A Complete Guide SDLC Requirement Analysis 2024 [Updated]

8 min readJan 4, 2024

Requirements gathering is the first phase in the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC). It involves collecting and documenting all necessary information from stakeholders, users, and customers to define the project’s scope. The requirements gathering process is crucial because it sets the foundation for development and determines whether a project will be successful or not.

The primary goal of requirements gathering is to identify what needs to be built, why it needs to be built, who will use the end product, and what functions and features it should have. Without a clear understanding of these requirements, developers may end up building a product that does not meet the users’ needs or adds unnecessary features that do not add value.

Once all the requirements have been gathered, they are then analyzed in detail during the requirement analysis phase. This involves breaking down the gathered requirements into smaller, more manageable pieces to gain a deeper understanding of each requirement’s purpose and impact on the project.

What is Requirement Analysis?

Requirement analysis is the process of studying and understanding gathered requirements to ensure that they are complete, consistent, and feasible. It involves analyzing each requirement from different perspectives, such as technical, operational, and business perspectives.

Customer Expectation in Requirement Analysis

Customer expectation plays a pivotal role in requirement analysis. It refers to the clients’ or users’ anticipations about the product’s features, functionality, and performance. Understanding customer expectations is crucial for developers to align the end product with the users’ needs and ensure its success in the market. Misinterpretation of customer expectations can lead to the development of a product that fails to meet the users’ needs, resulting in wasted resources and dissatisfaction amongst users.

Therefore, the requirements analysis process should include a thorough understanding of customer expectations, and these should be documented and analyzed to guide the development process.

What Customer Receives:

In the requirement analysis phase, the customer receives a comprehensive understanding of how their specified needs and expectations will translate into the final product. This includes a detailed description of the functionalities, features, and performance standards of the product. Customers also receive a clear timeline and roadmap for the development process, allowing them to anticipate and plan for significant product milestones. Importantly, through the process of requirement analysis, customers receive the assurance that the development team fully understands their needs and expectations, reducing the likelihood of misalignment between the completed product and customer requirements.

Requirements Analysis Process

The Requirements Analysis Process is a systematic approach that ensures the software product aligns with the user’s needs and expectations. This process involves several key steps that are integral for a successful product development lifecycle. First, the process begins with requirements gathering, where the development team works closely with stakeholders to collect all necessary requirements. This can be done through interviews, questionnaires, or observation.

Once the requirements are collected, they move onto the requirements classification stage. Here, requirements are categorized based on functional and non-functional needs, allowing for a more organized approach in handling them. The next stage is requirements prioritization. Often, the number of requirements exceeds the project’s resources, thus necessitating a priority-based approach.

Requirement Gathering Techniques

Requirement gathering techniques are crucial tools to ensure an accurate and comprehensive collection of requirements. These techniques vary in their approach but all aim to capture the complete picture of the software requirements. Interviews involve a direct conversation with the stakeholders to understand their needs and expectations. Interviews can be structured, semi-structured, or unstructured, depending on the depth and specificity of information required. Questionnaires/Surveys are effective when requirements need to be gathered from a larger group. They are usually structured and can gather quantitative as well as qualitative data. Observation of users performing their tasks can provide real-time and authentic data about user requirements. Workshops are interactive sessions where a group of stakeholders work together to define requirements. This method encourages collaboration and helps in achieving a mutual understanding among the stakeholders. Document Analysis involves studying existing documentation related to the system to identify the requirements.

Requirement analysis techniques aim to identify, analyze, and prioritize requirements based on their impact on the overall project. Brainstorming is an effective and collaborative technique for generating a wide range of ideas and solutions to tackle complex problems. It encourages creativity by providing a platform for all stakeholders to contribute their unique thoughts, perspectives, and ideas. This inclusive approach ensures that diverse viewpoints are considered, leading to innovative and comprehensive solutions. Prototyping involves creating a basic working model or prototype of the software to gather valuable feedback from users and stakeholders.

By having an interactive representation of the intended product, it becomes easier to identify any potential design flaws, missing requirements, or usability issues at an early stage of the development process. This iterative approach allows for refinements and adjustments to be made, resulting in a more user-centric and robust final product. Use cases provide detailed scenarios that describe how users interact with the system or software. They play a crucial role in understanding the functionality and behavior of the system from a user’s perspective. By analyzing use cases, potential gaps, missing functionalities, or conflicting requirements can be identified. This analysis helps in ensuring that the system meets the needs and expectations of its users, leading to improved user satisfaction and overall system success. Business process modeling involves creating visual representations or diagrams that illustrate the flow of activities and information within a business process. These models help in identifying inefficiencies, bottlenecks, or areas that require improvement.

