The final 4 essential requirements practices
These business analysis activities help a team lay a foundation for success, define and document the right solution, and steer the development process.
Previous articles described sixteen of the most important requirements practices that every software team should perform: the first six, the next six, and four more. These practices apply regardless of the development approach the team is taking, the application domain, or the kind of product they’re building. Here are an additional four, bringing the full set to twenty core requirements practices. This article is adapted from Software Requirements Essentials: Core Practices for Successful Business Analysis by Karl Wiegers and Candase Hokanson.
Practice #17: Define the solution’s boundaries
When you launch a new initiative, you might not know exactly where to draw the line between what the solution should and should not include. Questions like the following help the BA understand which software systems, hardware components, and manual operations lie within the chosen solution’s scope.
- Which business processes, functions, and events will be part of the solution? Which ones will remain outside it?
