Requirement analysis is an important method in software projects to accurately capture customer expectations and produce a final product or service that meets these expectations.

What is a Software Requirement?  

The requirements of a software project are the functions, features, and constraints that the final product must fulfill. In other words, requirements define what the software needs to do, how it should look, and the conditions that must be met for it to be considered successful. 

Requirement analysis is a study that directly affects the success rates of projects. The clearer and more realistic the requirements are determined at this stage, the higher the probability that the final result will satisfy the customer. 

Why is Requirement Analysis Important?  

In projects where requirement analysis is not conducted or is not given due importance, situations may arise where the final product does not meet the user's needs and expectations once it goes into testing with the end-user. In such cases, changes made to the product can lead to significant costs and cause the project to not be completed within the projected timelines. 

It is a very likely outcome that projects carried out without fully understanding the user's needs and expectations, without evaluating their feasibility or compliance with existing conditions, and without examining any legal aspects, may incur extra costs.   

The Importance of Analyzing the Current State in Requirement Analysis  

While some requests involve establishing a brand new system from scratch, a majority consist of adding new functions to an existing system or making an existing function more functional or user-friendly. For systems established from scratch, there is no existing state, so an impact analysis is not needed at this point. However, for changes made to existing systems, analyzing the current state holds great importance. Knowing the constraints of the current system is also critical when evaluating solution proposals. The main purposes of current state analysis are as follows:   

1. Determining Needs: With current state analysis, the needs of the existing system can be determined more clearly. 

2. Identifying Risks: Potential risks are identified during the analysis of the current state. A new system is designed taking these potential risks into account. 

3. Efficient Use of Existing Resources: Resources are better identified with current state analysis. 

4. Identifying Improvement Opportunities: Opportunities for improvement and areas open to development are revealed during the analysis of the current state. 

5. Obtaining User Feedback: While analyzing the current state, the problems users face are better analyzed, which are considered when designing the new system. 

6. Integration and Compatibility: Ensures compatibility between the newly developed system and the existing system. 

7. Budget and Time Management: Helps create a more realistic project plan in terms of budget and time.   

Current state analysis is a fundamental step for accurately determining requirements and successfully managing the project. This analysis provides a broad perspective at the beginning of the project and lays a foundational basis for successfully completing the project. 

What are the Stages of Requirement Analysis? 

Requirement analysis consists of five stages, which are as follows: 

1. Gathering requirements, 

2. Analyzing the gathered requirements, 

3. Making requirements more understandable, 

4. Documenting requirements, 

5. Validating requirements. 

1.Gathering Requirements  

This is the stage of communicating with users to gather expectations. At this stage, activities such as planning meetings, making observations, examining the current system, and researching similar systems can be conducted. The draft of the requirements document is formed as a result of all these activities. 

2.Analyzing Requirements 

Evaluating the system in light of the draft requirements document. This stage involves listing the requirements and determining if there are any deficiencies, gaps, or ambiguities in the stated requirements. Also, it is important to ensure that the requirements do not contradict each other at this stage. If contradictory or unclear points are found during the analysis of requirements, these issues should be resolved and the requirements should be detailed. 

3.Making Requirements More Understandable  

To Make the requirements more understandable, visualization techniques can be used (e.g., simulation tools). Requirements can be modeled using flow diagrams, graphs, etc. With requirement modeling and visualization techniques, the requirements will become more understandable. 

4.Documenting Requirements  

After being analyzed and made more understandable through various methods, the requirements are documented at this stage. 

5.Validating Requirements 

This is the stage of reviewing the requirements with users to validate them. The main goal at this stage is to confirm that the documented requirements match the requirements gathered from the user. During the requirement analysis process, if the requirements specified by users do not suit the system, are not technically feasible, or contradict each other, it might be necessary to remove the requirement from the list or produce an alternative solution. In such cases, the validation stage of the requirement becomes more critical. 

An Example of a Requirement Analysis Study 

Request from the Business Unit  

The business unit requests the creation of a platform where employees can log in and share blog posts on topics of their choice. This way, employees can share their experiences on topics they are competent in with their colleagues, and this documentation will also serve as a corporate memory. 

Identifying Stakeholders  

The Human Resources Unit, which is the requesting party, and the Information Technology Unit, which will fulfill the request, are the primary stakeholders. For a simple request, a single unit may be identified as the stakeholder, but for complex requests, there will be multiple stakeholders.

Gathering Requirements 

Meetings with stakeholders are needed to gather expectations.

• What are the expectations from this platform?
• What is the primary purpose of this platform? 
• Will the platform be web-based?
• Will a mobile application also be designed?
• Will the published posts be publicly accessible, or will only company employees see them?
• Will visuals or videos be allowed in posts?
• Will the posts be downloadable?
• Will there be a requirement to log in to share posts?
• Since there will be a membership system on the platform, there is a need for a registration page. Will employees only be able to register with their company emails?
• What will be the password criteria on the registration page?
• Will posts be published directly, or will there be an approval mechanism?
• Will an admin panel be designed?
• What will be the authorization infrastructure?
• Will there be language support on the site?
• Will a structure be set up to allow the posts to be shared on other social media platforms?
• How will posts be ordered?
• Will it be possible to search for past content?
• What information will be searchable in the search area? (Keyword, author name, etc.)
• Will there be a date filter? 

It is necessary to ask the above questions and many more like them to fully capture the requirements. Often, details that even the requester had not considered become clear as a result of these questions during requirement analysis. 

Resources: 

• http://www.baskent.edu.tr/~gmemis/courses/introductiontodatabase/Db2.pdf 
• https://muhammetbaykara.com/
• Image: https://proyeksoftware.blogspot.com/