Meeting with a customer to gain an overview of the business requirements and objectives is essential for an IT project to succeed.
At Codestone, we deliver a Requirement Definition Analysis (RDA) at the start of any project, which results in the delivery of a Requirement Definition Document (RDD). At this stage the proposal will be outlined and a top level overview of the proposed design and implementation schedule will be agreed.
Capturing the customer’s requirements as fully and accurately as possible is obviously the primary concern of the consultant when carrying out the Requirements Definition Analysis (RDA). One of the most time-consuming parts of the analysis exercise is for the consultant to fully understand the company’s current business processes.
It is therefore very important that we know what hardware and software the company is using and the network infrastructure. A ‘Site Survey’ document is provided in advance of a visit which the customer uses to record this information.
Project Definition Analysis (PDA) and Document (PDD)
Once an initial analysis has been completed, a Project Definition Analysis (PDA) is then produced. This is without exception the most important part of a project because, as its name suggests, it is the analysis activity that defines the project.
The purpose of PDA is to define the project in its entirety. This definition then forms the basis of the contract between Codestone and the customer, defining exactly what Codestone must deliver to meet the customer‘s expectations.
At this stage, a project manager is assigned to the customer, the audit of the existing environment is reviewed, a risk management analysis is conducted and a budgetary cost report is produced, outlining the total cost of the project and an agreed schedule for project delivery. During this phase, criteria will be defined for change management and acceptance for the project.
The analysis findings are formally documented in a Project Definition Document (PDD) which is provided to the customer for review once completed. Components of the Project Definition Document include: Statement of Works, Implementation Schedule, Project Plan, Technical Design Document, Configuration Plan, Risk Management Analysis and finally the Issue Log.
An on-site review with the Codestone consultant will then be scheduled to capture any changes required and update the PDD.
As the PDD is such an important document, every care is taken to incorporate all findings during the process so that it defines the Customer’s expectations exactly. If it does not then it is deficient and should be amended accordingly. The Customer has sole final responsibility for agreeing that the PDD defines the project as it is required by them.