Understanding the Need
The requirements definition phase aims to systematically gather, organise, and document the specific needs and functionalities of the software.
Outcomes
Understanding the client's needs and expectations for the software.
Gathering requirements through interviews, surveys, and discussions.
Analysing requirements to ensure clarity, feasibility, and completeness.
Key Aspects
Understanding the Purpose: Define the purpose of the software by understanding the needs and objectives of the end-users or stakeholders.
Gathering Requirements: Engage with stakeholders using techniques such as interviews, surveys, workshops, and observations to gather comprehensive requirements.
Documenting Requirements: Document the gathered requirements in a structured and understandable manner. Use tools like requirement specification documents, use cases, user stories, or visual models to represent these requirements.
Analysing and Prioritising Requirements: Analyse and evaluate the gathered requirements to ensure they are clear, complete, and feasible. Prioritise requirements based on their importance, dependencies, and impact on the overall software.
Managing Changes: Expect changes in requirements during the software development lifecycle. Implement a robust change management process to handle modifications effectively while maintaining the project scope and schedule.
Validation and Verification: Validate requirements by ensuring they align with the stakeholders' needs and expectations.
Communication and Collaboration: Foster open communication and collaboration among stakeholders, developers, testers, and other relevant parties to ensure a shared understanding of requirements.
Feedback Loop: Establish a feedback loop to continuously review and refine the requirements based on new insights, evolving needs, or changing circumstances.
Documentation: Regularly update and maintain requirement documentation throughout the development process to keep it synchronised with any changes or refinements.