REQUIREMENTS AND SPECIFICATION

Did you know that most project overruns are the result of poorly defined Requirements and Specifications? By taking the time to clearly define these, you can ensure customer acceptance, and bring you're project in on time and on budget.

Many organizations struggle with understanding the difference between Requirements and Specifications, and the purpose they serve. The Requirements document is a customer document, intended to clarify with the customer what the product or service is required to do, while the Specification is a design document which specifies how the product or service will meet the requirements.

Project Deliverables

When defining a project it is important to identify and understand what the Project Deliverables are. Failure to properly define deliverables leads to missed deadlines and project overruns. Ensure that you look closely at the five major areas of the product development effort:

• Product Definition Phase:
• Product Development Phase:
• Verification & Test Phase:
• Manufacturing:
• Service:

When identifying project deliverables, it is imperative that you include every Design Document and Physical Item required along the way. Without this level of detail, you can’t accurately calculate the cost or time to market. Once you’ve developed a comprehensive list of deliverables, you can plan for the time and resources required to produce these and generate the Project Resources & Timeline and Project Costing.

Project Costing

Many project cost overruns can be traced back to poorly defined project costing. Often, items are missed, or the costs are not properly accounted for. Most companies generate a cost sheet for their projects. Using a well thought out template which identifies all possible activities and costs ensures that these areas are considered when developing project costing. To assist with this, Creator Consulting has developed a generic spreadsheet. The cost sheet has been set up to reflect a company which designs, builds, and installs various electro-mechanical devices. The entries and items are typical of the costs associated with this type of activity.