Sustainable requirements engineering - a field report

Classic product development in a company like any other. Product management says: "We write the specifications and hand them over to development." Development says: "We don't receive any specifications, but we do write a requirements specification." The testers say: "We don't get a specification sheet or a functional specification. We try to find out what the product should be able to do by trying it out and then write the documentation."

In this guest article, Julia Grassinger describes how things can be better.

Guest article by Julia Grassinger

One thing is clear - this is how a Product not efficiently developed for the market become. And yet this practice is still common in many development companies. We could talk at length about the reasons for this. But here we would rather look at how it can be done differently. Here is a case from the consulting practice of our colleague Frank Stöckel:

Developing the right product efficiently

It all started with a vision in a hidden champion in the SME sector: "We want to develop the right product efficiently!". As always at the beginning of an innovation, only a few real enthusiasts came together. But they were determined - and after a few discussions, there was also back-up from C-level. A plan was forged: First, a new RE tool was to be selected. Then a consultant would be hired to train the employees.

The choice fell on Frank, an expert for 20 years in the introduction of sustainable Requirements Engineering. But when Frank heard the company's plans, he realized that it would be difficult to implement them. He had another idea: "RE is needed to improve communication between the disciplines and prevent undesirable developments. You're right about that. But you are just a small group of enthusiasts. To be really successful, we need a critical mass of employees who are enthusiastic. And this momentum can only be created if we take an iterative approach, developing a methodology in small steps in concrete projects that is specifically suited to you."

The enthusiasts were skeptical, but were then persuaded: "Okay, let's try it the way you suggested." And they got started:

Sustainable introduction of requirements engineering: SuRE

We started with a few small projects. They should not be the biggest, riskiest and most prestigious. Rather, the projects in which we can try out and research how the disciplines of testing, product development and marketing can work well together. In this Orientation phase all those involved developed a common understanding of values and a common language in relation to the RE methodology. This did not require a separate RE tool - a simple Excel spreadsheet and a few Word documents were enough.

When these projects were completed, a small team of participants came together who wanted to pass on their newly acquired skills. In the Definition phase they summarized all their findings in a company standard. Only then did the roll-out to other, larger projects follow. We call this procedure SuRE - Sustainable Requirements Engineering.

SuRE is based on the values: iterative, empirical, development of new process models in concrete real projects, transparent, developed by the people involved themselves with RE expertise as a coach.

Anchoring in the company

However, even after two years, not all teams were working with the new RE methodology. A team of multipliers was therefore formed. The multipliers supported each other in deepening their respective skills. And every new project was offered support if it wanted to start using the new RE methodology.

Parallel to the development of a new RE process model, the focus was also shifted to cooperation between different disciplines: whereas testers and product validation were previously located at the end of the product development process, they were now considered and involved from the very beginning.

HOOD impact model: making success in product development measurable

Now, three years after the introduction of SuRE, the success is clearly visible. During this time, a high six-figure sum has already been saved in undesirable developments. And that with a total investment in SuRE of around one third of the costs saved. The more efficient, adapted work processes have reduced the waste of valuable working time.

The employees in SuRE are convinced of the methodology that they have developed themselves and are motivated to pass the idea on to their companies so that the right products can be developed more efficiently in future.

Don't we all want to develop market-relevant products efficiently?

In the traditional world, this is all too often overlooked. Only through early and intensive collaboration can products be created that not only solve customers' problems, but also actually generate a return on investment. This also requires overcoming the differences between silos. How to do this Sustainable and mindful The agile RE team at HOOD has a lot of experience in this area.

And we'll be happy to help you do the same in your company. Get in touch and arrange a non-binding initial consultation with Frank.