Requirements gathering: what is it and how do you do it?

Asking stakeholders what they want seems like an obviously smart move, but managers sometimes overlook it amid the excitement of project kickoff. But here’s the thing. Having these VIPs with you from the start is really important — they’re the ones who can declare your project a hit or miss, after all.

A well-thought-out requirements gathering phase helps stop issues like scope creep and miscommunication, which can lead to project failure. But it also helps you get stakeholders on your side, which is only ever a good thing. Unhappy stakeholders can create friction and even end a project. But when they’re happy, it’s like having your personal cheerleading team who don’t just urge you on but offer tips and advice along the way. 

Let’s take a closer look at how to master this crucial stage in the project lifecycle.

What is requirements gathering?

Requirements gathering sits squarely in the project initiation phase, usually during the project briefing. 

It’s the process of understanding why your project exists, what it needs to deliver, and how you’ll do that successfully. Typical questions asked during this phase include:

• Why does this project need to happen?
• Who will be involved?
• What’s the schedule?
• How will we measure success?
• What risks are there?

By getting everyone involved and communicating the project’s aims, managers can provide clarity and unity before the project begins. It’s also a great time to uncover those sometimes hidden requirements that keep the development process on track.

What are the benefits of effective requirements gathering? 

When teams take the time to really understand what stakeholders expect, they set a strong foundation for communication that lasts the journey. Here are some of the biggest benefits:

• It prevents scope creep: Features or tasks sneaking in without consideration can derail a project. By pinpointing what’s truly essential from the get-go, as well as setting out what won’t happen, teams can dodge scope creep. Having a sharp focus makes it easier to allocate resources, keeping those timelines and budgets in check.
  
• It helps stakeholder engagement: Getting stakeholders involved in those preliminary chats creates a real sense of ownership. Plus, when they share their insights, they become more invested in making the project a success, which in turn fosters better collaboration — an essential for project success.
  
• It boosts satisfaction: When the final results genuinely reflect what users need and want, the project’s odds of winning really skyrocket.
  
• It improves communication: A clear set of agreed-upon requirements gives you a sense of direction. It lays down what you need to do to make this project a winner. This has the added bonus of making it easier for everyone to have purposeful conversations throughout the whole process. 

Requirements gathering in 8 steps

When you’re gathering requirements, it’s important to have a rock-solid plan in place. This helps everyone know what the project needs to deliver and what success looks like. 

To do this well, you need to take a structured approach that incorporates a range of info-gathering techniques. We’re talking interviews, surveys, workshops — the lot. Here’s a friendly, detailed step-by-step method that you can easily adopt.

1. Define the project objectives

Every good project starts with a clear plan. But this involves more than just knowing what you want to achieve: it’s equally about articulating why your project matters in the first place. 

For instance, let’s say you’re developing a new app. Ask yourself — is this app necessary? Will it improve your users’ lives? Will it boost productivity or fill a gap in the market? 

Clarifying these points gives your project purpose and aligns your stakeholders, while a shared vision gives everyone something tangible to work toward. 

2. Identify your stakeholders

Include everyone who is or will be affected by the project: users, clients, team members, and managers, to members of the public and beyond. 

For example, let’s say you’re working on a new stock management app. Stakeholders might include customers, warehouse workers, delivery drivers, and the IT staff responsible for maintaining the tool.

Involving everyone means you’ll get diverse input from a range of perspectives. It also means the people involved will feel included and engaged in the project outcomes, especially if they see their input reflected in the objectives.

3. Gather requirements

Use a range of techniques to full, rich answers. Interviews, surveys, and workshops (we’ll talk more about these in the next section) are all good options here. 

And remember to use open-ended questions to tease out full responses. For example, rather than simply asking, “Do you like the current system?” which will probably result in an unhelpful yes/no answer, ask, “What challenges do you face with the current system?” which immediately gives you a list of things for improvement. 

This approach gives you insights that go beyond surface-level responses, revealing the actual needs you have to consider to make your project a hit. 

4. Document your project requirements

After you’ve agreed on the requirements, you’ll want to get everything in writing. 

Be as specific as possible about what “success” looks like. So instead of just saying, “The system should be user-friendly,” specify something like, “The system should let users complete a transaction within three clicks on average, as measured by user testing.” This level of detail helps you avoid confusion later on and establishes clear, measurable goals for everyone involved.

Use structured formats like user stories or use cases to show how these requirements function in real scenarios.

This document should serve as the go-to reference throughout the project lifecycle. You need to clearly articulate each requirement so it’s utterly unambiguous. 

5. Prioritize requirements

Realistically, not all requirements hold equal weight. Collaborate with stakeholders to prioritize the requirements based on things like feasibility, impact, and urgency. 

For example, let’s say one requirement drastically improves your customers’ ability to perform a function on the app, and it’s quick to do. And another one only adds a cosmetic feature and takes a while to build. Focusing on the former is an easier win, so go for that. Not all of the choices will be as easy, but focusing on feasibility, impact, and urgency should help guide you toward the best choice. 

