Requirements elicitation is the process of gathering, identifying, and understanding stakeholder needs, expectations, and constraints to define clear and actionable requirements for a project or system. Effective elicitation helps bridge the gap between business goals and technical implementation, reducing the risk of misalignment and project failures.
What is a Requirement?
- A requirement is something that is needed or wanted with regards to a future system, product, process or procedure.
- Effective requirements define a project’s real needs as well as the effective, clear solutions.
- A solution may require multiple Requirement Levels and Types.
Why Are Requirements Important?
- Vague or missing requirement specification is one of the highest causes of project failure.
- Research shows that more than 70% of failed projects miss the mark due to a lack of requirements gathering.
- Based on this statistic, you can assume that if you don’t bother to gather requirements effectively, or at all, you’re probably going to deliver a real mess!
- If the requirements are insufficient (i.e., not clearly and comprehensively defined), the project may be considered a failure even if it is delivered on time and within budget.
- Without well-defined requirements prior to vendor selection, your team may become overwhelmed and “charmed” by the sales pitch and select a product that will not meet their actual needs.
- Some of the most common reasons for insufficient requirements are:
- Incomplete list of stakeholders
- Poor stakeholder representation/support
- Time/schedule limitations
- Limited knowledge/understanding of the business analysis process
1. Techniques
- Requirements elicitation involves the application of various techniques to ensure that all relevant perspectives are considered.
- It typically involves talking with stakeholders directly, researching topics, and reviewing existing documentation.
- You can elicit requirements using any method or combination of methods that enables you to uncover detailed information related to the project objectives.
- Some of the most common requirements elicitation techniques include:
- Brainstorming
- Diagramming
- Document Analysis (reviewing existing documentation)
- Focus Groups
- Interface Analysis (reviewing existing interfaces)
- Interviews
- Observation
- Workshops
- See Elicitation Techniques for detailed information about the techniques specified above.
- The project’s stakeholders, complexity and timeline will dictate the best method or combination of methods for eliciting requirements.
2. Documentation
- As you identify the applicable requirements during elicitation, they should be documented.
- See Requirements Documentation for detailed information about documenting requirements.