Requirement Elicitation: A Comprehensive Guide

Effective software development begins with a clear understanding of what the end-users and stakeholders need. Requirement elicitation is the process of gathering, analysing, and clarifying those needs to ensure the final product aligns with expectations. It involves engaging with stakeholders, uncovering hidden requirements, and addressing potential conflicts early in the project life cycle. This crucial phase lays the foundation for building a solution that meets both business goals and user expectations. 

Requirement elicitation goes beyond simply collecting information—it involves collaboration, communication, and critical thinking. Techniques such as interviews, workshops, surveys, and observation are used to extract both explicit and implicit requirements. This blog provides a comprehensive overview of the process, best practices, and techniques involved, helping you master the art of gathering accurate, actionable requirements for successful project delivery. 

Table of Contents 

1) What is Requirement Elicitation?    

2) Why is Requirement Elicitation Important?    

3) Key Features of Requirement Elicitation    

4) Steps in the Requirement Elicitation Process 

5) Methods for Requirements Elicitation    

6) Benefits of Requirements Elicitation    

7) Drawbacks of Requirements Elicitation 

8) Conclusion 

What is Requirement Elicitation?    

Requirements Elicitation consists of gathering information from stakeholders to understand their requirements and expectations. The requirement-gathering stage comes after the initial Business Analysis discussions with stakeholders. 

This can happen either by directly communicating with stakeholders or by carrying out research and experiments. Events can be either planned, unplanned, or a mix of both. 

Planned activities could involve organised workshops and controlled experiments, while unplanned activities may occur spontaneously, without warning. For example, conducting unexpected discussions during a visit to a client's location can be a successful method of uncovering information. 

The key tasks involved in Requirement Elicitation include: 

a) Get Ready for Elicitation: This involves grasping the scope of the elicitation tasks, selecting suitable techniques, and organising the required resources. 

b) Perform Elicitation: The objective is to explore and recognise information connected to the requested modifications. 

c) Confirm Elicitation Results: Verify the findings of the elicitation process by reviewing the collected information for accuracy and thoroughness.
 

 

Why is Requirement Elicitation Important?  

H Here are some of the reasons for the importance of requirement elicitation.   

a) Compliance with Business Objectives: Elicitation helps ensure that Software Development is in line with the company's wider objectives. Having a clear understanding of the business environment enables the development of solutions, bringing considerable benefits to the company.   

b) User Satisfaction: In the Software Development stage, involve users as it leads to increased satisfaction and faster approval of the product.  

c) Time and Money Savings: A clear, well-defined specification protects from miscommunication and rework during development, resulting in cost-effectiveness and timely project completion.    

d) Compliance and Regulation Requirements: For projects in regulated industries, Requirement Elicitation ensures software adheres to relevant laws and standards, crucial for sectors like healthcare, finance, and aerospace. 

e) Traceability and Documentation: Well-documented requirements provide traceability throughout the Software Development process, aiding in testing, validation, and maintenance by linking every part of the software to specific requirements. 

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Key Features of Requirement Elicitation   

Requirement Elicitation features facilitate the effective collection and acknowledgement of stakeholder’s needs. Here are some of the features:  

 

a) Stakeholder Engagement: Requirements Elicitation demand involvement from multiple stakeholders like project sponsors, end users and subject matter experts (SMEs).  

b) Information Gathering: It collects data related to the end product and the business activities it will support.  

c) Requirement Prioritisation: During the process of Elicitation, ranking the requirements is of paramount importance. This decides the success of project.   

d) Requirements Documentation: Simple and easy-to-understand documentation helps the development team to communicate effectively.  

e) Validation and Verification: This feature requires the assessment and verification of the expectations of the stakeholders.  

f) Iterative Process: Iterative process is an ongoing process that facilitates continuous updates based on stakeholder feedback.  

g) Communication and Collaboration: Effective communication with project team members and stakeholders ensure the expectations of end users are understood well.  

h) Flexibility: The requirement of the elicitation process is the flexibility to respond to the progressing needs of stakeholders. 

Steps in the Requirement Elicitation Process 

Here is a five-step process for requirement elicitation to facilitate the product development process.   

1) Collecting Requirements  

Before beginning Requirements Elicitation, Business Analysts need to collect and analyse current requirements through methods like document analysis, system interface reviews, and user feedback.   

2) Identifying Key Stakeholders    

Identifying the key stakeholders at the beginning ensures that everyone is on the same page from the start. Taking a proactive approach can prevent the need to deal with missing requirements later, potentially changing the project's course. 

3) Eliciting Requirements from Stakeholders    

At this stage, Business Analysts must identify the most effective Requirement Elicitation techniques based on the project's needs and the relevant stakeholders involved.

