Gathering Functional Requirements For A Software Project
Every project is different, but in many cases it is best to gather and refine functional requirements in stages based on an initial charter document. For a large project the project lead should either identify or create some type of charter document that outlines the project’s purpose, scope, major deliverables / milestones, and a high-level cost estimate.
Instead of trying to identify all the functional requirements upfront, break the project into chunks. In build 1 define the functional requirements for a pilot project that keeps the users and stakeholders fully engaged in validating and refining the functional requirements. In each requirements and design phase as well as subsequent software builds, continue to work with stakeholders to update the overall functional requirements and review the charter document to assure project is on track.
The functional requirements should be definable, attainable, and decisive (i.e. link back to the project charter document and specific enough to guide software development). This allows the functional requirements to be traceable in that they can be measurable and be used to guide user acceptance testing and approving software for production.
Tags: Business Analysis, Project Management, Software Development