The Requirements Problem

Software Requirements are hard.

Ok, let's do some critical thinking on that. Why are requirements hard?

In my honest opinion, the skill set to do requirements is a combination of writing skills, an understanding of the problem domain, and an understanding of technology. To paraphrase Jerry Weinberg, it's not that you have to analyze requirements (break into component pieces) - it's that you have to synthesize them - get them to play nice together.

I would like to talk about that - and do it in an interesting way.

So here is the first Execelon Development PodCast (10MB) and also a handout to help follow along.

Since most of the success literature approaches requirements from a customer viewpoint, the podcast talks about requirements from a developer's viewpoint.

The fact that different people use the same document for different purposes is an entirely different problem; perhaps that's a follow-up.