How do you document control system requirements for stakeholders?

1 Define the scope

The first step in documenting control system requirements is to define the scope of the project, which includes the objectives, boundaries, assumptions, constraints, and deliverables of the control system. You need to identify the stakeholders who are involved or affected by the control system, and their roles, responsibilities, and interests. You also need to define the system context, which describes the environment, interfaces, and interactions of the control system with other systems or components. Defining the scope helps you to establish a common understanding of the project scope and goals with your stakeholders, and to avoid scope creep or ambiguity later on.

2 Gather the requirements

The next step is to gather the requirements from your stakeholders, which are the statements of what the control system should do, how it should behave, and what qualities it should have. You can use various techniques to elicit the requirements, such as interviews, surveys, workshops, observation, or prototyping. You need to ensure that the requirements are relevant, consistent, complete, verifiable, and traceable. You also need to prioritize the requirements according to their importance, urgency, and feasibility. Gathering the requirements helps you to understand the needs and expectations of your stakeholders, and to align them with the project objectives and constraints.

3 Analyze the requirements

The third step is to analyze the requirements, which involves checking, validating, and refining the requirements to ensure that they are clear, correct, and feasible. You need to review the requirements with your stakeholders, and resolve any conflicts, gaps, or ambiguities. You also need to model the requirements using diagrams, tables, or equations to illustrate the structure, behavior, and logic of the control system. You can use various tools and methods to analyze the requirements, such as functional analysis, state transition diagrams, data flow diagrams, or control flow diagrams. Analyzing the requirements helps you to eliminate errors and inconsistencies, and to improve the quality and clarity of the requirements.

4 Specify the requirements

The fourth step is to specify the requirements, which involves documenting the requirements in a formal and structured way that can be communicated and understood by your stakeholders. You need to use a consistent and standard format and language to specify the requirements, such as natural language, structured language, or graphical language. You also need to classify the requirements into different types, such as functional requirements, non-functional requirements, performance requirements, or safety requirements. You can use various tools and formats to specify the requirements, such as requirement specification documents, requirement management software, or requirement traceability matrices. Specifying the requirements helps you to communicate and document the requirements in a clear and concise way, and to facilitate the verification and validation of the requirements.

5 Manage the requirements

The fifth step is to manage the requirements, which involves controlling and tracking the changes, updates, and status of the requirements throughout the project lifecycle. You need to establish a requirement management plan, which defines the roles, responsibilities, and processes for managing the requirements. You also need to use a requirement management system, which is a tool or software that helps you to store, organize, link, and monitor the requirements. You need to involve your stakeholders in the requirement management process, and keep them informed and engaged about the changes and progress of the requirements. Managing the requirements helps you to ensure that the requirements are aligned with the project scope and goals, and to cope with the changes and uncertainties of the project.

6 Verify and validate the requirements

The sixth and final step is to verify and validate the requirements, which involves testing and evaluating the requirements to ensure that they are met and satisfied by the control system. You need to verify the requirements, which means checking that the requirements are correct, complete, and consistent. You can use various techniques to verify the requirements, such as reviews, inspections, or audits. You also need to validate the requirements, which means checking that the requirements are relevant, realistic, and acceptable. You can use various techniques to validate the requirements, such as simulations, experiments, or demonstrations. Verifying and validating the requirements helps you to confirm that the requirements are accurate and appropriate, and to identify and correct any errors or defects in the requirements or the control system.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?