
Requirements management is an often underutilized discipline in software development. Yet the economic benefits – lowered development costs, faster development and better products that delight customers – have plainly been demonstrated in study after study. In this paper, renowned engineering process expert Karl Wiegers makes the case for requirements management as an integral part of any product lifecycle. Metrics are provided to show the positive effect of requirements management, from individual developers to the business to the customer. Serena® Dimensions™ RM and Serena Composer are examined as an example of how to bring effective requirements planning and management into product development.