Although most companies do some form of requirements, there
is often a lack of understanding as to exactly why the requirements need to be
created and the level of detail that should be included in the requirements.
Software is always created to solve a need for a client. The
client may be an internal client, an external client, or even the general
public. Detailed requirements are important to ensure that a program correctly
and fully addresses client’s needs.
Detailed requirements make initial development easier and
faster because the developers know exactly what should be developed and do not
need to make their best guess at the functionality to be implemented or delay
development by creating requirements during development. Giving the developers
accurate requirements will also result in less rework at the end of development
because the stakeholder’s requirements will have been implemented correctly
initially and will not be arrived at through trial and error.
A project manager can use the detailed requirements to
create accurate timelines and give correct estimates to the client. This
ensures that stakeholders are completely aware how long development will take
so they can adjust the scope of a project or proactively add resources if
necessary.
Finally, testers can use the requirements to create test
plans while development is ongoing rather than waiting until development is
complete. The requirements give them information about what the program will do
so there cannot be disputes between developers and testers as to what the
program functionality should be. High quality requirements also describe
problem paths that may need additional testing.
Even though highly detailed requirements make development
easier in future phases, this is not always possible due to time constraints
imposed by the client or market conditions. With this in mind, let us look at
some secrets to improve your requirements process even under tight deadlines.