Managing your Project by Managing your Requirements

• David Levitt - An Independent Consultant specializing in Requirements Engineering

Presentation Level: all levels

About the Presentation:

As reported by leading practitioners, the two biggest drivers effecting the success (or failure) of a software project are the management of the project and the management of its requirements. Many of us have heard this message before. Many of us have even tried to influence projects that effect us, but many times our efforts end up in vain. Why? There are perhaps many reasons, but perhaps it would be helpful to take stock of the world around us and adapt accordingly.

This presentation will focus on the importance of managing the requirements as a precursor to effectively managing (or influencing) the project. An overview of key terms and the requirements management process will be presented, along with an exploration of two different worlds for how this process is executed, namely the world that says that we need Increasing Control of Process (ICOP) and those that say we need Decreasing Control of Process (DCOP). Neither world is totally right nor totally wrong. Each can point to its success stories and sadly, each can point to its failures as well. The presentation will conclude with a discussion of effective practices that either world can adapt.

This presentation is recommended for:

• Consultants working on Project issues;
• Project Managers;
• Business Analysts;
• QA Staff

Download presentation & examples:

PowerPoint presentation - 12kb - ZIP format

About the Presenter:

Software Engineering is Dave Levitt’s passion, second only to his passion for spending time with his friends and loved ones. Dave’s quest is to gain and share Software Engineering knowledge, in hopes that one-day software projects will be managed with the same rigor as other engineering professions.

Dave has over 20 years experience as a software professional, most of which were spent in the production of commercial off the shelf systems (COTS). Dave has held lead positions as an analyst, designer, architect, programmer, project manager, and process engineer. He is currently an independent consultant specializing in Requirements Engineering. Dave holds a BS and MS in Computer Science and he is pursuing an Advanced Certificate in Software Engineering from St. Thomas University.