It is often assumed that a requirement is something specified in a contract with regard to deliverable end-items and/or services. Such requirements are only the "tip of the iceberg."
ISO 9000 is about "documenting what you do and doing what you document." What you do, once documented, becomes a requirement. Every released document is a requirement to its user as is every released data set.
An organization runs on requirements. An organization runs most efficiently when the requirements are clear, concise and valid. An organization that operates on anything less invites corrective action and intervention resources to be an integral part of how they run their business.
Most organizations, whether acknowledged or not, operate in a corrective action mode. How do you escape that mode? How do you achieve good requirements and assure that they stay good?
Requirements change. Change management is the backbone of requirements management. Ability to accommodate change is a prerequisite for maintaining clear, concise and valid requirements. The requirements, in turn, must be properly structured.
In The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, author Robert Pirsig said that "Everything has structure." He could also have said, "Structure is everything."
What is Not a Requirement?
Any information that can affect safety, quality, schedule, cost or profit must be managed. Conversely, information having no affect on anything that is important does not have to be managed.
Per CMII, anything that is released is a requirement. To control it is to release it. Once released, it is an asset. If not released, it has no value. If not released, it is not a requirement.
A work instruction provides step-by-step directions for achieving physical item requirements. Procedures provide step-by-step instructions for achieving administrative requirements. The requirement to be achieved must be released before a work instruction or a procedure can be written.
A hierarchy of simple requirements is better than one all encompassing requirement. Supporting procedures are simplified accordingly. Higher-tier requirements are achieved by sub-tier requirements and supporting procedures.
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