Hello again,

When i did my PhD I came up with a requirements pattern language that I still use. It's really good for database driven applications and gives the analyst a running start on producing a first specification. It's at the heart of my project management method (PrinceLite) that joins up management with engineering. You can get the paper at www.princelite.co.uk/downloads.cfm. You have to sign up, but don't be shy.

Cheers,

Peter

Hello all,

Well, work on the PrinceLite proposition continues apace. I can offer something I think is workwhile and want to let people know. I've posted my versions of stripped down (almost elegant) project brief and BRS templates along with a worked case study from a system I specified a couple of years ago (that delivered successfully - thank you for asking...)

So, I'm really interested in layered requirements according to outline, high level, mid level and possibly low level requirements. If this interests you too (and why wouldn't it?) then have a look at www.princelite.co.uk/downloads.cfm. You'll have to sign up to download the templates though so I know who you are (tell the truth!).

Cheers

Peter

There are obvious advantages to receiving a fixed price quote over a time and materials estimate. It is possible to elicit a fixed price quotation from a supplier in response to an invitation to tender (ITT). It just isn’t easy.
If a supplier is prepared to submit a fixed price quotation, it should mean you can have a high degree of confidence in the business specification, implying the supplier understands exactly what you want. Where the requirments are not well understood the supplier will instead offer you a time and materials estimate, which is no guarantee whatsoever of time, cost or quality; a kind of blank cheque.
In a recent procurement exercise where the PrinceLite method was used to draft the specification included in the tender document, one supplier offered a fixed price quotation, and two others offered a time and materials estimate with a fixed price option that was priced as a 20% uplift on the time and materials price.