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Requirements Analysis for Software Development (Guide)

John McGuire

Wondering how to create a requirements analysis for a project.

A requirements analysis is a much-needed early process software engineers use to meet a client’s budget, time, and quality expectations.

Gathering and analysing requirements are integral to defining and developing optimal software.

One of the primary benefits of requirements analysis is to reduce the risk of early problems in software development negatively impacting the budget and timeline.

A comprehensive analysis and gathering process could save your company time and money!

Let’s show you the process, the most common techniques, and how to maximise them.

Table of Contents

What Is Requirement Analysis?

The requirements analysis process begins before a project progresses into the development stage. It helps an analyst or project manager discovering business goals to document and test them or create a visual representation. This process designs optimal software with the fewest risks possible.

Requirements Analysis Acceptance Criteria

The requirements analysis process ensures each requirement or final product conforms to the following:

  • Testability
  • Actionability
  • Measurability
  • Traceability
  • Sufficiently detailed (document-worthy)

Advantages of a Requirements Analysis Process Before the Software Development Process Commences

Analysing requirements is instrumental to the success of any software engineering product. Here are some advantages of a requirement analysis:

  • Faster delivery with highly detailed requirements that fit company needs
  • A lower chance of defective or glitchy software products and the necessity for software rework
  • Improved communication among stakeholders and the development team
  • A collaborative development process that prioritises genuine requirements
  • Growth and opportunity through gap analysis and other techniques
  • A better product with an enhanced customer or user experience

Effective Communication During Requirements Analysis

The importance of effective communication in requirements analysis emphasises how clear and concise language, active listening, and communication channels improve the project’s success. A communication plan is one of the first deliverables our digital strategy consultants promise.

Alternatively, book a demo with our Requiment consultants to start early communication. Otherwise, learn more about us at Pulsion to learn how we prioritise effective communication. Some benefits of communication in the analysis phase include:

  • Improved teamwork with everyone on the same page
  • Problem-solving takes the fast lane
  • Reduce miscommunication and incorrect requirements
  • Increase efficiency and performance from the developers

Software Requirements Analysis and Gathering Tools

Requirements gathering and analysis tools online are available to your company, including our creation called Requiment. The benefits of using Requiment to analyse requirements are that our network site provides demo videos and a guided process to help you through each step.

Try our requirements analysis software tool over at Requiment.com and get a free trial today!

What Is Requirement Gathering and Analysis in Software Engineering? The Process Explained

A detailed analysis is a particular process with five steps, with the analysis step having multiple stages. Any software project requires this process for proper project planning and the ultimate final product. Let’s show you how the analysis phase works through all of the five steps.

Step 1: Identify Key Stakeholders

Different stakeholders have a say in software projects, including business owners, investors, business analysts, sponsors, managers, employees, customers, suppliers, users, and beneficiaries. Identified business stakeholders is the first step to understanding the business requirement list.

Business analysts must detail sufficient requirements, meaning all stakeholder expectations must be considered. Managing software engineering and all the tasks involved means an analyst must consider everyone who has a stake in the final product.

The stakeholders will have the final say in what’s included in the project scope.

Step 2: Requirements Gathering

A process of analysis, called software development life cycle requirements gathering, helps to identify software requirements from user stories, use cases, and other techniques. Software engineers may use the following techniques to gather relevant requirements:

  • Data flow program (DFP) – define the project scope without too much detail.
  • Use cases – determine system behaviour and communicate from the end user’s perspective.
  • User stories – focus on user needs, user expectations, and user goals.

First, a business analysis reveals business requirements and user requirements before identifying software requirements in SDLC requirements gathering. It starts with identified business needs in the requirements-gathering process. A business requirement aligns itself with business needs.

Furthermore, requirement-gathering in SDLC also occurs in the form of these popular techniques:

  • Interviews with key stakeholders
  • Requirements-gathering focus groups
  • Facilitated requirements workshops
  • Surveys or questionnaires
  • Customer mind-mapping
  • Document observations
  • Studying natural language documents

Step 3: Categorise, Define, and Prioritise Requirements

Analysts must then categorise, define, and prioritise requirements. Here’s how each task works in the third step of the process called requirements gathering and analysis.

