
- Cost reduction,
- Higher project success rates,
- More effective change management,
- Improved communication among stakeholders.
Categories
Project Requirements can be categorized into three main categories: business, solution, and stakeholder requirements.
Business Requirements are the high-level needs of the business. They address what’s required and why the project is happening. This is the project’s starting point and provides guidance for the other types of requirements. These requirements must be communicated clearly and early on.
Solution Requirements, which include both functional and non-functional requirements, are the specific features and characteristics of the product or service that meet all business and stakeholder requirements. Functional requirements describe something that a product or service is required to do. Non-functional requirements describe how a system is supposed to function. A functional requirement for your solar panel is to ‘convert light into electricity,’ while the non-functional requirement is to ‘produce this electricity at an efficiency rate of 20%.’.
Stakeholder Requirements: A stakeholder is anyone who has an interest in the product or service being produced or provided. They may be internal and external stakeholders (employees) (customers, regulators, or suppliers). Every stakeholder has specific needs or requirements that they want to be fulfilled.
Each of these needs must be balanced during the project. Often, stakeholders have competing demands, which can impact the project’s schedule, budget, and scope if not managed effectively. Changes will have a knock-on effect regarding pricing, materials, and design and will ultimately slow down the project.
When a stakeholder happens to be your customer, you need to ensure that you’re eliciting their exact requirements to deliver your product or service. If the right questions are not asked using the correct method, you will not meet customer needs, and, in the end, the project will have failed.
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