He likens his job to the performance of a conductor or musician. To play on a stage and have total presence and capture an audience. It’s an intuitive feeling where you work on so many different levels at the same time, he recognizes that both when he himself is playing in a band or working with requirements management.
–When I play, it is the audience’s experience that is most important, that it will be good, the same feeling I get when, for example, I write a series of demands, does the recipient understand what I mean here? Can I get there?
Andreas’ experience, combined with a theoretical basis and a genuine interest in people, is his recipe for success. He has led complex product development projects and organizational processes for over 15 years. In a project, it is he who sees the whole, gets the organization to organize in an efficient way, makes sure that the documentation is correct, and that the requirements management is handled according to the requirements that exist for each industry. Result? A product or service that reaches the market window.
Andreas helps organizations to get their product development in order, often it is about creating a stronger governance and understanding. When everyone is working on theirs, it is easy to end up in the silos mindset, but with a requirement spec in front of your eyes, you naturally start to collaborate across departmental boundaries.
“With the right support and that by using their own words, it’s not that difficult. I make sure that they get the right support and knowledge about Polarion, and how to write requirements. Just start, it will be most effective. The tool tears down silos and it’s fun to see!
Requirements management is a necessity if a product is to reach the final consumer. Requirements management is about testing, review and approval. Andreas feels that the customers he meets struggle with different departments working in different ways, it is difficult to have an insight into what the others do. The requirements for traceability, double jobs and problems with testing are often the source of frustration, it takes time and can become expensive.
–Those who are responsible for the products and the organization, need to get involved and complete the organizational change needed to enable good requirements management. Otherwise, you risk losing the entire investment or even exacerbating the situation. Do it right from the start, or you might as well ignore it. Get the organization to succeed in this! Getting a sensible system from the beginning is a prerequisite for working with product development seriously.
Siemens Polarion® ALM – take control
Get a holistic view, traceability and transparency for all product development and project management information. Everyone is aligned around what is being built while protecting integrity and compliance.
Listen and understand – see the big picture
When Andreas discovered the branch of the engineering profession that works with the whole, he understood that he had found the right one. Creating order and structure in complex situations is his expertise, which is necessary, in a product development process it can easily become a list of 1000 requirements that must be structured and documented in a way that makes it easy to manage. The reason to put me in a process development project is that I make sure that you find out what you actually need to keep track of, how to structure it and then get the tool (i.e. Polarion) to support just that.
“When I join a company that has these challenges, much of my time initially goes to understand, ask questions and listen. There is a lot of thought that is used to set up an information model. I start configuring Polarion so that it is tailored to that particular company. You always have to think a step further, what needs can come later?
Why you need to keep an eye on the consumer feedback loop
One industry Andreas has worked a lot with is MedTech. In addition to the regulatory requirements imposed on product development, you must ensure that you can handle communication or feedback from the end user or the market. This can range from serious errors that affect safety, to a button changing color. In Polarion it is easy to take care of it, products are changeable, while it is being developed and when it has already reached the market. It provides a direct marketing part, that you can quickly adjust and update a product, thanks to a good requirements management tool that is properly configured.
“If you’re going to have a chance in the market, you have to be quick-footed. The world is changing faster and faster, it requires a flexible and simple system such as Polarion. Getting the opportunity to guide to a way of working that is effective makes people feel better when everything is clear and correct. It’s a win for me and it’s the people who get results,” Andreas concludes.
Andreas is one of our speakers in Taipuva Polarion Days 2022! Our annual event is held at Finlandshuset, Stockholm in April. Main Event is on Tuesday the 26th and the 27th is reserved for training sessions. Come and meet all Polarion experts in the Nordics under the same roof. Network and share your experiences and challenges – get insight from other experts.