Stage 1: Categorise Requirements

Analysts will have an ocean of requirements, starting with business, user, and system or product requirements. Business requirements are the high-level types that align with company goals, while user specifications reveal what end users expect from the product.

Analysts categorise the higher-level requirements into system requirements, which include the following:

  • Functional requirements – the system behavior and how it responds to user input.
  • Non-functional requirements – the attributes or performance of the system.
  • Technical requirements – Technical issues to be addressed to develop the system.
  • Operational requirements – Backend operations to complete for system functioning.
  • Transitional requirements – How to implement the new system smoothly.

Stage 2: Define Requirements

Stage two of step three is to define the requirements. Analysts define every requirement in great detail to ensure they align with the business requirements recorded in stage one.

Stage 3: Prioritise Requirements

The third stage of the analysis step in project management is to prioritise which requirements are critical to the success of the software and which are simply nice to have.

Step 4: Requirements Analysis

The software development life cycle (SDLC) requirement analysis process includes stages. Business analysis in software development is essential to distinguish relevant and irrelevant requirements, tasks, and use cases before any development occurs.

The image is a simple flowchart titled "Requirements Analysis Stages," detailing the steps involved in analyzing requirements, likely within the context of software development or project management. The flowchart is composed of four blue arrow-shaped blocks, arranged horizontally and pointing to the right, indicating the sequence of the stages. The first block is dark blue with the text "Draw a Context Diagram" in white font, suggesting the initial step is to understand and map out the context in which the software will operate. The second block is a slightly lighter blue with the text "Develop Prototypes" in white font, indicating the next stage involves creating prototypes to explore how the software might function. The third block, even lighter in blue, has the text "Model Requirements" in white font, implying that after prototyping, the next step is to create detailed models of the software requirements. The fourth and final block is the lightest blue, almost teal, with the text "Finalise Requirements" in white font, suggesting that the last step is to finalize the details of the requirements for the software. This flowchart is typically used to guide project managers, analysts, and development teams through the requirements analysis phase of a project, ensuring a structured approach to capturing and documenting software requirements.

Analysts may use various requirements analysis techniques during the modelling stage. However, let’s see how the process works.

Stage 1: Draw a Context Diagram

Analysts often draw a context diagram that shows the interfaces and boundaries of the proposed system with the external world. It will also include external entities that may interact with the system, including actors, sinks, sources, and terminators.

The diagram will show the data flow between the entities and system to help company owners and the development team visualise business processes. It’s essential in business analysis to ensure the system’s context and prioritised requirements visually align with business needs.

Stage 2: Develop a Prototype (Optional)

Some analysts create prototypes of the systems a user requests to gather feedback from the relevant stakeholders through a beta phase. User stories often guide prototyping to ensure the testable product gathers feedback from the end-user’s perspective.

It helps the development team create a new or altered product with genuine user feedback. The prototype won’t have extensive features, but it will have enough data elements to test the idea and requirements before launching the final product.

Stage 3: Model Requirements

Visual representations are the key to a thorough requirements analysis. Analysts model the requirements with graphical representations of data elements, functions, entities, and the relationships between them. Modeling requirements also helps key stakeholders partake in the analysis process.

This stage uses data dictionaries, entity-relationship diagrams, data flow diagrams, and state-transition diagrams to identify inconsistent, incorrect, superfluous, or missing requirements. Only some requirements analysis techniques were shared above. Different analysts use varying techniques.

Stage 4: Finalise Requirements

The final stage of requirements analysis is when analysts study and correct data flow problems on the graphics, prototypes, and modules used to create user flow designs for analysis. Consistent and unambiguous requirements finalise for documentation, while inconsistent requirements are corrected.

Step 5: Requirements Documentation

A requirement analysis document finalises the first five steps, after which a project team awaits a sign-off before completing a software project.

A requirement analysis document (RAD) helps a business owner visualise the entire process and acts as a contract between developers and businesses.

