Requirements Management

Key words and phrases: requirements management, acquisition, project management, configuration control, technical specifications, tactical data links

The increasing emphasis on incremental acquisition requires a consistently higher level of involvement from the project manager throughout the programme life cycle. Requirements evolve rapidly, both to satisfy changing user needs and to exploit new and emerging technologies. The successful delivery of capability on time and within budget is a major challenge and thus it is vitally important that complex project information is efficiently structured and effectively managed.

Lockheed Martin UK - Integrated Systems & Solutions has abundant experience in the field of project management, and now enhances that capability through the use of proprietary software tools such as Quicksilver (formerly Interleaf) and DOORS. Consultants are on hand to assist in the design and structuring of information management procedures to ensure the optimal efficiency in change management, configuration control, traceability and data distribution.

As a precursor to defining the capabilities of an operational system or verifying that an off-the-shelf system meets the end user's needs, it is necessary to determine the operational requirements. As the procurement and development programmes proceed, these requirements may need to be adjusted, particularly if a specific requirement is clearly unachievable or too expensive.

Operational specifications may include details of the necessary processing, display and operator actions and should be written in a style and format which clearly states the requirements and still remains comprehensible to the operational sponsors. This ensures that the specification can be readily endorsed by the operational community prior to it being used as a source document for subsequent technical specifications.

The Company’s expertise has been applied in analysing the use of tactical data links in both an air defence and a maritime warfare environment. In particular, the following activities have been conducted:

• The analysis and documentation of information exchange requirements (IERs).
• The production of operational specifications for the integration of data links into particular platforms, including:
  • Sea King AEW JTIDS Operational Specification.
  • Sea Harrier JTIDS Operational Specification.
  • Tanker JTIDS Operational Specification.
  • Airborne Stand-Off Radar (ASTOR) JTIDS Operational Specification.
• Conducting a Project Definition Study of the UK’s operational requirement for a transportable Tactical Air Command and Control (TACC) system.
• Translating the UK’s operational requirement for a TACC into a Specification and Statement of Work against which Industry could provide competitive tenders.

Further information is available from:

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Tel: +44 (0)1252 732555