Improving software investments through requirements validation

IT organizations are increasingly being expected to provide business solutions faster and with better return on investments (ROIs). Their limited technology focus on software fails to deliver predictable, relevant and cost effective solutions. The electronic customer contact management (eccm) toolkit was designed to rectify the most pervasive problem in software development that is, the known fact that requirements specifications are always incomplete, inaccurate and wrong. The toolkit was used to implement a human-centric solution in a wireless center. The solution was driven by productivity improvements in center operations and not by technology. The solution produced measurable improvements in the robustness and effectiveness of center operations, providing the business an ROI of less than 18 months. The eccm toolkit tackles this business challenge by delivering: validated software requirements in areas such as service, operations and marketing while guaranteeing the investment's ROI through faster cycle times (e.g., one software release per week or faster); tools required by work center management to professionally manage both center resources and enhancements to the team's process-maturity level; and effective change management capabilities to maintain center productivity during the ongoing demand for new capabilities. This need became apparent only after the software bottleneck was eliminated.