Good Requirements Reference Card

Central to developing good requirements are a well-defined scope and following best practices for writing requirements.  This reference card contains guidance on the information that you should capture when you define your scope.  It also details the characteristics of a well written requirement and words to avoid when writing your requirements to ensure that they are clear, concise and unambiguous.  Print out this card and distribute to your team so that they can avoid the mistakes that as so common when writing requirements.

Requirement Experts Reference Card (PDF Format)>>

Tools and Templates for Developing Requirements

Checklist for Common Requirement Risk Factors

You’ve read the book. You’ve taken the classes. And you’re practicing better requirements definition and management! Still, sometimes you need a little refresher – a quick reference to the best practices which serve as the foundation for our training.

For you, we have created a risk checklist that will provide quick and easy review of key points discussed (in much greater detail, of course!) in our training. Enjoy!

Requirement Risk Factors Checklist (PDF Format) >>

Templates

Project-Product Scope Template: This word template can be used for documenting project/product scope. Includes a brief description of each section to guide the user as the needed information is gathered.

Requirements Template: This Excel workbook contains spreadsheets for documenting Business Requirements, System-Product Requirements, Lifecycle Trace Matrix, Requirements Trace Matrix. These templates are intended to serve as a good starting point for tailoring for a project’s specific requirements documentation and management needs.

Templates with Examples

The three templates below are complete with examples. All were developed within very rigorous constraints at NASA and the US Air Force. A short description precedes each.

Program Requirement and Systems Requirement Document Templates

The two template examples below were developed for the NASA Johnson Space Center Orbiter upgrade office. While they were tailored for their type of projects, they should be of use to anyone wanting an example for developing their own template tailored to their unique process, product, and organization.

Program Requirement Document (PRD) Template (Microsoft Word Format) >>

Systems Requirement Document (SRD) Template (Microsoft Word Format) >>

Scope and Requirements
The template example is from Randolph Air Force Base and is an example of scope (first several pages of the document) and requirements for a web-based application.

Example Web-Based Application Scope and Requirements (Microsoft Word Format) >>

The scope is a fairly simple template that captures needed data and agreement before the requirements are defined. The requirement format is unique to this organization and it works. Both the requirement authors and the developers understand the format and use it for all their documents. Since the object is an understanding between the requester and provider –this format is right for them.

The VMPF is for members of the Air Force, active, reserve, and guard, to check their status and input information. It is replacing paper forms and is a very successful evolving system. You can actually see the system on-line and get an introduction but not enter it without having the correct access. We feel this scope and set of “good” requirements will help you in your work.