This tip we will introduce categories of roles involved in the Requirement Effort. Each of these roles will have specific responsibilities in the capturing, development, evolution, and managing of individual requirements, requirement specifications, and the requirement set. These categories are:

1. Requirement Suppliers
2. Requirement Producers
3. Requirement Users
4. Requirement Supporters

Requirement Suppliers are individuals that hold roles that are responsible for supporting the requirement effort. They support in the capacity of managing, controlling or sponsoring the effort. They assist the individuals that are responsible for eliciting, analyzing, specifying, validating or managing the requirement set for the project. Examples may include any business team member such as:

1. Business Executive
2. Customer Representative
3. Knowledge Expert

Requirement Producers are, in short, the individuals responsible for capturing the requirements. In more explicit terms, these individuals hold roles that are responsible for eliciting, analyzing, specifying, and coordinating the validation and approval of all the requirements required to satisfy the business solution. They are also responsible for managing the requirements.

Requirement Engineering specific roles would include both the Requirement Architect and the Requirement Controller. Requirement producers may be subdivided by domain, perspective and focus, only capturing requirements for their assigned category cell(s). If this is the case, they must also work with others to ensure that all interface requirements that affect their category cell(s) are also noted and accounted for. Examples may include:

1. Business Analysts
2. Data Analysts
3. Systems Analysts
4. Network Analysts

Requirement Users are individuals that hold roles that are responsible for supporting the requirement effort. They support in the capacity of managing, controlling or sponsoring the effort. They assist the individuals responsible for eliciting, analyzing, specifying, validating or managing the requirement set for the project. Examples include:

1. Database Administrators
2. Developers
3. Graphic Designers
4. Planning Coordinators
5. System Designers
6. Technical Analyst
7. Technical Systems Architects
8. Technical Writers
9. Trainers

Requirement Supporters are those individuals that hold roles that are responsible for supporting the requirement effort. They support in the capacity of managing, controlling or sponsoring the effort. They assist the individuals responsible for eliciting, analyzing, specifying, validating or managing the requirement set for the project. Examples include:

1. Business Coordinators
2. Facilitators
3. Process Managers
4. Project Managers
5. Quality Assurance Analysts
6. Technical Coordinators

The above list of example roles within the Requirements Related Role Categories are usually found in Fortune 500 companies. Remember, when working with small organizations, the same person may have responsibilities that cover many of the above roles. Similarly, multiple individuals may be responsible for the same set of responsibilities (and role).

SBDi is available to assist your organization in defining the responsibilities that will fully support a quality requirement engineering effort.

Pat Ferdinandi