It will include visual diagrams, user stories, use cases, and a complete system analysis. However, it should include the following:

  • A purpose for the project
  • An overview of the project’s audience
  • Functional and technical requirements

Furthermore, the project team may have business process documentation to follow to ensure everyone completes the relevant tasks in the development process. However, the requirements analysis document has the following elements in different sections:

  • Interpretations of user requirements
  • High-level constituent parts are broken down
  • A deep parts analysis, including diagrams and charts
  • Identification of all the relevant details related to the requirements
  • Identified existing and alternative technical solutions
  • Details linking solutions to the problems
  • The suggested best solution broken into fine details
  • Methods to test the solution

Top Requirements Analysis Techniques

Software engineering uses requirements analysis tools before the software development process. The business process, stakeholder expectations, and functional requirements must be understood by all project managers and software developers.

The team effort ensures a higher chance of success. Let’s share some of the most common requirement analysis techniques used by project managers and include a requirement analysis example where applicable.

Many of these requirement analysis techniques are used during the modelling stage of analysis.

Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN)

The business process model and notation analysis (BPMN) method is used to create simple graphs to understand business processes. Analysts use it to coordinate message sequences between various participants in relevant activity sets. The sample below shows how the result looks:

The image is a flowchart depicting a process to determine the status of a working group and subsequent actions based on that status. The process starts from the left and moves to the right, indicated by arrows connecting the steps: The first step is represented by a circle with a mail icon and the label "Working Group Active" in it, connected to a square with a clock showing the time "Friday 6 pm Pacific Time." This suggests an initial trigger or event, likely the scheduled time to check the status of the working group. An arrow leads from the clock to a rectangle labeled "Check Current Working Group Status," indicating the next action is to check the status of the group. From this rectangle, two paths emerge based on the decision diamond labeled "Working Group Still Active?" This implies a decision needs to be made. If "Yes," the flow proceeds to a rectangle labeled "Send Current Issue List," indicating the action to take if the working group is still active. If "No," the flow leads to a circle, which typically denotes the end of a process or a terminal operation. In this case, it could imply no further action, or it may be connected to another part of the process not visible in the image. Below this circle is a rectangle labeled "Issue List," which might imply that the issue list is either archived or held until the working group is active again. The flowchart uses standard symbols: circles for start/end points, rectangles for process steps, diamonds for decision points, and arrows for flow direction. This kind of diagram is commonly used in project management or operational procedures to outline a workflow and decision-making process.Business Motivation Model

The business motivation model is used to help a company make decisions, but analysts also use it to make business-related decisions regarding requirements in the analysis stage. The technique essential for business governance works well as a requirements analysis technique.

The requirements analysis example below shows how the business rules influence multiple stages of analysis before project managers use a SWOT analysis. The SWOT analysis determines the internal strengths and weaknesses and the external opportunities and threats.

The image is a visual representation of the Business Motivation Model (BMM), a structured approach for developing, communicating, and managing business plans in an organized manner. The diagram is divided into various components connected by arrows to show the flow and relationships between different elements of the model. Starting from the top left, there's a green circle with "Start," leading down to an oval labeled "Organisation Unit," suggesting the beginning of the planning process within a specific business unit. From there, the process moves to a box labeled "Business Process," which in turn leads to "Business Rule," indicating that business processes are guided by specific business rules. The diagram then branches into two paths: On the left path, we have three connected green rectangles labeled "Mission," "Course of Action," and within it, "Strategy" and "Tactic." This path represents the strategic planning aspect, detailing the mission and the strategies and tactics to achieve it. On the right path, there are also three connected green rectangles labeled "Vision," "Desired Result," and within it, "Goal" and "Objective." This path represents the vision of the organization and the desired outcomes and objectives needed to achieve that vision. Both paths converge into a box labeled "Directive," which contains "Business Policy" and "Business Rule," implying that both the mission and vision inform the directives that govern business policies and rules. Below the "Directive" box is another rectangle labeled "Influencer," with "External Influencer" and "Internal Influencer" inside, acknowledging the factors that can affect the business plan from both inside and outside the organization. This influencer box points to a larger, grey rectangle labeled "Assessment," with a section inside for "SWOT Analysis," divided into "Internal Assessment" (Strengths and Weaknesses) and "External Assessment" (Opportunities and Threats). This signifies that an evaluation of internal and external factors is necessary to inform the business strategy and operations. Finally, there's a red circle at the bottom labeled "End," signifying the conclusion of the business planning process. The BMM serves as a framework for aligning strategic objectives with tactics and operations, ensuring that the organization's mission and vision are translated into actionable policies and rules, all while considering various influencing factors and assessing the internal and external business environment.

