MANAGEMENT

5 - REQUIREMENTS ELICITATION
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REQUIREMENTS ELICITATION
The purpose of this section is to expand upon the Collect Requirements process described in the PMBOK ® Guide
and align it to Section 4 of Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide.
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Elicitation is a discovery process used to bring forward or produce information relevant to the project or program
by drawing out information from stakeholders and other sources. This process aims to identify the causes of the
business problem or the reasons for addressing an opportunity, as well as the information to be used to derive a
sufficient level of requirements to enable a solution to be developed and implemented.
The elicitation domain uses progressive elaboration, as all requirements are generally not known or revealed
at the onset of a project or program. Elicitation is largely conducted in an iterative, ongoing manner. As details
emerge over the project life cycle, requirements are likely to be further decomposed, and new information will be
translated into additional requirements. Requirements may also surface as analysis and other activities within the
requirements process are performed.
In an adaptive life cycle, elicitation and analysis are performed throughout the project as part of defining the
initial product backlog and grooming the backlog as details are analyzed and features are implemented for each
iteration.
This section outlines generally accepted activities used to successfully identify and capture requirements, as
well as key factors to consider when determining the appropriate elicitation techniques for a particular project life
cycle or approach. The major components of this domain are outlined in Sections 5.1 through 5.3.
5.1 Requirements Elicitation Success Factors
A range of factors is considered vital to maximize the effectiveness of requirements elicitation and reduce the
likelihood of having incomplete, inaccurate, or missing requirements.
5.1.1 Planning and Preparation
Some elicitation planning occurred during the requirements management plan process. Within requirements
elicitation, planning focuses on how to conduct elicitation sessions, which stakeholders to involve, and in which
order. Preparation should be completed before requirements can be properly elicited. This initial planning is used
to assess the level of effort required to elicit requirements for the project, and to plan the elicitation tasks that will
be performed. The size, complexity, and type of project should be considered, as the elicitation activities will vary
based on these characteristics.
©2016 Project Management Institute. Requirements Management: A Practice Guide
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