Managing Complex Requirements (PDMA) February 20, 2008

Managing Complex Requirements -- A Case Study

Developing products and systems for large organizations means dealing with many complex and overlapping requirements. For Product Managers working on internal systems or custom development, a major challenge is understanding the true requirements and then helping competing groups, both Customers and internally, agree on requirement.

Bill Wimsatt will talk about his experience with California State AAA (CSAA), which initiated an enterprise data warehouse project in the fall of 2006. This project involved 27 different business areas across 4 offices in California and Arizona. Bill helped CSAA develop a framework for gathering information from the business community, including an interactive environment during the business scope and requirements phase. His presentation will cover the process and methods used to get input from across the enterprise to analyze, prioritize, and scope the business requirements - including the use of Telelogic's Focal Point product.

Michael Lester will introduce this case study by sharing tips on improving product management skills and making your company better at defining product capabilities.

Every product manager collects and balances input from multiple sources: customers, prospects, sales & marketing groups, R&D, competitors, analysts. Bill's work with CSAA provides special insight for PMs assigned to key customers, systems, large internal projects and long development cycles.

Members, Students & Partners-$10; Non-Members-$25 ($5 more at the door).

Official Website: http://norcalpdma.org