Artifact: Stakeholder Requests
| This artifact contains any type of requests a stakeholder (customer, end user, marketing person, and so on) might have on the system to be developed. It may also contain references to any type of external sources to which the system must comply. | |
| Role: | System Analyst |
| Optionality/Occurrence: | Mostly during the Inception and Elaboration phases. |
| Templates and Reports: | - Template: Stakeholder Requests - Template: Context-Free Interview Script |
| Examples: | |
| UML Representation: | Not applicable. |
| More Information: | - Concept: Change Request Management - Guideline: Interviews - Guideline: Requirements Workshop - Checklist: Stakeholder Requests - Guideline: Stakeholder Requests - Informal Representation |
| Input to Activities: - Capture a Common Vocabulary - Design the User Interface - Detail a Use Case - Develop Vision - Find Actors and Use Cases - Identify Test Motivators - Manage Beta Test - Manage Dependencies - Set and Adjust Objectives | Output from Activities: - Elicit Stakeholder Requests |
Purpose
The purpose of this artifact is to capture all requests made on the project, as well as how these requests have been addressed. Although the system analyst is responsible for this artifact, many people will contribute to it: marketing people, end users, customers-anyone who is considered to be a stakeholder to the result of the project. This information may be collected in a document or automated tool and appropriate requests should be tracked and reported on following an approved Change Request Management (CRM) process.
Examples of sources for the Stakeholder Requests are:
- Results of stakeholder interviews
- Results from requirements elicitation sessions and workshops
- Change Request (CR)
- Statement of work
- Request for proposal
- Mission statement
- Problem statement
- Business rules
- Laws and regulations
- Legacy systems
- Business models
Timing
Stakeholder Requests are mainly collected during the inception and elaboration phases, however you should continue to collect them throughout the project’s lifecycle for planning enhancements and updates to the product. A change request tracking tool is useful for collecting and prioritizing these requests.
Responsibility
A system analyst is responsible for the integrity of the Stakeholder Requests artifact, ensuring that:
- All stakeholders have been given the opportunity to add requests.
- All items in this artifact are taken into consideration when developing detailed requirements in the use-case model and the supplementary specifications.
Tailoring
Stakeholder requests are best managed in a database, such as Rational ClearQuest and/or Rational RequisitePro, in order to track status, prioritize, generate reports, and establish traceability. Tailoring involves deciding on the information (attributes) to be documented for each stakeholder and each stakeholder request. See Artifact: Requirements Attributes.