Excerpt from Borland Whitepaper:

Why Projects Fail—and What Executives Can Do About It:
The Truth About Requirements Definition and Management

Executive Summary

Software is the engine of the modern enterprise – and for many organizations, it is their primary source of competitive advantage. Executives at all levels understand that the right software product deployed at the right time can help them automate manual, costly processes; cut operational costs and boost efficiency; accelerate innovation internally and with partners; and differentiate their business from the competition by improving product and service quality.

Software development remains one of the most inefficient and unpredictable areas within IT today. It’s well known that most software projects are either delivered late, way over budget, don’t meet customer needs, or are cancelled altogether.1 And software failures across many industries – from car manufacturers to airlines – cost the American economy billions of dollars annually.²

According to the Business Analysis Benchmark 2008 study that surveyed 110 companies, nearly seven out of 10 companies involved in development projects valued at $250,000 or more have software projects that are marginal in quality and function – or are complete failures.³

What’s the source of the problem? In the vast majority of cases, these undesirable outcomes originate early in the software development process – when requirements are first conceived and documented. Incorrect requirements result in costly rework that typically accounts for 40% of a development organization’s total spend (with most of the effort focused on correcting defects). Did you know that the cost of correcting an erroneous requirement after a product has been released can be 100 times more expensive than if the error is discovered during the requirements development phase?

The good news is that with the right processes and supporting software in place, you can optimize requirements definition and management (RDM) and use it as powerful lever to ensure project success. This paper explains what RDM is, how to do it well using the latest RDM software, and the business impact of implementing RDM solutions as part of a complete Open Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) solution.

You'll learn how Borland customers have:

• Decreased project delays and met customer expectations

• Improved product quality and reduced costs with less rework which typically accounts for 40% of a development organizations total spend

• Regained visibility and control throughout the entire project lifecycle

Borland's requirements definition and management offering is a comprehensive solution that enables you to improve your RDM process from the very beginning so you can reap dramatic business value from your software projects down the road.

To download the complete Whitepaper:

1 Standish report: 2004 CHAOS Report
2 According to the 2002 American’s National Institute of Standards (NIST), software failures cost the United States economy $59 billion.
3 IAG Business Analyst Benchmark, 2008