How to Manage a Change Request Process in a Traditional or Agile Environment

Project & Requirements Management in Sequential Process Models

Projects are carried out based on a need to fulfill business and solution requirements. In traditional project management approaches, defining requirements is not seen as a task in projects.

Figure 1 shows two sequential models, namely the waterfall model and the V-model.

The waterfall model is the best-known sequential process model, which is used primarily in the IT and construction sectors. The waterfall model provides a separation of the phases requirement, design, implementation, review, and maintenance. At each phase transition, it is assumed that the previous phase has been completed. Sequential process models assume that the solution requirements are planned before the implementation of the solution is started. After the requirements are defined, a "design freeze" occurs. The specified requirements are "frozen" and can no longer be changed from this point on without a formal change request¹ of the change request management.

When implementing a solution, requirements are considered during change requests and during testing and acceptance of the solution by external or internal customers.

Change Request Process

If additional requirements are identified, or the defined requirements are changed during the implementation of a solution, a "change request process" must be carried out. A change or addition to solution requirements can necessitate adaptations to the project services to be performed, the project deadlines, and the project costs. Adaptations to the project plans must be made accordingly. Changes in the project organization, in project stakeholder relationships, in relationships to other projects, etc., that may be necessary as a result are usually not explicitly taken into account.

Figure 2 shows an example of a change request process.

Project & Requirements Management in Iterative Process Models

A frequently used iterative process model is "Scrum," a so-called "agile" model.

The basic Scrum structures are shown in Figure 3.

In the Scrum model, solution requirements are referred to as "user stories" and are summarized in "backlogs." For each iteration ("sprint"), the "product team" may define additional user stories or discard user stories that have already been defined.

Source