Requirements Analysis

Getting great ideas on paper

ACA IT-Solutions has invested a lot in developing a methodology to make an inventory of user requirements and manage these requirements throughout the total lifecycle of a project.  This is a key factor of success in delivering projects. Some of the most common challenges we take into account are listed below;

Customers don't (really) know what they want
Possibly the most common problem in the requirements analysis phase is that customers have only a vague idea of what they need, and it's up to us to ask the right questions and perform the analysis necessary to turn this amorphous vision into a formally-documented software requirements specification that can, in turn, be used as the basis for both a project plan and an engineering architecture.

Requirements change during the course of the project
The second most common problem with software projects is that the requirements defined in the first phase change as the project progresses. This may occur because as development progresses and prototypes are developed, customers are able to more clearly see problems with the original plan and make necessary course corrections; it may also occur because changes in the external environment require reshaping of the original business problem and hence necessitates a different solution than the one originally proposed. Good analysts are aware of these possibilities and typically already have backup plans in place to deal with these changes.

Unreasonable timelines
It's quite common to hear a customer say something like "it's an emergency job and we need this project completed in X weeks". A common mistake is to agree to such timelines before actually performing minimal analysis and understanding both the scope of the project and the resources necessary to execute it. In accepting an unreasonable timeline without discussion, we would, in fact, doing your customer a disservice: it's quite likely that the project will either get delayed (because it wasn't possible to execute it in time) or suffer from quality defects (because it was rushed through without proper inspection).

Communication gaps between customers, engineers and project managers
Often, customers and engineers fail to communicate clearly with each other because they come from different worlds and do not understand technical terms in the same way. This can lead to confusion and severe miscommunication, and an important task of a project manager, especially during the requirements analysis phase, is to ensure that both parties have a precise understanding of the deliverable and the tasks needed to achieve it.

The politics of the customer's organization
The scholars Bolman and Deal suggest that an effective manager is one who views the organization as a "contested arena" and understands the importance of power, conflict, negotiation and coalitions. Such a manager is not only skilled at operational and functional tasks, but he or she also understands the importance of framing agendas for common purposes, building coalitions that are united in their perspective, and persuading resistant managers of the validity of a particular position.

These skills are critical when dealing with large projects in large organizations, as information is often fragmented and requirements analysis is hence stymied by problems of trust, internal conflicts of interest and information inefficiencies.
 

Conclusion
 

ACA IT-Solutions takes into account the challenges that are mentioned above and many more. We make sure and have proven already that good functional descriptions help you to compare apples with apples.

Let us help you define and fine-grain your business processes and functional requirements on a proven and standardised manner.