Specification of customer and user requirements in industrial control system procurement projects

An appropriate industrial control system is a prerequisite for being competitive in the process, manufacturing, and power industries. As for most software systems, the technical possibilities provided by industrial control systems have grown dramatically during the last ten years. However, the techniques to specify customer and user requirements in terms of functionality, performance, etc. are not very well developed. This often leads to systems which do not fulfil user needs and customer expectations, and/or which are unnecessarily expensive. Guidelines for specification and follow-up of requirements on industrial control systems are given. The guidelines are based on an extensive study of experiences from a number of major users and vendors of these kinds of computer systems. They should be useful for customers and consultants working in procurement projects.