How do you run a software requirements workshop?

1 Define the scope

Before you invite anyone to the workshop, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve. What is the problem you are trying to solve? What are the goals and objectives of the project? What are the boundaries and constraints of the solution? Write down a brief scope statement that summarizes the purpose and scope of the workshop, and share it with the participants in advance. This will help them prepare and focus on the relevant topics.

2 Choose the participants

The next step is to decide who should attend the workshop. You want to have a diverse and representative group of stakeholders, such as users, customers, sponsors, managers, subject matter experts, and developers. However, you also want to keep the group size manageable, ideally between six and twelve people. Too many participants can make the workshop chaotic and inefficient, while too few can limit the perspectives and feedback. You may also need to consider the availability, location, and authority of the participants, and use tools such as online surveys, interviews, or pre-workshop assignments to gather input from those who cannot attend.

3 Prepare the agenda

A well-structured agenda is essential for a productive workshop, outlining topics, activities, and outcomes, as well as roles, responsibilities, and ground rules for the participants. It's important to allocate enough time for each topic and include breaks, icebreakers, and energizers to keep the participants engaged. Common activities for a software requirements workshop include brainstorming to generate ideas, prioritization to rank and select the most important ideas, modeling to visualize and validate the ideas, and reviewing to summarize and confirm the results. Techniques such as mind mapping, affinity diagrams, sticky notes, voting, dot voting, MoSCoW analysis, use cases, user stories, wireframes, prototypes, feedback forms, action plans or follow-up meetings can be used in these activities.

4 Facilitate the workshop

As the facilitator of the workshop, your role is to guide the participants through the agenda, encourage collaboration, manage conflicts, and ensure that the objectives are met. You should also prepare the materials, tools, and environment for the workshop such as flip charts, markers, sticky notes, laptops, projectors or online platforms. During the workshop you should start with a welcome and introduction where you explain the scope, agenda and ground rules of the workshop and introduce yourself and the participants. Utilize open-ended questions, active listening and paraphrasing to elicit and clarify the requirements from the participants while avoiding leading or biased questions that may influence their answers. Incorporate facilitation techniques such as summarizing, synthesizing or reframing in order to organize and consolidate information while resolving any gaps, ambiguities or inconsistencies. Use feedback and validation techniques such as repeating, confirming or testing to guarantee that participants understand and agree on the requirements while addressing any issues or concerns. Lastly end with a wrap-up and closure where you review and document the outcomes of the workshop, thank the participants for their contribution and communicate the next steps and actions.

5 Document the results

The final step is to document the results of the workshop, and share them with the participants and other stakeholders. You should create a clear and concise report that summarizes the main points, decisions, and actions of the workshop, and includes any supporting documents, such as models, diagrams, or prototypes. You should also include a feedback section, where you evaluate the effectiveness and satisfaction of the workshop, and identify any areas for improvement. You should send the report to the participants and stakeholders as soon as possible after the workshop, and ask them to review and confirm the requirements, or provide any comments or suggestions.

6 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?