requirements management

Requirements are supposed to be the basis of most test cases, but can you use test cases to define what the system needs to do--to improve or to actually become the requirements? To some degree, your development process dictates the opportunities you have for test cases to define or refine requirements. However, everyone can benefit from test case writing techniques to identify missing requirements, surface ambiguous statements, and expose implied requirements early in the process. Find out how Tanya Martin-McClellan produces test cases that accurately reflect the requirements, as they are understood at the time, and conducts team reviews to find the gaps and misunderstandings. Although more time is spent writing and rewriting test cases, less time is spent later discussing requirements.

• Find the vaguely defined parts of the requirement definition
• A template of implied requirements you can customize

Studies show that most application defects are introduced before a single line of code is developed-with many (if not most) of these defects attributed to poor requirements. Studies also show that it is less costly to identify and correct these defects prior to code development. Despite this data, many of us have requirements analysis approaches that have become stale and are ineffective. Many analysts acknowledge that their processes need some improvement but feel helpless to do much about the problem. Dion Johnson offers a package of small yet effective "RequireMINTs" that will freshen up those stale requirements processes in a highly practical way. You will take away a road map for collecting metrics that make a case for requirements improvements, identifying necessary improvements, and implementing these improvements.

• Reverse the reverse-engineering trend with better requirements

When we communicate, the words sound familiar so we think we understand each other. But understanding fizzles when we attribute different meanings to the words we use. In this column, Naomi Karten illustrates how differences in the way departments and companies define their terms can cause confusion, flawed conclusions, and faulty decisions. Naomi asks us to question the meanings of terms before starting a project to ensure that we understand what's called for.

When writing requirements documentation it's important to consider your audience. In this article, the author shows you what questions to ask yourself when you're preparing your project plan.