Systems Engineering Process – Requirements Part 3

In my previous blogs Requirements Part 1 and Part 2, I discussed how the requirements fit into the overall project and the specific language that is used in the requirements process. This time we are going to look at the technical aspects of the requirements process. The requirements process is a part of the overall systems engineering process. These technical requirements flow down to the engineers, designers, programmers, suppliers and subcontractors. Problems managing these requirements will most definitely contribute significantly to project failures. This includes not only managing the requirements, but also in the definition of the requirements themselves. Defining the requirements includes two major functions; defining the problem and defining the solution.

Defining the problem is the task of translating the needs of the sponsor into the requirements for the product, service or system. Defining the solution is the task of specifying the components that will meet those needs by becoming accepted deliverables.

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Systems Engineering Process – Requirements Part 1

In a previous blog on Systems Engineering Principles and Practices, I discussed the need for planning analysis and requirements definition. The requirements are the specific who, what, where and when for the product, service or system. With a clear understanding of the systems engineering requirements process, we can demonstrate how this process fits in with our current projects. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge: (Pmbok Guide,4e) contains the standards for Project Management and it states that every project is broken down into the five Project Management Process Groups as seen in Figure 1.

Figure 1. PMBOK Project Management Process Groups

After reviewing how each of these processes fits into the overall project, we can start to understand where the requirements process fits into the project. As we will demonstrate later, the work on the project cannot begin until the requirements have been defined. The Requirements process is included in the planning for the project and are therefore included in the Planning Process Group.

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