There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently
that which should not be done at all.
(Peter Drucker)
An analysis of requirements is often, by its nature, a close examination of the status quo; that is, it is often an analysis of process and "how" things are done... exactly the type of detail that is not supposed to be in a PWS. The integrated project team needs to identify the essential inputs, processes, and outputs during job analysis. Otherwise, the danger is that contractors will bid back the work breakdown structure, and the agency will have failed to solicit innovative and streamlined approaches from the competitors.
One approach is to use the "so what?" test during job analysis. For example, once job analysis identifies outputs, the integrated project team should verify the continued need for the output. The team should ask questions like: Who needs the output? Why is the output needed? What is done with it? What occurs as a result? Is it worth the effort and cost? Would a different output be preferable? And so on...
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