Requirements Management contains measures which support requirement analysis and further use of the requirements.
These measures include:

> Producing referrability in documentation (WHO changed WHAT, at which POINT IN TIME, for what REASON)
> Producing traceability between single peaces of information (e.g. from the system goal and its requirements, from the requirements to the system - to its model, the requirements to the system - to the source code)
> Improvement of communication between the project participants
> Improvement of communication between customer and supplier
> Ageement on what tools are used in the project, information gets connected effectively
> Recording all project participants and defining necessary steps of procedure (workflow concepts)
> Documentation of progress on the information's development process
> Possibility to distribute work, therefore, the actuality of information is ensured
> Structuring of requirement documents (application of current standards, like IEEE/EIA 12207, Volere Requirements Specification, etc. )

Which other concepts belong to this field

> Requirements Engineering
> Requirements Documentation
> RM - Tools

Are there definitions?

Requirements Management includes measures that support requirement analysis and the further use of requirements.

RM, necessary for what?

Requirements Management is needed to get and keep an overview of the entirety of the requirements to the system. Requirements Management methods support the requirements analysis process and help to ensure the completeness, unambiguity, actuality and conciseness of requirements for the entire requirements document.

When is RM used?

If an RM-process is executed consciously, it literally starts with the definition of the stakeholders and the definition of steps for procedure which the individual stakeholders are to follow. Through the measures described above, RM is fully practised during the entire project time. After system development is completed, these measures may still be implemented for another project.

What can happen if RM is not applied?

If there is no RM process used, in general, the entirety of requirements are not manageable any longer, no actual state of the requirements is available, and the coordination is nearly impossible. The result is an unaccomplished RE process or chaos.

Is a tool absolutely necessary?

Especially to ensure traceability of information (regarding changes and dependencies) and to support a workflow process, it is recommended to use an RM tool. These important aspects for an RM process are hardly realizable without tool support, at least in non-trivial projects.

What is the cost of an RM tool, and what does it yield?

RM-tools come in various price categories. The price span is between "almost free" and "not quite cheap".
Additional costs are at implementation within your organization. The more complex the tool in its handling, the more time consuming it is for the user. The benefit lies in the reduced cost and project running time, due to the optimal tool supported RE process. There is no way to go without a tool once a project reaches a certain size, complexity, criticality or distribution.

What kind of training is needed for using an RM-tool ?

For most RM-tools training of one day to several days is recommended. In general, many of the tools are quite intuitive to use, but often are also very complex. However, many users are only familiar with the main features of requirements management, and that can be all that is needed.


Who would (typically) use RM?

Especially when

> requirements to a system are written by and have to be coordinated with many stakeholders
> the stakeholders work at different places
> there is great need for communication between the customer and supplier
> the system contains requirements to several system releases
> the system contains requirements to an array of products, e.g. a product line
> the requirements are subject to high rate of changes
> re-use of requirements is requested
> RM should be applied deliberately and defined.

What kind of training is needed for using RM?

The least requisite needed to use RM, is the basic knowledge of RE and project management (regarding document- and process workflow).

Which website/books are providing additional information?

IEEE/EIA 12207: Information Technology – Software life cycle processes. First edition, Aug. 1, 1995
Robertson, S.: Robertson, J.; Foreword Weinberg, G. : Mastering the Requirements Process. Reading/MA, Addison
Wesley 1999. ISBN 0-201-36046-2
Rupp, C.: Requirements Engineering and –Management, Hanser Verlag 2002, ISBN 3-446-21960-9 (in german)