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Change Management

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Anil Jassal India
For updates in a software/application, is it necessary to explicitly specify in the requirement document that existing functionalities and role structures should remain unchanged, or should this be considered an implicit understanding for both development and QA teams? Development should ensure that existing logic is preserved, and QA should include test cases to verify that there is no impact on current functionalities and roles within the application.
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Sergio Luis Conte Helping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based Organizations Buenos Aires, Argentina
It depends on the change. If changes in requirements takes place then it is important to update all the related documentation. Sometimes some people forget that documentation must be included into change management process and supported by the change control system. With that said, as always, the approach/life cycle/method or framework/tool you are using will impact adding to that the governance process which is the key.
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Kiron Bondale Retired | Mentor| Retired Welland, Ontario, Canada
Anil -

As a quality requirement, the statement "existing functionality should not be regressed" might cover this, but from a testing perspective, you would want to have sufficient regression testing coverage (ideally automated) to verify that changes do not break existing functionality.

Kiron
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Keith Novak Tukwila, Wa, United States

Fundamentally, that can't be implicit or it is not a requirement that can be validated or verified.

It could be states as a high level requirement as Kiron suggests but rather than the functionality should not require anyone to assume responsibilities outside their current role. In some cases, a better solution might require some organizational transformation and role changes. When computers became prevalent in the workplace, many people took on administrative work that once was assigned to assistants such as typing their own communications.

Changing roles can have significant issues such as if labor unions are involved, so the requirement might be written as not requiring users to perform duties outside of existing boundaries as defined in contracts or by HR.

Other times, you might find that being agile involves shifting some responsibilities or removing "non-value-added" steps from a process. True digital transformation also frequently involves some level of organizational transformation.

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