Requirements elicitation: interview, observation, workshop, prototype

Problem

The button nobody presses

The shop's accountant says: "I want an Excel button on the orders page." Written down, built, checked. The button downloads all orders, one per row.

A month later she still spends two days at the end of the month. She downloads the file, sorts it, adds up the discounts per code by hand and reconciles them with the bank. The button only saves her the copying.

She did not lie. She said the solution that came to her mind. Nobody asked what she would use the file for.

The idea

Requirements are not lying around

People do not bring their requirements ready-made. They bring solutions ("an Excel button"), habits ("we have always done it this way") and complaints ("it takes forever"). The need is underneath, and it is drawn out with questions.

That is why the work is called requirements elicitation, not gathering. The analyst does not just take notes: they ask, watch, show and check whether they understood.

There are several ways to do it, and each one sees something different.

The idea

Six techniques

Technique	What it is	When it fits
Interview	a conversation with one person or a small group	to understand how someone works and why
Observation	you watch a person work in their real setting	when people do not notice their own habits and workarounds
Workshop	a meeting of several stakeholders with a clear goal	when needs pull against each other and a common decision is needed
Prototype	a sketch or mock-up people can see	when people cannot describe something that does not exist yet
Document analysis	you read laws, contracts, old specifications, reports	when the rule is already written down somewhere
Questionnaire	the same questions to many people	when there are many people and you need a number, not a story

They are usually combined. Documents before the interview, so you do not ask about what is written. Observation after the interview, to see what you were told. A prototype at the end, to confirm.

More precisely, if you are curious

The BABOK Guide v3 describes the Elicitation and Collaboration knowledge area with tasks: prepare for elicitation, conduct elicitation, confirm elicitation results, communicate business analysis information, and manage stakeholder collaboration. There are three types of elicitation: collaborative (with people), research (from data and documents) and experiments (a prototype or a trial, for example).

The technique names in BABOK are Interviews, Observation, Workshops, Prototyping, Document Analysis and Survey or Questionnaire, with Brainstorming and Focus Groups beside them.

IREB CPRE groups the techniques differently: questioning (interview, questionnaire), collaboration (workshop), observation (field observation, apprenticing with the person who does the work), artifact-based (old systems, documents) and creativity techniques (brainstorming, analogies). Separately there is the Kano model: nobody mentions basic requirements because they "go without saying", but if they are missing the customer is unhappy. Free delivery from 50 € inclusive is a basic requirement: nobody will praise it, but everybody will notice if it does not work.

Try it

Which technique?

1. Support says handling a return "takes ages", but nobody can say where the time goes.Observation: you sit with them while they handle returnsA questionnaire to all customersA prototype of a new screen

2. Marketing wants promo codes, accounting wants to reconcile them, and the warehouse fears peaks. A common rule is needed by Friday.Document analysisA separate interview with each, one after anotherA workshop with all three groups together

3. The owner says "I want the cart to be clearer", but cannot say what that means.A questionnaireDocument analysisA prototype: a sketch of two options he can point at

4. You need to know the return rules the courier imposes on the shop.Observing the warehouseA workshop with customersDocument analysis: the contract with the courier

5. You want to know how many of 8,000 customers would use "delivery to a parcel locker".An interview with every customerObservationA questionnaire

The idea

Questions that open

The strongest question in an interview is "Tell me about the last time you…".

"How do you reconcile the month?" gets a general answer, the way it is supposed to be. "Tell me about the last time you reconciled the month" gets a story: "I downloaded the file, sorted by code, spent three hours adding up discounts, and was still 12 € short." The story holds the real steps, the numbers and the place where it hurts.

Against it stands the leading question: "You want Excel too, right?" It contains the answer. The person says "yes" to be polite, and you have written down your own opinion in their voice.

Closed questions ("yes or no?") are not wrong. They are for the end: "So you need the discounts per code, every month. Is that right?" That is how you check that you understood.

Try it

What kind of question?

1. "You want the report in Excel too, right?"OpeningClosed, to confirmLeading

2. "Tell me about the last time you reconciled the month. Where did you start?"OpeningClosed, to confirmLeading

3. "So you reconcile once a month, on the first working day. Is that right?"Closed, to confirmLeadingOpening

4. "Don't you think it would be better if the customer printed the label?"LeadingClosed, to confirmOpening

The idea

The need behind the solution

When you hear a solution, do not reject it and do not write it down straight away. Ask what will happen with it:

"What will you use the file for?" → "To reconcile the discounts with the bank."
"How often?" → "Once a month."
"What takes the most time?" → "Adding them up per code."

The need is: "at the end of every month accounting sees the total discount for each promo code". It can be checked, and the Excel button is only one solution for it. A better one may be a ready report that arrives on its own on the first of the month.

The customer's solution is a valuable clue. It tells you where it hurts. Whether it is the best cure is for the team to decide once it knows the need.

Try it

Put the interview in order

Put the steps of the interview with the accountant in order.

"Who else should I ask? I will send you my notes by tomorrow."
"So you need the discounts of every code by month. Is that right?"
"And what did you do next? How long did it take?"
"Tell me about the last time you reconciled the month."
You say why you came and how long it will take

The idea

Confirm before you leave

Your interview notes are your understanding, not theirs. Before you use them, you confirm them:

sum up out loud: "So…";
send the notes the same day and ask for corrections;
give an example with numbers: "In October the code AUTUMN10 was used 120 times, 384 € of discount in total. Is this what you want to see?"

The example is the best check. If your understanding is wrong, the person sees it at once in the numbers. That is validation before a single line of code exists.

Exercise

The need behind the request

1. What do you ask? Everyone asks for a solution. What do you ask to get to the need?

1. The warehouse: "We want a label printer in every room." What is a good next question?"Which printer model do you want?""How many rooms do you have?""What happens today when a label needs printing?"

2. Marketing: "We want a pop-up with the promo code on the home page." What might the need be?More new customers placing a first orderA pop-upA promo code

3. Support: "Give us a button that cancels any order." What do you ask?"Should the button be red or grey?""When do you have to cancel an order on the customer's behalf?""Do you need a return button too?"

Test

Check yourself

1. Why "eliciting" and not "gathering" requirements?Because the standard says so; otherwise it is the sameBecause they are taken from old documentsRequirements are not lying around ready: people say solutions, habits and complaints, and the need is drawn out with questions

2. Which technique best shows what people do without noticing?QuestionnaireObservationInterview

3. The accountant wants "an Excel button". What is the need?A buttonA file in Excel formatThe monthly report of the discounts, which she reconciles with the bank

4. Which question is leading?"What do you do when the code does not work?""Would it be convenient if the code were entered right in the cart?""When did a customer last call about a promo code?"

How requirements are elicited

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