Requirements documentation and approval

[jrm]

We are in the process of adding Agile and Jira to our process options for IT projects. We used to have a long requirements document (some were living documents that were over 200 pages and then we went to differentials that were shorter but still take a bit). 

Do people in general have a static, approved requirements document with Jira or do the user stories, sprints, etc act as your requirements? How do you handle approval of the information? 

Thank you,

Jolie

[Brant Schroeder · Accepted solution]

@jrm I have been using Jira for years and it really depends on the company and their processes.  Almost always we use Stories to define a goal, end result or deliverable.  Often times we document the requirements on Confluence and link it to the Story and then create tasks that live under that story which defines the work that needs to be done to accomplish that Story.  Handling approvals all depends again on the process.   We use Confluence on some projects to document the approval.  We have used Jira Service Management on others.  What I would suggest doing is coming up with a solid process and then use the Atlassian tools to help you efficiently execute the process and ensure that it is followed.

[jrm]

Hi Brant, Thank you for your response. So basically the answer is, it depends. ;) So my next question is what scenario do you use one vs the other. We have put together a basic process pretty close to the best practices guidance given. 

Oh and we don't have Confluence...at least not yet. 

Thank you,

Jolie

[Brant Schroeder]

@jrm I would suggest using your Epics then to define your goal/results and the requirements to complete them.  You can then add an approve step to the workflow and make it only available to the approvers.  Then you could build out what needs to be accomplished using tasks and move the work forward.