This is an interesting question in business IT.  I just sat through a long meeting discussing requirements for a project that is under way.  The project started without a detailed list of requirements written out. 

So, the business adds a requirement that no one was aware of.  I made the mistake of using the words “change request”  which led to a ROUSING discussion.  The business didn’t want to start adding “process” when they had not been required to follow a requirements management process to date.  It was a shock to use the words.

Lesson to learn: if you EVER want to control your Business IT project, don’t let any progress to occur without a common agreement about the amount of control, and stick to that agreement as long as possible. 

There’s a layer of stomach lining I’m never getting back.

By Nick Malik

Former CIO and present Strategic Architect, Nick Malik is a Seattle based business and technology advisor with over 30 years of professional experience in management, systems, and technology. He is the co-author of the influential paper "Perspectives on Enterprise Architecture" with Dr. Brian Cameron that effectively defined modern Enterprise Architecture practices, and he is frequent speaker at public gatherings on Enterprise Architecture and related topics. He coauthored a book on Visual Storytelling with Martin Sykes and Mark West titled "Stories That Move Mountains".

3 thoughts on “Is it a change request?”
  1. "No requirements management process" — sounds like you’ll be missing several layers of stomach lining after this project.

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