3 Simple Steps to Writing Business Requirements

There is an old Native American proverb that goes like this:

“Never criticize a man until you’ve walked a mile in his moccasins.”

A similar idea for the Business Analyst is:

“To write good requirements, you need to have walked a mile in the user’s moccasins to understand how they will use a product.”

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

#1 Make no assumptions about how users will use the product

• Identify the user community for the requirements you are writing.
• Identify how the user community will use this capability/functionality.
• Ensure you make no assumptions regarding their understanding of the functionality.
• Break down the requirements into simple steps that are easy to understand by anyone.

#2 Address the Five Ws — Who, What, Where, When and Why

• This highlights the benefits to the user.
• State what benefits this capability provides.
• Identify who will benefit most by using this functionality.
• Provide reasons why this capability/functionality provides the best benefits to the user.
• Identify when this capability/functionality can/will be used.
• Define where this capability/functionality is best used.

#3 Break down the requirements into simple parts — do not over complicate it

• List any assumptions you are making to use this capability/functionality.
• List any dependencies that exist to implement this capability/functionality.
• Identify potential risks that may exist with this capability.
• From a scope perspective, list what’s in and what’s excluded.
• List the requirements in simple language. Start with the most obvious. List one capability at a time. List what will and will not work with this capability, keeping in mind the five Ws. Reference examples or diagrams to make your point.

What’s your process for writing requirements? Please comment and share your thoughts.

This article was originally published on the DefinedLogic blog.