Glossary · Change, versions and configuration
Requirement baseline
German: Anforderungsbasis
In systems engineering, a requirement baseline is a formally reviewed and approved set of requirements, frozen at a point in time, that serves as the reference for design, verification and contract; it can only be changed through change control.
- Systems engineering
In one sentence
A requirement baseline is an approved, frozen set of requirements that can only change through formal change control.
Example
After the specification review, version 1.0 of the requirements is baselined; the customer's later request for an additional mode goes through a change request.
How it applies
- Engineering: Design and test plans refer to a named baseline, so everyone knows which requirement versions apply.
- Contracts: The baseline often defines the contractual scope; changes after it may affect cost and schedule.
- Documentation: The documentation team should know which requirement baseline a manual release corresponds to and record it in the release notes or the Configuration baseline.
- Verification: Test plans and test reports should reference the baseline they verify; if requirements change after testing, the report no longer covers the new baseline without an impact assessment.
Requirement baseline vs. configuration baseline
A requirement baseline freezes requirements only. A Configuration baseline freezes a whole configuration: requirements, design, software, hardware and documents at an agreed state.