The requirement Analysis Phase begins when the previous phase objectives have been achieved. Documentation related to user requirements from the Concept Development Phase and the Planning Phase shall be used as the basis for further user needs analysis and the development of detailed requirements. Multiple-release projects require only one iteration of the Requirements Analysis Phase, which should involve the requirements definition for all planned releases.
Objectives
Successful completion of the Requirements Analysis Phase should comprise:
Definition of approved requirements
Creation of the System Requirements Document and Requirements Traceability Matrix
Development of planned test activities
Approval to progress to the Design Phase
Goals
The purpose of the Requirements Analysis Phase is to transform the needs and high-level requirements specified in earlier phases into unambiguous (measurable and testable), traceable, complete, consistent, and stakeholder-approved requirements.
Four Steps to Gather Requirements
1. Elicitation
The Elicitation step is where the requirements are first gathered. To elicit accurate requirements, the analyst must ask the right kind of questions and then listen carefully to the answers. There are a number of techniques for eliciting requirements and your project may need to use multiple techniques depending on the circumstances. This includes interviews, facilitated sessions, prototypes, questionnaires, and more.
2. Validation
The Validation step is where the “analyzing” starts. The purpose of validation is to make certain that the information conveyed during elicitation accurately represents the needs and expectations of the clients and stakeholders. The work here includes consolidating requirements, rationalizing them, looking got overlaps and gaps, and creating models to help visualize processes.
3. Specification
During this step, the analyst prioritizes and formally documents the requirements in a Requirements Definition Report. The requirements are also numbered in a way that allows them to be tracked through the rest of the life cycle. Finally, they are checked to make sure that they can ultimately be tested.
4. Verification
The final step in the requirements gathering process is verifying that the documented requirements accurately and completely communicate the needs and expectations of the client. The requirements are reviewed and formally approved. During this step, the analyst can also develop acceptance criteria and start to write test cases for the final solution. The truth is that all team members need to appreciate the value of good business requirements and should have some fundamental skills in gathering them. Gathering good requirements up-front saves.
