Summary

Transform stakeholder needs, expectations, constraints, and interfaces into prioritized customer requirements.

Description

The customer typically describes requirements as capabilities expressed in broad operational terms concerned with achieving a desired effect under specified standards and regulations. Customer requirements can also include needs, expectations, constraints, and interfaces with regard to verification and validation. Inputs from the customer and other stakeholders should be aligned to the acquisition strategy. Missing information should be obtained and conflicts should be resolved as customer requirements are developed and prioritized.

Customer requirements can also exist as an output of another activity such as a previous project that delivered the initial capability; or a possible earlier customer or system-of-systems office related activity establishing architectural principles, interoperability standards, and common design constraints.

 

Examples of factors to consider when expressing customer requirements include the following:
  • Key characteristics of the desired capability with appropriate parameters and measures
  • Obstacles to overcome to achieve the capability
  • Competitive gap between the existing and the desired capability
  • Supportability of the desired capability
  • Level of detail of customer requirements that does not prejudice decisions in favor of a particular means of implementation but are specific enough to evaluate alternative approaches to implement the capability


Example Work Products



  1. Prioritized customer requirements
  2. Customer constraints on the conduct of verification
  3. Customer constraints on the conduct of validation


Subpractices



1. Translate stakeholder needs, expectations, constraints, and interfaces into documented customer requirements.

2. Establish and maintain a prioritization of customer functional and quality attribute requirements.

Having prioritized customer requirements guides the acquirer in determining project scope and which requirements and requirements changes to include in supplier agreements. This prioritization ensures that functional and quality attribute requirements critical to the customer and other relevant stakeholders are addressed quickly.

Determining priorities and resolving conflicts among them can be addressed when eliciting stakeholder needs, as described in the previous specific practice.



3. Define constraints for verification and validation.