Requirements Gathering Course

Lesson 1 • Types of Requirements

Classifies requirements into functional, non-functional, business, and technical categories. Enables students to sort real-world needs into the correct category.

Lesson 2 • Overview of the Requirements Gathering Process

Maps the end-to-end process from initiation through validation. Gives students a mental model they will populate with techniques in later chapters.

Lesson 3 • What Requirements Gathering Means

Defines requirements gathering and distinguishes it from adjacent activities like design and testing. Establishes shared vocabulary used throughout the course.

Lesson 4 • The Cost of Poor Requirements

Quantifies rework, scope creep, and project failure linked to weak requirements. Motivates rigorous practice by connecting quality to measurable outcomes.

Lesson 1 • Building the Stakeholder Register

Guides creation of a structured register capturing contact, role, influence, and engagement status. Produces a living document used throughout the project.

Lesson 2 • Stakeholder Classification Models

Introduces power-interest grids, influence-impact matrices, and salience models. Students apply each model to classify stakeholders accurately.

Lesson 3 • Identifying All Relevant Stakeholders

Applies systematic techniques to surface hidden and indirect stakeholders. Prevents gaps that cause late-stage requirement conflicts.

Lesson 4 • Stakeholder Engagement Planning

Designs tailored engagement strategies for each stakeholder tier. Ensures the right people are involved at the right time during elicitation.

Lesson 1 • Conducting and Recording Interviews

Addresses logistics, note-taking methods, and recording consent for live interviews. Ensures complete and accurate capture of stakeholder input.

Lesson 2 • Analysing Interview and Survey Data

Converts raw responses into categorised, prioritised requirement candidates. Connects elicitation output to the documentation phase.

Lesson 3 • Principles of Effective Elicitation

Establishes active listening, neutrality, and probing as core elicitation behaviours. Frames all subsequent technique chapters with shared best practices.

Lesson 4 • Designing Interview Guides

Covers question types, sequencing, and scope management for one-on-one interviews. Students produce a reusable interview guide template.

Lesson 1 • Structured Workshop Techniques

Introduces JAD sessions, brainstorming, and affinity diagramming as workshop formats. Each technique targets a different type of requirement discovery challenge.

Lesson 2 • Synthesising Multi-Source Elicitation Data

Merges outputs from workshops, interviews, and observations into a unified requirement set. Resolves conflicts and eliminates duplicates across sources.

Lesson 3 • Observation and Ethnographic Methods

Teaches passive observation, shadowing, and think-aloud protocols for capturing tacit knowledge. Reveals requirements stakeholders cannot articulate verbally.

Lesson 4 • Planning Requirements Workshops

Covers participant selection, agenda design, and pre-work assignments for workshops. Proper planning prevents unproductive sessions and scope drift.

Lesson 1 • Visual Modelling for Requirements

Uses process flows, data flow diagrams, and wireframes to supplement text requirements. Visual models reduce ambiguity and accelerate stakeholder review.

Lesson 2 • User Stories and Acceptance Criteria

Introduces the user story format and links each story to measurable acceptance criteria. Bridges traditional and agile documentation styles.

Lesson 3 • Business Requirements Document Structure

Defines the sections, metadata, and formatting standards of a Business Requirements Document. Students assemble a complete BRD from elicitation outputs.

Lesson 4 • Use Cases and Scenario Documentation

Covers use case diagrams, fully dressed use case templates, and scenario narratives. Captures system behaviour from the user perspective.

Lesson 1 • Decomposing and Structuring Requirements

Breaks high-level needs into granular, implementable requirements using decomposition trees. Structured hierarchies prevent scope gaps and overlaps.

Lesson 2 • Prioritisation Frameworks

Compares MoSCoW, Kano, weighted scoring, and cost-of-delay models. Students select and apply the most appropriate framework for a given context.

Lesson 3 • Scope Baseline and Change Control

Establishes the approved scope baseline and a formal change control process. Prevents unauthorised scope expansion after baseline approval.

Lesson 4 • Analysing Requirements for Quality

Applies completeness, consistency, feasibility, and testability checks to each requirement. Defective requirements are corrected before prioritisation.

Lesson 1 • Prototyping for Validation

Uses low-fidelity and high-fidelity prototypes to confirm stakeholder understanding. Prototypes surface hidden requirements before development begins.

Lesson 2 • Validation vs. Verification Concepts

Distinguishes validation (right requirements) from verification (requirements written right). Prevents confusion that leads to costly late-stage rework.

Lesson 3 • Requirements Review Techniques

Covers walkthroughs, inspections, and structured peer reviews as validation methods. Each technique is matched to project size and risk level.

Lesson 4 • Building a Requirements Traceability Matrix

Constructs a forward and backward traceability matrix linking needs to requirements to tests. Enables impact analysis and coverage verification.

Lesson 1 • Product Backlog Creation and Refinement

Builds and maintains a prioritised product backlog using epics, features, and user stories. Backlog health directly determines sprint planning quality.

Lesson 2 • Sprint-Level Requirements Activities

Covers sprint planning, story elaboration, and mid-sprint clarification processes. Keeps requirements current without disrupting delivery flow.

Lesson 3 • Agile Requirements Philosophy

Contrasts agile and waterfall requirements thinking, emphasising just-in-time elaboration. Students understand when to defer detail and when to elaborate early.

Lesson 4 • Continuous Stakeholder Collaboration

Establishes feedback loops, demos, and retrospectives as ongoing elicitation mechanisms. Agile projects replace big-bang elicitation with continuous discovery.