Identify standards

- When we're working on complex projects, we need to collect a huge amount of information, and we need to make sure that nothing slips through the cracks. So it helps a lot if everyone uses the same approach to managing requirements. Some industries even have formal standards that provide a common framework. So let me share three examples. The most general standard is the International Standards Organization's ISO 21500, Guidance on Project Management. It describes how a project should be managed, including how you deal with requirements. The ISO standard is built around the "Project Management Body of Knowledge" from the Project Management Institute. You can buy a copy of the ISO 21500 standard from the ISO website and you can get the PMBOK from PMI. Next, more specifically for software developers and for folks who work in the electronics industry, there's a shared standard from three organizations, ISO, IEC and IEEE. It's a mouthful. The official name is the 29148-2018 International Standard for Systems and software engineering Life cycle processes Requirements engineering, yeah. But if your company or university has a subscription to the Standards library, you might be able to access it that way. Otherwise, you can buy a copy online from the IEEE website. Third, companies that do work in the defense industry should be familiar with the military specifications or MilSpecs. The U.S. military standard for project management is MIL-STD-961E, Defense and Program-Unique Specifications Format and Content. You can download a copy of that one for free from the Defense Logistics Agency website. In addition to knowing about the formal industry standards, you should also be familiar with a commonly used technique where you gather your stakeholders together in workshops to create project requirements. I call these Requirements Discovery and Analysis Workshops, but you'll also hear them called Joint Application Design or JAD, Joint Requirements Planning or JRP, and Joint Application Requirements or JAR. There are other courses here in the Learning Library that explain this technique in more detail. And I've included a tab called Standards in the course workbook where you can keep track of the standards that apply to your project. Using a formal standard or applying a well-known technique can reduce confusion, and make it easier for teams to collaborate. And sometimes it's actually required by your customers. So knowing which standards are used in your company and in your industry is the first step in managing your project requirements effectively.