Three- Reflective Journal

8/6/2020 Laureate International Universities

https://laureate-au.blackboard.com/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_89880_1&content_id=_8975600_1&mode=reset 1/5

MODULE 2.2MODULE 2.2

Requirement elicitation techniques

Introduction:

Requirement elicitation is the process of pulling out all the details required

for the implementation of an information system or a solution in general

from stakeholders. The purpose of requirement elicitation is about

discovering and recording the requirements and needs of stakeholders.

What makes requirement elicitation challenging? Imaging you purchased a

block of land and engaged a builder to build your dream home. Except for

the most obvious requirement, e.g. the number of rooms, whether it is

single storey or double storey, you may �nd it di�cult to articulate ALL

aspects of the house, especially when you are not familiar with all sort of

parts of a house and the terminologies involved. An experienced builder is

likely to apply a number of requirement elicitation techniques to collect

requirements from you. For example, you may be given a questionnaire

whereby you stipulate detailed requirements beyond the most obvious; you

may also be invited to their display house and design studio where you are

presented with examples of house designs, colour palette, building

materials etc.

Eliciting requirement for software is considerably more challenging than

that for a house, partly because software or an IT solution is not always

tangible, and therefore a proposed IT solution may take various forms in

8/6/2020 Laureate International Universities

https://laureate-au.blackboard.com/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_89880_1&content_id=_8975600_1&mode=reset 2/5

stakeholder’s mind. It takes a lot of skills to clearly articulate something that

is intangible, and you must appreciate that not all customers are expert in

describing an abstract idea in their mind with concrete and speci�c

language that meets the criteria of a good requirement.

The challenges of eliciting software requirements also lie in uncooperative

customers or users. Why customers or users are unwilling to cooperate?

Many IT solutions are intended to reduce labour cost, or at least have it as a

side e�ect. Those who are employed to manually carry out a business

process may see the upcoming IT solutions as a threat to their job security

and are therefore less likely to cooperate.

In Module 2.2, you will �rst learn to �nd the voice of the user, you will

explore the di�erent user classes. You will then study a number of

requirement elicitation techniques, including

Interviews;

Workshops;

Focus groups;

Observations;

Questionnaires;

System interface analysis;

User interface analysis;

Document analysis;

You will develop the ability to choose the most appropriate requirement

elicitation techniques depending on the nature of the projects and the

ability to perform elicitation activities.

Essential Resources:

Wiegers, K., & Beatty, J. (2013). Software requirements.

Pearson Education.

8/6/2020 Laureate International Universities

https://laureate-au.blackboard.com/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_89880_1&content_id=_8975600_1&mode=reset 3/5

Read Chapter 6 of Software requirements. In this 18-page extract, you

will identify the di�erent classes of users for a produce; select and

work with individuals who represent each user class and other

stakeholder groups.

Stephens, R. (2015). Beginning software engineering (Wrox:

programmer to programmer). Indianapolis, IN: John Wiley &

Sons. (2015). Retrieved from:

https://lesa.on.worldcat.org/oclc/909802644

Read Chapter 4 Gathering Requirement section, page 67 – 70. In this

short read, you will learn how to help users when they have trouble

articulating their needs. Stephens discusses the technique using the

�ve Ws (Who, what, when, where and why) and one H (how).

YouTube. (2019). Business Analyst Training - Requirements Elicitation Techniques (Part 1). [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=kCJFBmAAvV4 [Accessed 24 Jun. 2019].

YouTube. (2019). Business Analyst Training - Requirements Elicitation Techniques (Part 2). [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=fGyMt6tWCPs [Accessed 24 Jun. 2019].

Watch these two videos - Requirement Elicitation Techniques (Part 1

and 2). These videos survey 10 requirement elicitation techniques,

including

Technique 0: Interviews;

Technique 1: Focus groups;

Technique 2: Brainstorming;

Technique 3: Observation;

Technique 4: Interface analysis;

8/6/2020 Laureate International Universities

https://laureate-au.blackboard.com/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_89880_1&content_id=_8975600_1&mode=reset 4/5

Technique 5: Process modelling;

Technique 6: Prototyping;

Technique 7: Workshops;

Technique 8: Surveys;

Technique 9: Document analysis

Learning Activity:

Using the resources above, research one requirement

elicitation technique and describe it and discuss the pros and cons of

that technique in no more than 200 words. Choose the technique that

has the same ID as the last digit of your student ID. For example, if

your student ID is 00287356T, then choose technique 6 – prototyping.

Post your answer to the Module 2 discussion forum together with the

resources you �nd for that requirement elicitation technique. Please

read through other students’ posts and provide constructive feedback

to their posts. Please reply to at least two other students’ Posts.

To participate in the Discussion Forum, click here to scroll to the

bottom of this page then click on the "Module 2 - Discussion

Forum" link.

Collaborative learning activity:

Suppose the University seeks to build a mobile app that

uses Argument Reality (AR) technology to enhance students’

engagement as well as facilitate various of learning and teaching

activities. No other detailed requirements have been provided so far.

Now in the facilitated session, form a group of two. One student takes

the role of a requirement analyst; the other a student at the University

8/6/2020 Laureate International Universities

https://laureate-au.blackboard.com/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_89880_1&content_id=_8975600_1&mode=reset 5/5

who will be the user of that proposed mobile app with AR technology.

Prepare for an interview session for 10 minutes and conduct an

interview session for 10 minutes eliciting requirements for this

proposed app.

During the preparation period, the interviewer should design no less

than �ve interview questions. Think about what the high impact and

powerful probing questions are. Remember you only have 10 minutes

to discover the requirements from the users’ mind. For the

interviewee (the user), you should think about the vision of the

proposed app and a number of requirements that are of di�erent

types (refer to Module 2.1).

During the interview, the interviewer should record raw requirements

on a piece of paper and adjust your questions to probe into each

question. You must also help the user to articulate their requirements

and make sure the recorded requirements meet the criteria for a

“good” requirement (refer to Module 2.1).

Flip your roles and repeat this activity.

Re�ect on your experience of being the interviewer and interviewee

and share with the class what requirements you have elicited and

what the challenges you �nd in the interview.

Note: The Learning activities above are not part of summative/graded

assessment; however they are designed to prepare you for incremental

graded assessment and expand your learning.

These activities encourage a community learning experience between peers,

and provide opportunities for facilitators to o�er formative feedback,

throughout a module, to the student cohort.