By visualizing the entire process, it becomes easier to identify opportunities for streamlining, optimizing, or automating certain steps. Additionally, business process modeling can also help in identifying new requirements or innovative solutions that enhance the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the process. Decision analysis is a structured and systematic approach to decision-making. It involves evaluating various alternatives based on their potential impact, risks, benefits, and alignment with the objectives of the project or organization. This analysis helps in making informed decisions when there are conflicting or competing requirements. By considering multiple factors and conducting a thorough evaluation, decision analysis enables stakeholders to select the most appropriate course of action that maximizes benefits and minimizes risks.

The Prototype Creation Depends on Two Types of Products:

Functional prototypes are prototypes that mimic the final product’s appearance and functionality to a certain degree. They are used for testing and validation purposes, allowing stakeholders to visualize the end product and provide feedback for improvement. Functional prototypes can also be used for user acceptance testing, providing an opportunity to gather requirements from end-users directly. Non-functional prototypes focus on validating non-functional requirements such as performance, security, scalability, and usability. They may not have the same appearance or functionality as the final product but are essential for ensuring that these critical requirements are met before moving on to development.

Once all requirements have been gathered and analyzed, it’s time to prioritize them based on their importance and impact on the project. Prioritization helps in managing resources efficiently and ensuring that the most crucial requirements are addressed first. This is where requirements traceability matrices (RTMs) come into play. An RTM is a table that links each requirement to its corresponding business objective, stakeholder need, or system component. It helps in identifying dependencies and potential conflicts between requirements, allowing stakeholders to make informed decisions when prioritizing them.

Requirement Gathering Example

To illustrate the importance of requirement gathering and analysis, let’s consider an example of a software development project. The client wants to create a new mobile application that will allow users to track their daily water intake and set reminders for hydration. Before jumping into development, the team must gather and analyze requirements to ensure that the final product meets the client’s needs and expectations.

The first step would be to conduct interviews with the client and end-users to gather their requirements. Through these interviews, the team may learn that users want a simple and intuitive interface, customizable reminders, and the ability to track their water intake through various types of drinks (water, tea, juice, etc.). These are known as functional requirements.

Next, the team would analyze these requirements and determine their feasibility and impact on the project. For example, the customizable reminders may require additional development time, which could affect the project’s timeline and budget. The team would also assess any non-functional requirements such as security, scalability, and compatibility with different devices.

Once all requirements have been gathered and analyzed, the team can create an RTM to prioritize them based on their business value and impact on the project. The RTM will serve as a roadmap for the development team, guiding them through each requirement during the software development lifecycle.

Effective Requirement Gathering and Analysis

Requirement gathering and analysis is not a one-time process; it should be an ongoing part of the SDLC. As requirements can change throughout the project, it’s essential to have effective communication channels with the client and end-users. The team should also have a thorough understanding of the product’s domain to ensure that all requirements are captured accurately. This includes having a clear understanding of the business goals, target audience, and potential challenges.

The requirement analysis process requires critical thinking skills and attention to detail. It involves breaking down complex requirements into smaller, more manageable pieces to understand their implications fully. The team should also consider any potential risks associated with each requirement and have a contingency plan in place.

The Importance of Requirement Analysis

Requirement analysis is crucial in ensuring that the final product meets the client’s needs and expectations. It helps to identify any gaps or inconsistencies in the requirements, which can save time and resources later on in the development process. By conducting a thorough requirement analysis, the team can also prevent any misunderstandings or misinterpretations of the client’s needs.

Moreover, proper requirement analysis ensures that all project stakeholders are on the same page and have a clear understanding of what is expected. This helps to build trust and transparency between the development team and the client, leading to more successful project outcomes.

Analyzing Gathered Requirements

The initial phase of requirement analysis is a crucial step in project development. It involves gathering all the essential requirements from stakeholders using a range of methods, including conducting interviews with key individuals, administering surveys to gather broader insights, and organizing collaborative workshops to foster collective input. These methods ensure comprehensive coverage and capture diverse perspectives.

During the interviews, project team members engage in thoughtful conversations with stakeholders to gain a deep understanding of their needs and expectations. They ask probing questions and actively listen to uncover hidden requirements that may not be explicitly stated. The surveys, on the other hand, offer a way to collect data from a larger population, providing valuable insights into common patterns and trends. The collaborative workshops bring together stakeholders from different departments or organizations, facilitating open discussions and brainstorming sessions to generate innovative ideas and solutions.

Once this comprehensive set of requirements has been collected, the next crucial step is to meticulously analyze and evaluate them. This process involves a deep dive into each requirement, striving to understand its significance and interdependencies. By gaining a thorough understanding of the requirements, the project team can identify potential conflicts or dependencies that may arise during implementation.

The analysis phase includes techniques such as requirements prioritization, where the team assesses the importance and impact of each requirement. By assigning priorities, they ensure that the most critical and high-value requirements receive adequate attention and resources. Additionally, the team may conduct feasibility studies to assess the technical, operational, and financial feasibility of each requirement. This helps in identifying any constraints or limitations that may affect the implementation of certain requirements.