Customer Journey Mapping

A customer journey map is another brilliant visual representation used during requirement analysis. It displays customer fears, objections, and motivation to ensure the requirements will meet business and user needs. Additionally, a customer journey map could include other diagram information.

Analysts define persona and customer phases and describe touchpoints for the personas to interact with your software. You typically see a customer journey map like the one below, creating a visual journey of how your customer interacts with the software, including hints of motivation and pain points.

The image depicts a Customer Journey Map, which is a visual representation of the process a customer goes through to achieve a goal with a company. It's structured in several columns that represent different stages of the customer experience: Awareness, Consideration, Decision, and Retention. Under each stage, there are several rows detailing different aspects of the customer journey: Actions: This row is likely to describe the actions taken by the customer at each stage of their journey. In the image, the actions for Consideration and Decision stages are visible. For Consideration, the customer considers mobile storage capacity and researches competitors' offerings. In the Decision stage, the customer downloads the application and creates an account. Touchpoints: These are the points of interaction between the customer and the company. In the Awareness stage, social media is a touchpoint. In the Consideration stage, it's the app page, and in the Decision stage, it's review websites. For Retention, the touchpoint is word of mouth. Experience/Emotions: This row captures the customer's emotional state at each stage. The customer feels intrigued during Awareness, indecisive during Consideration, eager and optimistic during Decision, and satisfied in the Retention stage. Pain Points: These are the problems customers face at each stage. The only visible pain point is in the Consideration stage, where there is a lack of assurance about security. Solutions: This row suggests solutions to the pain points. For the visible pain point about security concerns during Consideration, the solution is to highlight password protection and back-up accounts. The map also shows emoticon-like faces above the Experience/Emotions row that correspond to the emotions felt by the customer at each stage. The line connecting these faces indicates the emotional journey, with ups and downs reflecting the varying emotions throughout the process. There are yellow sticky notes in some of the boxes, which could be used to write additional details or insights that are specific to the customer's experience at each stage. The sticky note in the Solutions row has a check mark, indicating a solution has been identified or implemented for the corresponding pain point. Customer Journey Maps are used by companies to understand and address customer needs and pain points, improve customer experience, and ultimately drive customer loyalty and retention.

Flowchart Technique

The flowchart technique (data flow diagram) is another requirement analysis model used in the third stage of the process. It depicts the control logic and sequential flow of relevant activity sets. It’s a popular technique well understood by technical and non-technical team members.

The image shows a flowchart, which is a type of diagram that represents a workflow or process, showing the steps as boxes of various kinds, and their order by connecting them with arrows. This diagram is used to depict a process in a sequential order. Here's the sequence as described in the flowchart: The process begins with "Structure Data," suggesting the initial step involves organizing data in a structured format. The next step is "Identification of Assemblies," indicating the process of identifying different components or assemblies in the data. Following this is "Features Couples," which may refer to pairing or relating features within the data. "Feature Processing" is the subsequent step, likely representing the manipulation or analysis of these features. After processing features, the flowchart splits into two paths depending on whether there are "Other Feature" or "Other Assembly" to consider. If "YES," the process loops back to include additional features or assemblies. If there are no other features or assemblies ("NO"), the process moves to the final step, "Product Cost," which may involve calculating or considering the cost of the product in question. The flowchart uses standard symbols such as rectangles for process steps, diamonds for decision points, and arrows to show the direction of the process flow. Flowcharts like this are commonly used in various fields including engineering, business process modeling, and software development to visualize complex processes and decision-making paths.

