Strong requirements management practices remain a critical component of project success.
In fact, poor requirements management is the #2 most commonly-cited reason for project failure according to “PMI’s Pulse of the Profession: Requirements Management–A Core Competency for Project and Program Success.”
The results of PMI’s in-depth study, indicated that poor requirements management practices sabotage projects and organizations in the following ways:
- 47% of unsuccessful projects fail to meet goals due to poor requirements management.
- Low performing organizations waste 10 cents for every dollar spent on projects due to poor requirements management.
What do better requirements practices offer your organization?
- increased project value: more needs met with less cost
- better communication
- increased stakeholder engagement and commitment
- better executive support for requirements management training and resources
I think we already knew this, but now we have a bit more evidence, right?
However, the problem remains that many organizations do not have properly trained people and mature processes needed to improve requirements management practices. The study showed that about half of the organizations surveyed lack the executive support needed to obtain adequate requirements management resources.
So, how do you get the executive support needed to boost requirements management skills and practices in your organization? Good question!
Here are a few strategies that will help you promote the value of Better Business requirements:
- Look at your current project defect log and estimate the time and cost spent on addressing defects caused by missed or inaccurate requirements.
- Look at your organization’s project list. Estimate the time and cost of current projects that were initiated to address missed or inaccurate requirements in other projects.
- Whether you gather data internally or externally, share data with your executive team. Communicate the value of excellent requirements management practices!
