Project Requirements Checklist

The requirements checklist is a tool to assist in determining whether the requirements are documented, correct, complete, unambiguous, consistent, verifiable and approved.  The Requirements Specification template includes examples and can be used to document the requirements for your product or service, including priority and approval.  Tailor the specification to suit your project, organizing the applicable sections in a way that works best, and use this checklist to record decisions about the applicable areas. 

Each deliverable indicated below as applicable must be documented and included in the requirements review package.

Applicable?  (Yes? No? Comment?)	Requirements Deliverable	Key questions or issues to consider
		Project Description
Yes - Required	Project Overview	Does the package include the name of the project and all requirements review package contributors, and the name of the work group(s) that will own the requirements?  This may simply be a reference to the project charter.
Yes - Required	Key Stakeholders	Does the package include a list of the key stakeholders, with their work group and email addresses? This may simply be a reference to the project charter.
Yes - Required	Scope & Business Reason	Does the package include a brief description of the business reason for this project, and what is and is not included in the scope of this project? Is the target audience or primary customer identified? This may simply be a reference to the project charter.
	User Characteristics	Are the general characteristics or profiles of the intended users defined?
	Assumptions	Are assumptions that affect the requirements documented?
	Constraints and limitations	Are technical, financial or business limitations that could constrain the design options documented?
	Dependencies	Are the requirements dependent on the release or functionality of other applications/services? On any organizational changes or resource bottlenecks?
	Common Language	Has every acronym or specialized term been included in a glossary or data dictionary?
		Requirements Documentation
	Functional Requirements	·         Are business rules defined?  ·         Are input and output processing actions specified? ·         Is every function supporting an input or output described? ·         Are validity checks on the inputs defined? ·         Is the exact sequence of operations described? ·         Are specific responses to abnormal situations needed? (e.g., overflow, communication facilities, error handling/recovery) ·         What about the effect of parameters? ·         Are relationships of outputs to inputs described? (e.g., input/output sequences, formulas for input to output conversion) ·         Are required user interfaces described? (e.g., screen formats or organization, report layouts, menu structures, error and other messages, or function keys) ·         Are explicitly undesired events/inputs described, along with their required responses?
	Performance	·         Are static and dynamic numerical performance requirements identified? ·         Are all performance requirements measurable? ·         Are explicit latency requirements identified? ·         Are capacity requirements measurable? ·         Are specific and measurable requirements identified for availability? ·         Are specific and measurable requirements identified for reliability?
	Manageability & Maintainability	·         Are there requirements specific to the management of the deliverable product or service? ·         Are there requirements for product or service health monitoring, failure conditions, error detection, logging, and correction? ·         Are there requirements specifically related to ease of maintenance? ·         Are normal and special operations specified?
	Usability	Are usability requirements defined?
	Interfaces (Systems, Network, Hardware) and Integration	·         Is each required interface with another product or system described? ·         Is each required interface with a network component described? ·         Is each required interface with a hardware or equipment component described? ·         Are all input, output and system conditions and their interactions described? ·         Are there references to existing interface documentation? ·         Is there a need for requirements that are specific to a given site, such as oceanography vessels?
	Data Management	Are the data requirements specified?
	Standards Compliance	Are requirements derived from existing standards, policies, regulations, or laws described?
	Security	Are security requirements described, including authorization and authentication factors?
	Portability	Must the system be easily ported to other host machines and/or operating systems?  Is environment-independence a requirement?
	Existing defects to be resolved	Are there any existing defects which must be resolved with this release? Are they documented?
		Requirements Process
	Traceability	Are all requirements numbered or uniquely identifiable?
	Priority	Is every requirement prioritized?
	Requirements Confirmation	Have all requirements been approved and confirmed by the sponsor?
	Conciseness	Is every requirement unambiguous, with only one interpretation?
	Consistency	Are the requirements mutually consistent? Do any requirements conflict with or duplicate other requirements?
	Completeness	·         Is every requirement correct and complete? ·         Does the requirements documentation capture all of the client's stated needs? ·         Are there any unstated client needs which, if not met, would cause dissatisfaction? ·         Are there any unstated client needs which, if met, would cause the client to be more than satisfied? ·         Are all identified requirements documented? ·         Do any requirements conflict? ·         Are there any special considerations not covered in the requirements?
	Business Scenarios / Use Cases	Have business scenarios been constructed to illustrate (or draw out) the requirements?
	Reviewer Commitment	Have all requirements reviewers committed to participate in the reviews?  Is there a plan to ensure review team continuity?
	Deleted or Deferred Requirements	Were any requirements approved and subsequently deleted? Known to be delayed until future versions of the product? Are they identified?
	Testing and Testability	·         Is every requirement verifiable? Are unverifiable (and untestable) requirements noted? ·         Can the requirements serve as the basis for defining product acceptance? ·         What types of testing and testing methodology is expected?
	Clarity	·         Are the requirements described in enough detail for the implementation team to design a system satisfying the requirements and to verify that the system satisfies requirements? ·         Are the requirements specifications readable and understandable?
	Appropriateness	·         Do the requirements specify what needs to be done as opposed to describing how the product or service should be implemented? ·         Do the requirements avoid specifying a particular design?
	Planning	·         Is there a plan to resolve each "To Be Determined" noted in the requirements? ·         Is there a plan to trace every requirement to an implementation item (e.g., design diagram or test case)? ·         Are the requirements re-usable after implementation? ·         Are the requirements compatible with later project phases? ·         Can the requirements specifications be used as the basis for proceeding with the project?
	Requirements Management	·         Are all requirements documents kept consistent with product changes? ·         Is a change management system in place to track the modifications to the requirements?  Are the requirements under configuration management? ·         Are the requirements documents structured to accommodate changes? ·         Have the requirements documents been developed according to documented processes that have been agreed to by the project team? ·         Do the requirements documents facilitate the gathering of data about the requirements management process?