What are the effects of a change to a requirement?

An impact analysis determines the effect of a change by considering certain factors relating to the requirement and the proposed change of that requirement.

Let's consider the following example to illustrate these factors:

A bank has decided to add a credit card product to its portfolio. The new magnetic strip credit cards have been designed and manufactured for the bank; however, the Banking Regulatory Body has determined that all credit cards issued after a certain date must have a microchip installed and specific data must be carried on this microchip. 

Here are some key factors to consider when assessing this change to the requirements:

Benefit: What is the benefit that will be gained by adding this change to the requirement? Compliance with the Banking Regulatory Body and improved security for customers and the bank.

Cost: What is the cost associated with the original requirement, and the cost impact to add this change? In this case, the cost of the original credit cards already exists and due to the regulation, these will need to be destroyed, thus the cost of this change in requirement is the sum of the original cards plus the new and more expensive compliant cards.

Impact: The number of customers or business processes affected if the change is accepted. By approving this change, the customers that have already been issued with the existing credit card might be impacted, as they could potentially need to replace their current cards. A new business process must also be designed and implemented to facilitate this recall of cards.

Schedule: What is the impact on existing delivery timelines if this change is approved?

Urgency: How urgent is this change? For example, what is the timeframe to become compliant with this microchip requirement?