In This Chapter:
Benefits of Eliciting Supplemental Requirements
Rules for Effective Elicitation of Supplemental Requirements
Tailoring Supplemental Requirements Elicitation
Eliciting supplemental requirements involves compiling a list of solution-quality expectations. These expectations impose constraints on the requirements.
Table 13-1 shows the benefits versus the disadvantages of eliciting supplemental requirements.
Many organizations have standards for drafting supplemental requirements. If standards do not exist, the business analyst will need to create them for the project level. If the performing organization has standards for drafting supplemental requirements, the business analyst only documents exceptions to the standards that the project will follow.
Table 13-1—Benefits versus Disadvantages of Eliciting Supplemental Requirements
Benefits of Eliciting Supplemental Requirements | Disadvantages of Eliciting Supplemental Requirements |
Uncovers business requirements, user requirements, and performance requirements that have been missed Improves requirements coverage early in the process Uncovers areas of end-user/customer solution adoption risk |
It can be difficult for end-users to articulate quality specifications without prototypes so they can visualize the proposed business solution |
Key rules for effective supplemental requirements reviews are:
Document the source of supplemental requirements. Resources change quickly and documenting the source will improve stability of requirements.
Supplemental requirements are also formal requirements, and should be reviewed and approved by key stakeholders.
Eliciting supplemental requirements is necessary and valuable for any initiative size. The business analyst scales activities to the project environment. Table 13-2 shows the variances scaled to the project profile.
Table 13-2—Supplemental Requirements Elicitation Scaled to Project Size, Risk, Complexity