Requirement Gathering - Addressing the challenges

This Post is Authored by Sree Krishna (During migration the authors name could not be migrated)
The problem exists everywhere... I hear the usual terms "we did not get the complete details from the Client" or "Client did not approve the final product" or "we have sent the details to the Client, they are yet to revert"...



Steve McConnell, in his book “Rapid Development”, details a number of ways Users/Clients can unknowingly inhibit the process of Requirements gathering, which can subsequently impede the total product development process.



This may lead to the situation where the end product might not be valid or product keeps changing as we continue to receive newer requirements.



That is why, Users need to be adequately informed about the use/developmental-process of Assessments because :-



a) Users need to clearly understand what they require from the Assessments that are being developed/designed.
b) Users are apprehensive about committing to a set of written requirements.
c) Users insist on new requirements after the cost and schedule have been fixed.( Last minute requirements when the development process is already under progress.
d) Communication with users is slow.
e) Users often do not participate in reviews or might not have the bandwidth of doing so.
f) Users need knowledge upgradation on technical concepts.
g) Users do not understand the Test development process.

Educating the stakeholders (Users/Clients) about their vital role in the product developmental process is critical and should be a part of the regular process flow of any Client Interaction exercise.