6. Validate requirements

Once you’ve got a list of requirements, it’s time to share it with your team and the wider stakeholders. 

Communicate the plan clearly, and invite discussion in an open, welcoming environment. Consider scheduling a meeting or a workshop where team members can review everything together, allowing them to ask questions while giving their own thoughts. 

You might also want to involve wider stakeholders in this review phase to help with alignment and building consensus early on.

7. Monitor and review changes

Keep in mind that requirements aren’t set in stone — they’ll evolve with changes in project scope or stakeholder needs. For this reason, you need to implement a solid process for monitoring these changes. 

Use a change control process to capture the rationale for any revisions or diversions, assess their impact on existing requirements, and swiftly communicate any alterations to your team. 

Taking this proactive approach keeps your project focused and on track while minimizing scope creep. 

8. Continuous check-ins

Make it a standard practice to periodically review the requirements throughout the project duration. 

Schedule regular check-ins with your team, revisiting the original requirements to make sure you’re still aligned with those original goals. This exercise helps the team focus, while adding wriggle room for conscious changes. 

Remember to promote an environment where discussion is not only accepted but encouraged. Let your team know that making adjustments is perfectly acceptable — as long as they are justified and communicated properly. This openness keeps everyone engaged and firmly focused on the project’s success. 

Requirements gathering techniques to have on your radar

Let’s explore some tried-and-tested techniques you should consider. And remember, the more the better, so aim to use at least two of these for a fuller response. 

Interviews

Running one-on-one conversations with stakeholders is a powerful way to uncover their needs. 

Prepare a structured set of open-ended questions that encourage detailed discussions, allowing room for you to probe deeper as necessary. 

The conversational format of these interviews helps build rapport, creating a space where participants feel comfortable sharing their ideals. 

Remember to take detailed notes or, with permission, record the conversation to capture all the relevant information for later analysis.

Surveys and questionnaires

When your goal is to gather input from a broader audience, surveys are a practical solution. 

Design clear, concise questions that blend closed-ended and open-ended formats to encourage both quantitative and qualitative responses. 

There are plenty of online tools to help you distribute and collect feedback. Keep in mind that while surveys can reach many people, they may not capture the richness of insights that often come from more personal interactions — so for that reason, they’re best used in conjunction with other techniques.

Workshops

Workshops offer a fantastic opportunity for interactive engagement with stakeholders. 

Lead these sessions carefully to steer through various exercises, including brainstorming, group activities, and prioritization techniques. 

When you encourage participation from everyone, you can gather a range of perspectives, while making sure every concern gets voiced and heard. 

Observation

Also known as ethnographic research, this approach involves immersing yourself in your users’ living/working environment to observe how they interact with the system or process in a situation that’s more true-to-life than a lab setting. 

It’s a great way to spot problems that stakeholders may not articulate during interviews or surveys. Spend time watching users, documenting their workflows, and noting down any challenges they face. 

Prototyping

Creating tangible representations of system requirements through low-fidelity prototypes — such as wireframes or mock-ups — helps you hone your design and get early feedback. 

These visual tools act as conversation starters, prompting stakeholders to reflect on their needs while offering up a clearer vision of what the final product might look like. Use the feedback you gather to iterate on these prototypes as you solidify requirements. Yes, it takes time — but it has the potential to save you big, costly revisions later on. 

Mind mapping

Mind mapping is a visual brainstorming technique that encourages everyone to explore ideas in a non-linear format. 

Begin by placing the central theme or problem in the center of a page, then branch out with related concepts, sub-ideas, and questions. Keep going until the page is full. 

This method helps stakeholders visualize the relationships and hierarchies among ideas, while sparking creative ideas and discussion.

Once it’s complete, review it collectively to spot gaps, overlaps, and areas that might need deeper investigation.

Project management software was made for requirements gathering

Project management is your secret weapon when it comes to requirements gathering. Stakeholders can log in and leave comments, updates are instantaneous, and every document is stored on the cloud for easy reference. 

First things first. Pick a platform that has all the features your team needs, like task management, document sharing, and ways to communicate in real time. Then:

• Set up a specific area in the software just for requirements documentation, so all stakeholders can easily access, contribute to, and tweak information as it changes over time.
  
• Take advantage of tools like comment sections and version tracking to keep the conversation going and gather feedback without any hassle.
  
• Make it a habit to encourage stakeholders to submit their requirements directly through the software. This simplifies the collection process but also helps them feel more invested in the project.
  
• Use reporting tools within the software to keep an eye on progress and spot any bottlenecks early on, so you can make adjustments and stay on track throughout the project. This way, you’ll have all inputs neatly organized, which also helps you cut down on miscommunication. 

By using project management software, you’re setting the stage for a more organized, transparent, and efficient requirements gathering experience from start to finish. Ready to give Backlog a go?