Are Requirements Management Tools Worth It?

[timmerly]

Has anyone here worked extensively with requirements management tools on medium-to-large projects? I’m curious how well they actually help keep stakeholders, developers, and QA aligned over time. Do they really reduce scope creep and missed requirements, or do they just add more process and overhead? Which tools felt genuinely useful in real projects, and which ones ended up being more trouble than they were worth?

 

[Fesha]

Yes, I’ve worked with requirements management tools on several medium-to-large projects, and the impact really depends on how they’re used. When implemented well, tools like requirements management tools genuinely help align stakeholders, developers, and QA through clear traceability and version control. They reduce scope creep by making changes visible and auditable. However, if overconfigured, they can add unnecessary overhead. The most useful tools were simple, integrated with Jira/QA workflows, and focused on clarity. Heavy, rigid systems often caused resistance and slowed teams down.

 

[timmerly]

Totally agree. Lightweight requirements tools with clear traceability work best. Once they become overconfigured or rigid, teams resist them and the overhead cancels out the benefits.

 

[Fesha]

Well said. Integration with Jira and QA workflows is key. Simple, transparent requirements management prevents scope creep without slowing delivery or frustrating developers.