Gap Analysis

Gap analysis techniques allow project managers to distinguish the gap between where the requirements are and where they should be. Ultimately, it lets analysts determine whether requirements are met or not. A visual of a gap analysis chart may look much like the below sample with more details.

The image is a graph used for gap analysis, a method to assess the difference between actual performance and potential or desired performance. The graph has two axes: the vertical axis labeled "Sales Metrics," and the horizontal axis labeled "Time," suggesting this analysis is over a certain period. There are two lines on the graph: The first line is labeled "Performance," with a note saying "The potential of the current requirements." This line likely represents the actual performance over time based on the current capabilities or strategies. The second line, labeled "Potential," has a note "Where you will meet requirements." This line represents the desired or potential performance if all requirements are met. The space between the "Performance" line and the "Potential" line is labeled "The Gap." This gap indicates the difference between where the company currently is (Performance) and where it could be if it meets all its requirements (Potential). Gap analysis is typically used by businesses to identify areas that need improvement, strategic planning to meet business goals, and assessing the actions required to close the performance gap.

Gannt Charts

Gannt charts are an analysis technique used to plan and track scheduled task timelines. They help managers visualise the start and end dates of all the tasks related to a proposed software development process, including requirements analysis and gathering.

The image displays a Gantt chart, which is a type of bar chart that illustrates a project schedule. This Gantt chart is used to plan and track the stages of a project related to software development requirements over a time period from July 2023 to June 2024. Each task is listed on the left side of the chart, and the timeline is marked across the top. The tasks listed are: Identify Key Stakeholders Requirements Gathering Requirements Sorting Requirements Analysis Prototyping and Testing Finalising Requirements Documenting Requirements Colored bars (purple in this case) across the timeline indicate when a particular task is scheduled to begin and end. The chart shows the duration of each task and their respective start and end months. For example, "Requirements Gathering" begins in July and continues through August, while "Requirements Analysis" starts in October and extends to December. Some tasks overlap, suggesting that multiple activities are happening concurrently. Gantt charts are commonly used in project management to provide a visual timeline for all tasks involved in a project and to track the progress against their scheduled time frames.

Unified Modelling Language (ULM)

Unified modeling language emerges as a powerful tool for requirements management, communication, and collaboration. It uses multiple diagrams and visual representations to help analysts make the best decisions about any requirement related to your intended software product.

The technique uses simpler diagrams to define a function the system will perform or a performance condition it must achieve. It’s a popular technique used to analyse functional and non-functional operational requirements. However, everyone understands the standard diagrams.

The image is a diagram that appears to be using Unified Modeling Language (UML), which is a standardized modeling language in the field of software engineering. The diagram is designed to specify, visualize, construct, and document the artifacts of a system. In the diagram, there is a central rectangular box with the title "Customer Autonomy." Inside this box, there is a description that reads: "The customer will be able to manage their travel orders entirely through the website, without the help of a salesperson in at least 95% of the times." Below the description, there are several fields: Origin: Benefit: Critical Cost: 0 Risk: Low Stability: Low Target Release: 0 Description: Connected to this central box are three circles, representing different components of the system: "Travel Website" to the left, which is connected with a line labeled "", suggesting that the travel website needs to satisfy the customer autonomy requirement. "Book Trip" at the bottom, connected with lines labeled "" pointing to and from the "Internet Booking Access" globe icon. This indicates that the ability to book a trip is a feature that needs to be verified against the internet booking access. "Cancel Trip" to the right, connected with a line labeled "", indicating that the ability to cancel a trip is another feature that needs to be verified against the internet booking access. In the center, there is a globe icon labeled "Internet Booking Access" with lines labeled "" pointing to the "Customer Autonomy" box. This implies that internet booking access refines or is a detailed part of the customer autonomy requirement. This type of diagram is typically used to analyze and document the requirements and functionalities of a system, in this case, likely a travel booking system. It helps stakeholders understand the system's structure and behavior.

Summing Up the Requirements Analysis Process

The analysis process has four stages, but it’s an integral part of the initial five steps to complete the documentation.

The modeling phase has analysts using multiple resourceful techniques to determine which requirements truly meet your business requirements and needs.

