---
title: "requirements-elicitation"
tags: 
- info201
---

- A process by which analysts gather information on what the system should do, from as many sources as possible. 
- All methods are effective but some are more efficient than others. 
- Different methods can be combined for more comprehensive fact-finding.

# Characteristics of good Analysts
Impertinence ⇒ question everything, assume nothing 
Impartiality ⇒ find the best solution to the business problem 
Relax ⇒ constraints assume anything is possible but eliminate the infeasible 
Attention ⇒ to detail be precise, comprehensive, and consistent 
ReFraming ⇒ be creative and “think outside the box”

# Stakeholders
- Internal stakeholders — people within the organisation, e.g., employees, volunteers, ….
- External stakeholders — people outside the organisation, e.g., suppliers or shipping companies.
- Operational stakeholders — people who regularly interact with the system, e.g., accountants, factory supervisors, customers, ….
- Executive stakeholders — people who don’t directly interact, but use the information or have a financial interest, e.g., senior managers, board of directors, regulatory authorities, ….

![stakeholders diagram|300](https://i.imgur.com/W1ivdjH.png)

# Information Gathering
- Existing Information
- Interview and discussions
- Observew and document business process
- Prototypes
- Questoinnaires
- Vendor Solutions

# Validation of Requirements
- Make sure gathered information is correct. 
- Structured walk-through: 
	- effective way to implement quality control early in project 
	- verify and validate system requirements 
	- review of findings from investigation 
	- review of models based on findings 
- Project manager responsible for system quality. 
- Schedule review soon after document creation. 
- Review conducted by experienced analyst and stakeholders, presented by analyst.

# Requirements in Agile Methodologies

- Requirements should be decoupled: 
	- must be as independent as possible 
	- identify which requirements to implement not when to implement them 
- Every iteration includes a requirements collection and prioritisation activity: 
	- important requirements are implemented next 
	- less important requirements held to later iterations, or not implemented at all 
	- [scrum](notes/scrum.md): product backlog 
	- [UP](notes/unified-processes.md): inception & elaboration phases 
	- [xp](notes/extreme-programming.md): user stories

[interviewing](notes/interviewing.md)

[participant-observation](notes/participant-observation.md)