Got an off shore development firm. They are ok, but under estimate and like to try and blame the BA a lot. My predecessor produced a requirements spec and they didn't like it. Too ambiguous. I re-worked it and tightened it up. They said it read like a legal contract. 
Anywho, they came back this week with "the spec doesn't say xyz so we didn't do it" type crap. I handled it beautifully by also pointing out that the "short circuited" behaviour they delivered was not mentioned in the spec either and that no spec is perfect and they needed to apply some analysis to what they are doing.
All good fun but I think they won't try that on again in a hurry.
While the spec I am currently working on is in flux because the business keep changing their minds. I asked for a requirements freeze on 2/12 and they are still changing their minds. I am capturing their new requirements for the next release but they are insisting this functionality is critical. They won't slip the deadline and to be honest the whole thing has hit the buffers.
What made me chuckle was that the PM stated that requirements need to "explicit", but as soon as I start asking for more time he suggests trying a "more agile approach to requirements definitions"
Then this set me thinking. Is there a way to define "explicit" and yet agile requirements definitions?
On the one hand explicit req defs are the kind of F-Spec > T-Spec > Code monkey route and on the other Agile req defs imply more senior level developers are in the mix and can run with less explicit and more tacit statements.
Anywho, they came back this week with "the spec doesn't say xyz so we didn't do it" type crap. I handled it beautifully by also pointing out that the "short circuited" behaviour they delivered was not mentioned in the spec either and that no spec is perfect and they needed to apply some analysis to what they are doing.
All good fun but I think they won't try that on again in a hurry.
While the spec I am currently working on is in flux because the business keep changing their minds. I asked for a requirements freeze on 2/12 and they are still changing their minds. I am capturing their new requirements for the next release but they are insisting this functionality is critical. They won't slip the deadline and to be honest the whole thing has hit the buffers.
What made me chuckle was that the PM stated that requirements need to "explicit", but as soon as I start asking for more time he suggests trying a "more agile approach to requirements definitions"
Then this set me thinking. Is there a way to define "explicit" and yet agile requirements definitions?
On the one hand explicit req defs are the kind of F-Spec > T-Spec > Code monkey route and on the other Agile req defs imply more senior level developers are in the mix and can run with less explicit and more tacit statements.
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