One key factor that is often overlooked or underestimated during requirements elicitation is prioritizing requirements. If there are 150 documented itemized requirements, and 147 can be met by a software solution, you may think that would be a great percentage to have. But what if the 3 requirements that were not/cannot be met were the 3 most important of the original 150? What once may have looked like a favorable implementation now turns into a questionable one.

Another example; let’s say there are 150 documented and itemized requirements, and only 75 of them can be met by a software solution. That may raise an alarm for an analyst, but upon closer examination the 75 requirements that are not met are classified as low priority or “nice to haves”. The 75 requirements met are classified as critical priority. There is a different solution option that satisfies 125 of the requirements, but is missing 25 of the critical requirements. On the surface satisfying 125 of 150 requirements may seem like the better option, but a deeper look under the covers gives you a clearer picture.

Given the time and resource pressures faced by all organizations in today’s economy, assigning a priority/weight to each requirement is a critical task that needs to be completed during requirements elicitation. Businesses need to decide what is most important to them in a solution before you hit the drawing board.