Requirements Approval

By now you have elicited, analyzed, and organized the requirements. In this phase, you get the official approval of those requirements.

3 main steps to get approval on the requirements:

• Business Team Approval

They are the main individuals/groups that gave the requirement. They have to validate the requirements and also confirm that the requirements are accurate and complete.

• Technical Team Approval

They have to confirm that:

• • They understand the requirements
  • The requirements are technically feasible
  • They can design a solution within the project constraints.

• Project Sponsor / Committee Approval

They should understand that the high-level design and solution meet the project objective so that they can give their sign-off for the project.

Gaining Business Approval

In this step you confirm from the business that the requirements are:

• Valid
• Complete
• Accurate

Steps to gain business approval

Step 1: Schedule the overall approval

• Schedule multiple review sessions.
• Keep review sessions for not more than 2-4 hours.
• Schedule a review session with only the relevant audience. Don’t mix separate business units.
  • You want the session participants to carefully listen and focus on the details. Only involve an audience that is directly or indirectly affected by the requirements being reviewed in that session.
  • E.g.
  • Say you call two units A & B for the meeting.
  • When the requirements of unit A are being reviewed, unit B is less engaged and this will waste their time and cause boredom which will dull the overall environment. Vice-versa when the requirements of unit B will be reviewed.
• Involve Subject Matter Experts (SME)
  • They are ultimately the ones who would be approving the requirements. You’ve been working with them to drive out the requirements. Don’t involve new individuals/groups that you have not worked with to get the requirements.
• Create a meeting agenda
  • The agenda gives a high-level walkthrough of the meeting. Break down the session into sections and estimate the time for each section.
  • Allocate the appropriate time and do not rush with the meeting (you may ignore the section-time cut off if the section hasn’t been understood by all). Make sure everyone understands the details.

Step 2: Conduct the review session/meeting

1. Explain the purpose of the meeting and agenda
2. Review project and objective
3. Review each requirement
4. Address questions and concerns immediately
5. Change and update requirements
6. Table all new requirements unless deemed critical

Do not allow for additional requirements unless critical (i.e. don’t allow scope creep). If critical requirements are determined then unfortunately you will have to reschedule the meeting. 

Gaining Technical Approval

In this phase, it is not exactly the approval of requirements by technical members, rather it is the understanding of whether the requirements are detailed enough so that they can be designed and developed.

Steps to gain technical approval

Step 1: Schedule the overall approval

• Session 1 – Schedule initial high-level review
• Session 2 – Schedule in-depth follow-up review
• Include technical Subject Matter Experts (SME)
• Include technical lead/architect
• Create an agenda for both meetings

Step 2: Conduct Session 1

1. Explain the purpose of the meeting and agenda
2. Review project and objective
3. Touch on each high-level section of the requirements
4. Identify any major technical concerns
5. Answer questions

Step 3: Conduct Session 3

1. Explain the purpose of the meeting and the agenda
2. Review project and objective
3. Go through each requirement to validate technical feasibility
4. Identify any troublesome requirements
5. Verify enough detail for the design phase
6. Make or Buy decision
   1. Make – Create high-level design architecture
   2. Buy – Determine options (Competitive Comparison Matrix)
7. Update project estimated cost

Gaining Sponsor/Committee Approval

Steps to gain sponsor approval

Step 1: Schedule/Prepare the approval

1. Create a presentation to talk high level about project
   • Update project schedule, cost, and risks
   • Summarize the business requirements
   • Define the recommended solution
   • Anticipated transition to the solution (training, policies, job aids, etc)
   • Majority of the presentation should be visuals and charts
2. Schedule approval meeting with sponsor/committee
3. Invite business and technical project leads
4. Create a meeting agenda

Step 2: Conduct the meeting

1. Explain the purpose of the meeting and agenda
2. Review project and objective (sell the project)
3. Give your presentation (stay at a high level)
4. Address the questions and concerns immediately
5. Gain official sign-off on the project

The post is  based on my notes and understanding from this BA tutorial