Stakeholders and Methods for Obtaining Requirements

1.2.4 Relevant stakeholders when planning a new system
1.2.5 Methods of obtaining requirements from Stakeholders
1.2.6 Appropriate techniques for gathering the information needed to arrive at a workable decision.

IB Subtopics

Stakeholders are individuals, teams, groups or organizations that have an interest in the realization of a project OR might be affected by the outcome of the project. The end-user is the person who is going to use the product and may or may not be a stakeholder. You can choose either one to help you plan the general outline for your idea since they will be able to give you insightful feedback, help you test your product in real-world settings and find errors or inconveniences with your design.

Once you find a stakeholder you will want to get gather details about any existing systems they use or would like to be created. From this, you can create success criteria for your product.

Methods for obtaining Requirements from Stakeholders

1. Interviews: This is the most recommended method for this project since you won’t have more than one stakeholders (in some cases you might have a few more). In some settings you might have a whole company of stakeholders and face to face interviews would take a long time.
   • Structured Interviews: A set of planned questions that are presented in the same manner and order to each stakeholder.
   • Unstructured Interviews: A flexible interview where a stakeholder is encouraged to express their thoughts and beliefs freely.
2. Questionnaires: Questions that are effective when carefully constructed and elicit unambiguous responses. This is akin to a survey, perhaps sent out visa google forms.
   • Close or Restricted Questionnaires: Yes or no answers, or box-checking, that help obtain statistical data.
   • Open or Unrestricted Questionnaires: Short response questions that allow the stakeholder for more in-depth answers. It is harder to obtain statistical data from this.
3. Direct observation of current procedures: By watching possible end-users use a current tool that is similar to the one you are planning, you will be able to make important notes about what needs to be designed and what features are essential. This is independent of user bias, as you write down observations instead of opinions, but it is the most time-consuming process.