One of the groups I worked with built simulations of naval systems for training purposes. When I came on, they were starting up two smaller training systems, each ~$2 million dollars. They had a pseudo-requirements document from the sponsor, but no system in place to manage it.

As I read through the requirements document, I extracted the top level requirements into a simple excel spreadsheet, which I called the System Requirement Verification Matrix (SRVM). When I was asked be teammates why I didn’t automate the process, I replied that I could have, but I saw value in gaining intimate familiarity with the system.

I then associated each requirement with the internal teams that would need to be involved in implementing the requirement. I worked with the project manager and the team leads to finalize the requirements assignments. Once this was agreed on, I broke down the requirements to the responsibility each team had, making sure to keep the traceability. Each requirement was further associated with a step in the test plan, which was worked on along side the development process.

I managed the lower level requirement using Jira, as that was what our organization was using for development. Each lower level requirement was associated with a templated Confluence page. This allowed each team to update their own requirements details, which I automatically exported to PDF slide decks for our SRR, PDR, and CDR reviews.

During each review, I was able to answer many questions by tracing back to the original requirements sent to us. By all accounts, these had been the smoothest reviews our group had, to the point that the branch head asked me to present my process for the $20M training programs in our group.

When we delivered the system to the client, I was recognized by the group that received the trainers for my intimate knowledge of the training system and how smooth the process was. I was also asked to lead the upcoming $20M training system.