Requirements and analysis

- Requirements and analysis, this is all on the BA, right? Well, while Bailey does own the requirements process, Pat the PM needs to be informed and consulted on the plan, the progress, stakeholder interactions, and both meet a collaborative understanding of what the highest value requirements are. Much of this is driven by prioritization. Knowing which requirements are of the highest priority brings Pat and Bailey's collaboration into focus. Pat is managing vendors, planning resources, and facilitating the work activities of the team. If the highest priority requirements are not clear, the team is likely spending time on things that may not matter. During the requirements and analysis activities, it's important to bring Pat up to speed and into the activities. The important times Bailey brings Pat in are, the plan for requirements and when it's changing, and when new stakeholders are needed. Also, when the analysis shows complexities and risks to delivering the intended value. It's also important for Pat to understand and weigh in on what will be documented for requirements. Some projects in teams use little documentation due to a small work in progress and a small team. Other teams require large amounts of documentation and requirements due to various factors in how the project is set up. Bailey is as transparent as possible on the status of the requirements activities as they progress, to keep Pat informed. They have learned through the years working together to report status on activities and towards completion of the milestones, not completion of a document. Bailey has also learned to be transparent about what requirements activities are, and has found this to be a critical thing in building a trusting relationship with Pat. Another area during the requirements and analysis activities Pat and Bailey collaborate on is the approval of requirements. For some teams, this happens with a decision maker and a verbal approval. And for other teams, there's a lengthy sign-off process with multiple parties signing off and formal approval processes. Either way, it's important for Pat and Bailey to have a shared understanding of the process and progress. When analyzing requirements, Bailey communicates to Pat what the highest value requirements are. This continues dialogue between Pat and Bailey, which ensures the right focus areas are in view for both roles. And when working on collaborating on requirements, it helps hugely when requirements are phrased in business terminology, and phrased in increments of value. They should be understandable from a customer point of view, and easy to understand for the project manager and business leader. This allows Pat, Bailey and the business leaders to discuss key requirements and decisions. Requirements analysis is so important to projects, and bringing the PM into it at the appropriate places makes it even better.