Understanding the Customer: What Do We Know about Requirements Elicitation?

Getting the requirements right is one of the most important activities in software development. Making a crucial misstep at this phase can easily lead to large amounts of rework when the customer simply can't accept a system the way it was developed. When used correctly, approaches such as incremental development or agile methods can mitigate the risks of getting the requirements wrong by making sure that systems are developed in smaller chunks and that each chunk can be shown to the customer for approval. However, the best way to develop a high-quality system with minimal effort is still to get the requirements right the first time.