Speak to an expert about managing the analysis process and techniques on your behalf. Don’t forget to sign up for a free Requiment trial today to use our online gathering and analysis tool.

Alternatively, speak to one of our digital strategy consultants or contact us to meet the team that will ensure smooth project planning and management.

Requirements Analysis Process Frequently Asked Questions

When Is a Requirements Analysis Used?

Requirements engineering is a process used to determine the precise expectations and needs of a new software product.

Frequent communication, stakeholder involvement, and conflict resolution are instrumental to successful requirements engineering to guarantee the best product possible.

Who Conducts a Requirements Analysis?

Requirement engineering involves an analyst, engineer, or project manager familiar with analysis tools, techniques, and preparation. These experts also need to know how to present diagrams, graphs, charts, and documentation that visually capture every element of optimal software.

Our digital strategy consultants can connect you to the ideal engineer, manager, or analyst to conduct your requirements analysis.

Alternatively, use the benefits of Requiment, an online tool created by us for businesses like yours.

What Are the 4 Stages of Requirements Analysis?

The four stages of requirement analysis include the following:

  1. Draw a context diagram – It shows the interface and boundaries with the external world.
  2. Create a prototype – An optional stage to collect early user feedback for improvements.
  3. Model requirements – Visual diagrams and charts to identify incorrect or missing requirements.
  4. Finalise requirements – Correct requirements are ready, and incorrect requirements are repaired before documentation.

How Do You Write a Requirements Analysis Document (RAD)?

A RAD document includes diagrams, sign-off features, and extensive requirements in visual representations.

However, the sections flow in a specific order to present the information well enough to let every team member jump right into the next stages of software engineering.

The RAD must have the following sections in the order noted:

  1. The Description – The project name, objectives, intended results, audience, and milestones.
  2. The Business Drivers – How the intended software drives revenue, cuts costs, and improves customer experience.
  3. Business Requirements – The high-level requirements and how they relate to business needs.
  4. Other Requirements – Highly detailed and prioritised requirements, charts, diagrams, and use cases.
  5. Key Contacts – A complete list of engineers, managers, and developers with detailed roles for the upcoming project.
  6. Document Sign-Off – The list of stakeholders needed to approve all the details in the previous sections.
  7. Document History – A history of changes to the document with version numbers.

How Do You Measure Software Requirements?

Learn more about requirements traceability in our article Requirements Traceability Matrix RTM Guide. Using an RTM allows project management teams to measure whether requirements meet organisation needs. It’s a comprehensive document that tracks and links user requirements with test cases.

What Is an Example of a Requirements Analysis?

Here’s a simple example of a fictional e-commerce requirements analysis section up to the functional specifications in a RAD document:

Project Name: ABC Online E-Commerce Website

Objective:

Create a user-friendly website for customers to browse and purchase online products from home.

Stakeholders:

  • Shoppers or customers
  • Website administrators
  • Sellers and product vendors
  • Payment gateway providers
  • Shipping or logistics partners
  • Website owners and sponsors

Functional Requirements:

User registration and authentication:
  • Customers must log in and create accounts
  • Have an option for social media log-in
  • Authentication must be secure
Product Catalog:
  • Display a product catalog categorised by brand and type
  • Include good descriptions, high-quality images, and prices with products
  • Allow customers to use keywords to search for products
Shopping cart:
  • Enable customers to add or remove cart items
  • Display total cart cost
  • Save cart contents between sessions
Checkout and Payment:
  • Provide a secure checkout process
  • Offer multiple payment options
  • Collect shipping or billing information
  • Apply discounts and coupons where relevant
  • Send an order confirmation email to customers
Order History:
  • Store registered user’s order history
  • Allow users to track and view orders
Product Reviews and Ratings:
  • Allow registered users to rate products
  • Display average ratings on product pages
User profiles:
  • Customers can edit shipping addresses, contact details, and more
  • Store multiple addresses for users
Inventory Management:
  • Update product availability in real-time
  • Notify admin when products are out of stock
Admin Panel:
  • Provide an admin panel for managing orders and user accounts
  • Use role-based access control for admin

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