Chapter 8 - Describing the Need - Specifications and Requirements

8.9.5 Requirements quality control

Before any IT solicitation is released, the business owner, SMEs and the IT procurement professional should complete the following checklist to verify completeness and quality of the requirements:

• Applicability: Do the requirements actually define what is being procured. Fixing a requirement error after delivery can cost up to 100 times the cost of fixing the implementation error.
• Validity: Do the requirements provide the functions which best support the agency's needs?
• Consistency: Are there any conflicts or ambiguities in the requirements?
• Completeness: are all performance, technical and functional requirements and expectations required by the agency included?
• Realism: Can the requirements be implemented given available time, budget, resources and technology?
• Verifiability: Are the requirements realistically testable?
• Comprehensibility: Are the requirements easily understood?
• Traceability: Is the origin of the requirements clearly stated?
• Adaptability: Can the requirements be changed without a large impact on other requirements?