Validate Requirements
Always validate documented requirements with the project sponsor, stakeholders, and project team. Validation reviews help you understand whether what is written really describes what each person needs. The key to the requirements process is validation of the requirements by all parties. Validation lets you know that everyone agrees with the requirements and that you can proceed with the project. You use validated requirements to establish the requirements baseline.
Establish the Requirements Baseline
The requirements baseline is the requirements document that has been approved by the sponsor, stakeholders, and key members of the project team. The baseline defines what the sponsor wants and what the project team has agreed to deliver. It will not be changed unless the sponsor, stakeholders, and you, the project manager, approve of the change.
Everyone on the team must understand that the requirements for the project are defined in the baseline and that any proposed changes must be submitted to you in writing. Changes to the baseline document could affect the cost and schedule of the project. To learn more about the change control process and how you use it to change the requirements baseline, refer to Module 9, "Understanding Change Management."
Establishing a requirements baseline is one of the ways you control the scope of a project and avoid scope creep. Scope creep occurs when project requirements keep changing. When scope creep is out of control, you never finish a project; the schedule keeps moving out and the costs keep increasing. As a project manager, enforcing the requirements baseline is one of your most important tasks.