By Bob Cunha

In the world of software development, it is well known that “good” requirements are needed to deliver a quality product and achieve customer satisfaction. The most common reason for software project failure is attributed to requirements issues – badly defined, not stated correctly, changing requirements, etc.

Requirements are not simply out there waiting to be collected. Instead, it is an investigation process whereby requirements need to be discovered, examined, and molded. The discovery process is more of an art than a science, and certainly experience with this process is a big factor in knowing how to best discover requirements. This article offers seven tips on requirements investigation to help discover and define “good” requirements.

Bob Cunha is an independent consultant specializing in business systems analysis and project management