As I talk to folks about anything and everything related to the world of a BA there seems to be different point of views about requirements and solution sign-off. I often hear that SME's don't want to "sign-off" on the requirements because they may change their mind. Sign-off has become this dreaded milestone. In many instances, sign-off is not the problem, but the symptom of something much worse. The business and the IT solution team are not in sync. Much of this is due to poor requirements management. In my opinion, to help resolve the issue you need sign-off.
When I think of "sign-off" I do not only think of a physical signature on a large requirements package. Depending on the project and the milestone, sign-off can be a thumbs up, an email, a physical or electronic signature on a document, and everything in between.
There is a critical reason for sign-offs throughout the project lifecycle. At different stages of a project you need to take the opportunity to ensure you are headed in the right direction. As an excellent Business Analyst you should constantly be verifying with your stakeholders that you understand the scope, business requirements, functional requirements, etc. In addition, you need to make certain the solution team has enough information to deliver the best solution.
To be successful, you need to facilitate the process of delivering a quality solution to your customer. Getting sign-offs of any flavor will help.
January 7th, 2007 at 1:13 pm
I agree with your signoff post. However, the term 'sign-off' is not well received for many reasons in my company. I like to use the terms 'acceptance', 'verification' or 'validation', and incorporate process to support these functions within the development lifecycle. It's not what you say, it's how you say it I guess in my organization anyway.
January 8th, 2007 at 5:47 pm
Thanks for the reply. You are not alone. I like the terms you use!
January 13th, 2007 at 11:30 am
I totally agree with Kupe, but would be very careful with a thumbs-up type signoff. Of course, it always depends on your organization, but I have been bitten by the bug that got me because someone claims they didn’t sign off when they actually did and just don’t remember! And I also like Jim’s terminology..
March 10th, 2007 at 3:22 pm
As a business analyst, I always insist on getting ‘approval’ for the requirement specification from the business users. A simple email stating “Approved” is sufficient to go ahead.
May 11th, 2007 at 4:06 pm
No matter how good your analysis is and however excellent the solution developed, if this is not what the business wanted, it will deliver zero business value.
Sign-off is very very important.
May 14th, 2007 at 9:40 am
Bizvalu,
I could not have stated that better!!!!