How do you create a requirements plan?

1 Understand the problem

The first step in creating a requirements plan is to understand the problem that your software is trying to solve. You need to identify the main goals, challenges, and opportunities of your project, as well as the context and background of the problem domain. You can use various techniques to gather information and insights, such as interviews, surveys, observations, brainstorming, and competitor analysis. You should also define the scope and boundaries of your project, and the assumptions and risks that you need to consider.

2 Define the stakeholders

The next step is to define the stakeholders of your project, which are the people or groups that have an interest or influence on your software. You need to identify their roles, responsibilities, expectations, and needs, as well as their level of involvement and communication preferences. You can use stakeholder analysis tools, such as stakeholder maps, matrices, or personas, to categorize and prioritize your stakeholders. You should also establish a clear and consistent way of communicating with them throughout the project, such as regular meetings, reports, or feedback sessions.

3 Elicit the requirements

The third step is to elicit the requirements of your software, which are the specifications of what your software should do and how it should perform. You need to collect and document the functional and non-functional requirements of your software, as well as the business and user requirements. You can use various techniques to elicit requirements, such as workshops, prototyping, use cases, scenarios, or user stories. You should also validate and verify the requirements with your stakeholders, to ensure that they are clear, complete, consistent, and realistic.

4 Analyze the requirements

The fourth step is to analyze the requirements of your software, which are the process of evaluating and refining the requirements to make them more feasible and effective. You need to prioritize the requirements based on their importance, urgency, and dependency, as well as their alignment with the project goals and scope. You can use various techniques to analyze requirements, such as MoSCoW analysis, Kano model, or value stream mapping. You should also identify and resolve any conflicts, gaps, or ambiguities in the requirements, and update the documentation accordingly.

5 Manage the requirements

The fifth step is to manage the requirements of your software, which are the activities of controlling and tracking the changes and progress of the requirements throughout the project. You need to establish a requirements management plan, which defines the roles, responsibilities, processes, and tools for managing the requirements. You also need to implement a change management process, which defines how to handle and document any changes to the requirements, as well as their impact and approval. You should also monitor and measure the performance and quality of the requirements, and report any issues or risks.

6 Review the requirements plan

The final step is to review the requirements plan, which is the process of checking and confirming that the requirements plan is complete, accurate, and ready for the next phase of the project. You need to conduct a formal or informal review of the requirements plan, with the participation of your stakeholders, to ensure that the requirements plan meets the project objectives, scope, and standards. You should also collect and incorporate any feedback or suggestions from the review, and update the requirements plan accordingly.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?