Requirements

Alice: Oh, no, no. I was just wondering if you could help me find my way.
Cheshire Cat: Well that depends on where you want to get to.
Alice: Oh, it really doesn't matter, as long as...
Cheshire Cat: Then it really doesn't matter which way you go.

The requirements are the start of it all. If there weren’t any we would all be in the unemployment line. Without solid requirements, the solution will never meet expectations. It’s as simple as that. Most of the information here is common sense and industry’s best practice; however it still gets ignored most of the time. You would be surprised at how many systems start being designed without requirements. There are a few things that I would like to add on top of the regular “requirements gathering” curriculum.

There are plenty of resources on requirements gathering and I will not attempt to explain the entire process, however here are some common pitfalls that I have seen:

●      Requirements gathering and validation is a very politically and fiscally challenging process. Few people realize that there is a very direct relationship between requirements and money. Simply said, the more you ask for, the more you will need to pay. If this is not acknowledged, the project team needs to help the customer manage expectations.

●      Another common mistake is for incorrect requirements, your requirement can’t be to buy product XYZ. The requirement needs to be for a system that provides functionality A, B and C. Based on this the project team should conduct market research and select the best product or a combination of products to meet the requirements.

●      The requirements shouldn’t be blindly accepted by the project team. If the information you need is not there, you need to take a step back and get the right information. This is sometimes difficult.

●      Nothing kills morale more than working for weeks in one direction only to find that the requirements weren’t accurately documented and having to shift gears.

●      Requirements are complete when all requirements have been documented and mapped to validation criteria which in turn map to validation scenarios. Documentation of requirements is essential because it communicates the requirements to all parties involved. Language in the document needs to be plain, clear and specific.