Elicitation: How Do the Experts Do It

Requirements elicitation techniques are methods used by analysts to determine the needs of customers and users, so that systems can be built with a high probability of satisfying those needs. Analysts with extensive experience seem to be more successful than less experienced analysts in uncovering the user needs. This chapter reports on the results of in-depth interviews with some of the world's most experienced analysts and careful analyses of the most recently published requirements books. These results demonstrate how expert analysts select elicitation techniques based on a variety of situational assessments. Requirements elicitation is an iterative process. At any moment, conditions cause the analyst to perform a specific step using a specific elicitation technique. Elicitation can be performed in a wide variety of ways, e.g., interviewing, collaborative workshops, prototyping, modeling, and observation. The chapter deals with the relationship between detailed characteristics of situations and elicitation technique selection.