A methodology to manage the changing requirements of a software project

Requirements evolve and managing requirements evolution is necessary to meet the business needs of a customer. The continuous changing requirements can affect the cost, schedule and quality of a software project. Inability to manage the changing requirements may lead to inconsistencies in system requirements and results in failure of the software project. An effective methodology to manage changing requirements is, therefore, necessary for successful project execution. This paper suggests a formal methodology to manage the changing requirements of a software project. In proposed methodology the requirements change management process is break-downed in multiple phases. The major stakeholders and typical work products of each phase are identified. The role of each stakeholder is explained with respect to relevant phase of the process. It has been identified that the Change Control Board (CCB) is the process owner and the main stakeholder of the change management process. The proposed methodology, which is based upon six phases, continuously manages the change requests throughout the whole life cycle of the project.