4) Documenting the Requirements    

The documenting stage in Requirements Elicitation involves recording the obtained requirements. This can be achieved with tools such as a tailored Product Requirements Document (PRD), a system requirements specification, software like Jama Connect, or a spreadsheet, depending on the specific project. 

5) Validating the Findings    

After being documented, requirements undergo stakeholder review, during which revisions or new additions may be suggested before approval. Requirements gathering starts at the beginning and carries on throughout the development process, adjusting to any modifications and fresh perspectives. 

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Methods for Requirements Elicitation  

Methods of Requirement Elicitation consists of various techniques to gather and define stakeholder needs for a successful project outcome. Let’s explore some of them 

1) Conducting Interviews    

The main objective of interviewing is to understand the user's expectations for the software. Because interviewing all stakeholders is not feasible, representatives are chosen based on their knowledge and trustworthiness. 

Interviews may either be unstructured or structured. Unstructured interviews do not have a predetermined list of questions and enable the opportunity for open-ended inquiries to delve further into the issue.  

On the other hand, structured interviews consist of a set list of open-ended questions and may utilise a formal survey to direct the conversation. 

2) Brainstorming Sessions    

Brainstorming sessions are a collaborative method designed to produce fresh ideas and encourage the exchange of viewpoints. In the context of requirements engineering, a skilled facilitator is crucial for effectively managing group bias and conflicts, ensuring the process remains productive.  

In these sessions, all ideas are recorded to make sure everyone can see the contributions. In the end, a document is created which contains a prioritised list of requirements determined from the brainstorming session. 

3) Facilitated Application Specification Technique (FAST)  

The goal is to minimise the gap between developers' vision and customers' expectations. During requirements gathering, a team-oriented method involves each participant identifying items in the system's environment, produced by the system, or used by it.  

After merging the lists and removing duplicates, the team divides into smaller groups to develop mini specifications. In short, a draft is created that includes all the input received during the meeting. 

4) Quality Function Deployment (QFD)    

This method emphasises meeting customer needs through prioritising important requirements, which are grouped into three different categories: 

a) Normal Requirements: Discuss objectives, such as inputting grades and determining outcomes for a managerial platform. 

b) Expected Requirements: Clear requirements, like safeguarding against unauthorised entry. 

c) Exciting Requirements: Functions that go above and beyond, such as automatic backups and shutdowns in case of unauthorised access. 

5) Use Case Approach    

The use case technique enhances understanding requirements through a combination of text and visuals, focusing on the "what" of a system rather than the "how." Its main components include: 

a) Actor: An external agent interacting with the system, represented as a stick figure. Actors can be primary (seeking assistance) or secondary (providing assistance). 

b) Use Cases: Descriptions of interactions between actors and the system, outlining all possible usage scenarios. 

c) Use Case Diagram: A graphical representation illustrating actor-system interactions, with stick figures for actors, ovals for use cases, and lines for relationships. 

The technique's effectiveness depends on the maturity of the analysts, developers, users, and customers involved. 

Benefits of Requirements Elicitation    

Let’s move on and explore some of the major benefits of Requirements Elicitation that lead to the successful development of the product. 

a) Clear Requirements: Clarifies and refines customer requirements effectively. 

b) Improved Communication: Boosting communication and collaboration among stakeholders. 

c) Quality Software: Quality software enhances the chances of creating software that satisfies customer requirements. 

d) Prevents Misunderstandings: Minimises confusion and sets clear expectations efficiently. 

e) Risk Identification: Helps in the early identification of possible risks and issues during the development phase. 

f) Accurate Planning: Helps in developing a detailed and accurate project schedule. 

g) User Confidence: Increases trust of users and stakeholders in the Software Development process. 

h) Business Opportunities: Assist in finding new business opportunities and sources of income. 

Drawbacks of Requirement Elicitation 

Given below are some of the drawbacks associated with Requirements Elicitation. These challenges can impact the development phase.  

a) Time-consuming: The process of Requirement Elicitation can be time-consuming. 

b) Specialised Skills Needed: Specific skills and qualifications are needed for effective execution. 

c) Influenced by Changing Needs: Elicitation may be impacted by changing business needs and expectations. 

d) Political and Organisational Factors: It can be affected by political and organisational dynamics. 

e) Lack of Stakeholder Commitment: Lack of commitment from stakeholders can slow down the engagement. 

f) Conflicting Priorities: Competing interests and priorities can disrupt the elicitation process. 

g) Potential for Inaccuracies: Without proper management, elicitation may result in incomplete or inaccurate requirements. 

h) Increased Development Costs: Poorly defined requirements can increase development costs and decrease efficiency. 

Conclusion 

A successful Software Development begins with Requirement Elicitation which is gathering of needs and expectations of stakeholders. By involving stakeholders and using the right elicitation methods, organisations can define expectations from gathered insights. During this process, they may face challenges like communication barrier, and changing business needs. However, a better project outcome can be obtained with thorough preparation.  

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