REQM SP 1.2 Question

Can you please help me?

I am developing a study based on CMMI-DEV and I am having some difficulty with the interpretation of Specific Practice 1.2. My concern is how to apply SP 1.2 in practice. Who are the members of the project that must be committed to the requirements (business analysts, systems analysts, test analysts, developers, systems architects, project manager, and project leader)?

How should their commitment be documented? For example, for each new or changed requirement the members must sign a document that means that they are aware of the requirement and are committed to it.

Do you have a copy of the Addison Wesley published CMMI-DEV version 1.2? If so, there are some very helpful tips in the margins for REQM SP 1.2.

When you have a set of requirements for a project team, everyone on the team impacted by the requirements needs to share a common understanding of the requirements. In addition, since you typically do not have the full set of requirements available at project start, the project team needs to continually evaluate and reevaluate their ability to meet the requirements as the requirements evolve over the life of the project. One way of evaluating requirements is an impact assessment on the existing requirements, design, documents, test cases, current and downstream tasks and activities, cost, schedule, etc. for a new or changed requirement. By going through an impact analysis, that will provide a way for the project participants to communicate their ability to meet the requirements and associated commitments. The resulting impact analysis report can be one way of documenting the commitment. Other methods for documenting commitments include meeting minutes, document signatures, or email. However, just signing a document indicating that the participants are aware of a requirement really does not indicate that they are committed to the requirements and you might run into difficulties later on in the lifecycle.

Please keep in mind that commitments include both the resources involved (people, tools, and facilities) and the schedule for completion.