RE: Reusing/Managing Requirements Across Multiple Projects

["Leonard C. Porrello" <Leonard -dot- Porrello -at- SoleraTec -dot- com>]

So what you basically want is a comprehensive requirements tracking
system that enables you to view any given requirement as it occurs in
any and all projects/models and all dependencies related to that
requirement and, I assume, the ability to create custom tailored
reports? 

Leonard

-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+leonard -dot- porrello=soleratec -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+leonard -dot- porrello=soleratec -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- c
om] On Behalf Of stuart conner
Sent: Monday, May 10, 2010 8:38 AM
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: Reusing/Managing Requirements Across Multiple Projects

For the past couple of years I've been developing, populating and
maintaining a set of very detailed requirements 
covering the functionality and user interface for some electronic
equipment. Different models of this equipment 
exist, with loads of different combinations of features, and loads of
variations/customisations within the same 
feature. So some requirements are 'tagged' for just one model, others
for several models, and others for all 
models. For each model, reuse of the 'generic' feature set varies
between about 50 - 95%. I currently have over 
23,000 requirements and 15 projects.

I started out using Requisite Pro, then moved to Excel. Now don't laugh
- under very controlled conditions Excel 
has been incredibly successful. I have a spreadsheet with requirements
running up/down and attributes running 
left/right. With its control over font formatting and zoom level,
styles, conditional colour formatting, multiple 
windows, and VBA for writing reporting tools and other utilities, it is
extremely good. I can very easily add, 
maintain and report on requirements, and it lets me see 'at a glance' on
screen how requirements are used across 
projects. It is not so good however in supporting many concurrent users
and tracking changes to individual 
requirements over time.

Now, some areas of management are getting a bit jumpity about the
requirements being held in 'just a spreadsheet', 
and there is some pressure to move to a 'proper' requirements management
tool - some are in use in other areas of 
the company. Having looked at several though, particularly Doors and Top
Team, they are all capable of storing the 
data itself, but they all seem to fall over in terms of the display of
the data - they are not sufficiently 
flexible to be able to squash columns up, conditionally colour format
the data and so on to show you clearly 
the 'big picture'. They are fine for working on requirements filtered
for one particular model, but I'm in a 
situation where I can't edit a requirement for a model without seeing if
the requirement is also used by other 
models for which the requirement as it stands might be correct, and I
can't add a requirement for a model without 
seeing if the requirement needed already exists for another model and I
can re-use it. Having to work through 15 
filtered views (one per model) for everything I do just won't be
productive.

Is anyone else doing similar work and have a solution? I'm sure I can't
be the only person ever to try to do this!

Stuart Conner
Southampton, UK


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