Elicitation and Gathering of Requirements - Requirements Engineering and Management for Software Development Projects - page 43

Planning), CRM (Customer Relationship Management), SCM (Supply Chain
Management) etc. A number of organizations are using these readymade products
to automate their operations. But often times, some amount of customization in the
product would be needed to make it suitable to the unique needs of the specific
organizations. In these cases, demonstration of the product would be used to elicit
requirements for the customization. In this case, a Business Analyst proficient in
the product as well as the functional domain would guide the audience through all
the features of the product. The users would then point out the areas that need
customization to suit their organization. These aspects would be noted by the
Business Analyst for later analysis and freezing of the project requirements.
3.2.7 Brainstorming
Brainstorming has a variety of uses but in the context of requirements engineering
and management, it is used mainly in generating initial requirements in the product
development scenario. For a new product that is not existing in the market, it
would aid in enumerating the features and for an existing product, it aids in
enumerating the additional features. In brainstorming, a group of people knowl-
edgeable on the subject gather in an informal environment and air their views on
the subject at hand. The idea is to give wings to each person's imagination so that
the best information can be brought out. No one in the group would criticize
other's view except to the extent of pointing out any blatant mistakes. All views
are recorded for later analysis. The analysis would sift out the grain from the chaff
and cull the right requirements for use.
All the requirements captured through elicitation are analyzed. Analysis of
requirements is covered in Chap. 4 . The analysis would shortlist the requirements
for the project. These requirements combined with other requirements from other
sources including gathering of requirements would be documented and finalized
for the project.
3.3 Gathering Requirements
Merriam Webster's Dictionary ( http://www.merriam-webster.com ) defines the
word ''gather'' to mean ''to pick up or amass as if by harvesting (gathering ideas
for the project)''; ''to scoop up or take up from a resting place'' among others for
using that word as a transitive verb. As examples, it gives:
1. ''Give me just a minute to gather my things and then we can leave''
2. ''The child is gathering flowers to give to his mother''
3. ''The police are continuing to gather evidence relating to the crime''