Effective Requirements Writing

Kenneth has 14 years of healthcare experience in government and private industry. Over eight years of experience managing healthcare IT projects, operations, contracts, and personnel. His work experience includes project management, contracts and procurements, data analysis, claims adjudication, business writing, and business process modeling. Kenneth was certified in 2006 as a Project Management Professional.

  Requirements Management  

Requirements are the heart and soul of a project. They determine what will be done, who can do it and how the project will be successful (or not successful). The key to successful requirements is that they are written well from the very beginning of the project. Being able to write effective requirements requires work and dedication, but most of all it requires a thorough understanding of what the project is intended to do and how the stakeholders will measure success on the project.

Following these guidelines will help the requirement writer get a good head start on writing effective requirements that will filter through the entire project lifecycle.

Write Rightly
The first thing requirements need when they are written is to be right. This should go without saying, but there are many factors that lead to requirements being written incorrectly. The person writing the requirement may not understand every detail of the project, or the project team may not be at a point where they can fully express what is needed to be successful, or perhaps the stakeholders do not even know what they want yet.

Whatever the reason, if the requirements cannot be written correctly, then the project team still has work to do. Moving forward without correct requirements is a mistake that can cause an entire project to fail. If more time or information is needed, then the project …

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