Requirements engineering and management: the key to designing quality complex systems

Very few high technology acquisition projects are successful. Problems occur far too often, regardless of whether one is acquiring clinical or business information systems, patient monitoring systems, or therapeutic and diagnostic systems. The odds are good that the project will be delivered late, cost far more than predicted, and not provide all of the features promised. Only 9 percent of projects are on time and under budget, and only about 16 percent deliver what was promised. The principal reason for project failure is improper management of the requirements of the system. Requirements engineering and management (REAM) is a skill from the systems engineering profession that can be learned by nearly any professional who is managing a technology acquisition project. This paper will tell you what REAM is and how it is done.