TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1 emphasized the importance of requirements. It was noted that customers, managers, and developers undervalue requirements engineering. The RA is in a strategic position to improve the practices in use on projects and in the organization. The analyst can have a positive impact on project success and also facilitate the organization's improvement results by performing in several roles. Making the RA's role explicit contributes to a smoother process. The RA's role can be linked readily to business goals, such as increasing customer satisfaction with the delivered work products; reducing the time to market of products; meeting cost, schedule, and quality objectives; and utilizing the human resources of the enterprise more effectively. The RA's role needs to be understood and valued in the minds of PMs and the technical communities (both computing and engineering). Table 2.1 summarizes the roles of the RA, noting the life-cycle phases in which each role is performed.
| RA Roles | System Initiattion | System Analysis and Design | System Component Design | System Implementation | System Integration, Test, and Evaluation | System Operations and Support |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Work collaboratively with customers, users, and system architects and designers to identify the real requirements for a planned system or software development effort to define the problem that needs to be solved. | X | X | A | A | A | A |
| 2. Work effectively with customers and users to manage new and changed requirements so that the project stays under control. Install a mechanism to control changes. | X |
