Section 11.5. Whom to Ask for Requirements

11.5. Whom to Ask for Requirements

There are many people to ask about the requirements for a software project or product. Ask yourself the following questions:

• Who is going to use the software that you develop?

• Who is going to use the data that comes from the use of the software (i.e., who will read the reports generated from the data collected either directly or indirectly from the running of the software)?

• Who is going to support the software and who will support the machines on which it will run?

All these people can be considered "stakeholders" in the project.

So where do you start? That's a political more than a technical question. Start with your boss and with whoever is the major backer of the project. Then ask your customers. For in-house IT projects, the "customers" are usually very accessible; for software products, the customer's point of view may need to be represented by marketing and/or customer support people who have had direct contact with the customer base.