Gathering requirements for a new implementation or a migration initiative can be daunting.  Complex projects have lots of nuances, so how do you know if you really captured everything?  Setting some ground rules at the beginning can help to keep things on track.

  • Work collaboratively. Turning over the keys to people who are unfamiliar with your business processes to dig under the hood and expecting them to thoroughly understand everything can lead to misunderstandings. Collaborate with key players and rely on use cases to describe the desired results.
    • Dig into the corners. Think of anything that is unique or nuanced to your business, even if it seems minor.  That strange little quirk could have big impacts on the overall system design.
  • Consider enhancements. It’s OK if requirements include enhancements from how things currently work.  When setting up a new system or process, it can save time in the long run to achieve the desired, enhanced state vs retrofitting later.
    • Put it in writing. Document your requirements and use cases so details can be shared with key stakeholders. Tools include campaign briefs at the most basic level, and detailed testing plans to validate the details.
    • Don’t assume it’s obvious. If it hasn’t been discussed and documented during the requirements gathering process, then it’s likely not understood to be a requirement by the implementation team.
  • Prioritize the edge cases. Once you’ve gathered all of your use cases, prioritize them and determine how critical the edge cases are to solve for in the overall design.
  • Include the key players. Review documented requirements as a team and speak up if items are missing. Make sure all of the right stakeholders are involved, from the people handling the day to day work to directors who may have a different vision of how things should work.
  • Assign a key decision maker. Resolve any conflicting differences in opinion amongst the team and get consensus on the desired path forward. Designate one person to provide final approval, and align with your PM so things are clear. This will help to avoid scope creep or rework due to misunderstandings.

Understanding the depth and breadth of requirements exploration up front will help set expectations and improve commitment amongst the entire team. Agreeing to protocols related to decision making and approvals will help with formalizing scope and avoiding surprises mid-project.

We’d love to dive deep into your next project.  Contact us – we’re here to help!