Analytic Design Group

According to the folks at Forrester, poor requirements are at the root of most software problems: "The quality of software requirements is a limiting factor on the success of software development projects."

In our experience, the same can be said of almost any project, be it software, hardware, or web sites, if your team (including any consultants) doesn't really get what you need, what your customers need and what the technical environment looks like, then the project is surely bound to fail.

To make sure we avoid the requirements gap, we start each project with a lot of questions. Our aim is to get to know you, your company, your customers and your technical needs.

A key step in the process for us is to also clearly document the requirements. To do this effectively we prepare a customized workbook/question sheet (depending on the size/nature of the project) for you. As we answer each question in the workbook we document, prioritize and validate it with you. By doing this we ensure that your and your customer's real needs will be met and that your system can handle it.

Depending on how the project is structured, we may kick off the project with a Requirements Meeting and start with the workbook, or we may complete a competitive analysis and content audit first. Whatever the flow, our aim is to gain an in-depth understanding of your needs, your customers' needs and what technical/system constraints there may be.

Sample Questions

• What makes you/your product/your company special?
• What do you know about your customers/audience?
• What is the most important thing you need to achieve with this project?
• How does this project fit into your company's overall strategy/goals?
• How will you measure success for this project?