Most project professionals would be familiar with SMART criteria requirements. The SMART term is a mnemonic acronym that defines that every requirement should comply with each of the Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic & Timely attributes.
This philosophy is very effective at ensuring that project requirements are suitable, attainable and practicable, however the approach does little to define why the requirement should be included (drivers), how the requirement supports an objective or goal (calibration) and what the benefit of the requirement delivers (outcome).
At greenCore we developed an additional acronym that we believe everyone should adopt that further defines each requirement as appropriate by confirming that each requirement fulfils at least one of the following qualities:
Resolve a Problem
Exploit an Opportunity
Align to Strategic Objective
Produce a Business Benefit
At greenCore, we believe that all requirements (Business/Technical, Functional/Non-Functional) should satisfy at least one of the REAP elements. If they don’t then they should not qualify as a suitable requirement.
As you may notice, these qualities comply with the Investment Logic Layer previously published under “The greenCore Anatomy of Project Change” (Drivers, Calibration & Outcome).
Feel free to use this approach for your project initiation phase in your next project. We at greenCore are keen to hear of your experiences in using this model and of course would love to hear your views and comments. Please share this if you believe our method is sound or may benefit others.
