Requirements Review
Part -4 in Requirements Gathering Process
Requirements Review is a crucial final step in the Requirements Gathering Process. It ensures that documented requirements accurately reflect stakeholder needs and are ready for the next phase of the project. While Business Analysts (BAs) play a central role in collecting requirements, independent analysis can sometimes miss key perspectives. Involving stakeholders and other reviewers in the process helps validate the requirements, uncover gaps, and improve quality.
This is the last part in the Requirements Gathering Process series.
Why Requirements Review Matters
A thorough requirements review allows teams to:
Validate that user needs are translated into quality requirements
Identify and correct errors, gaps, or inconsistencies
Clarify ambiguous or vague language
Confirm alignment between IT and Stakeholders on the proposed solution
Selecting Reviewers
The effectiveness of a requirements review heavily depends on involving the right participants. Key reviewers may include:
Stakeholders: Include representatives from all relevant user groups. For complex systems, ensure each user role is represented
IT Team Members: Developers, architects, and other technical roles can use this opportunity to clarify requirements before moving to design
Cross-functional Teams: Include members from teams involved in integration, compliance, or other dependencies
Peers: Fellow BAs or project leads can offer an outsider's perspective and help assess clarity and completeness
Type of Reviews
Once reviewers are identified, the next step is to determine how the review will be conducted.
#1 Distribute for Independent Review
This is the easiest and the most common way to have the requirements reviewed. Share the requirements with Stakeholders, team members and other relevant team members. Set a deadline for feedback and update the requirements accordingly. Convene a meeting to discuss any major changes or concerns.
This method is ideal for:
Simple to moderately complex projects
Projects with many reviewers
#2 Walkthrough Sessions
A walkthrough is a detailed step by step review of the entire documentation. Include all stakeholders, IT Team and other cross-functional team members. Do separate walkthroughs based on the type of attendees. If the documentation is long, it is best to break it up into logical sections. Send the documentation in advance to the reviewers. The discussion will be very effective when the participants read through and come with questions. Review all deliverables and artifacts in the walkthrough. Record all feedback and corrections. Update the documentation for the required corrections and clarity.
This is a very effective method to go over with the IT Team when the design is complex. This method is especially useful for identifying design constraints early in the process.
This method is ideal for:
Complex projects
Projects with multiple user groups
#3 Peer Reviews
Having another pair of eyes review the requirements is greatly beneficial, especially if the reviewer is not directly involved in the project. They tend to ask questions with the “outsider” perspective. A peer can be another co-worker, BA, Project Lead etc. They will be able to give feedback on the writing for clarity, details, sequence, structure, readability etc. The BA can see how the reviewer is able to connect the dots and get an understanding of the solution from the documentation. If there are multiple BAs working on different subsystems, this helps with cross-validation of requirements.
This method is ideal for:
Supplemental review
Simple to moderately complex projects
New BA or new domain area
Tips
Written documentation may be read and interpreted differently. Use walkthroughs or in-person review for clarity, especially for complex projects.
Reviewers must feel comfortable giving feedback. Encourage constructive feedback – not assigning blame. The main purpose of a review is quality check of the BA’s work – so catching “bugs” or errors is the focus.
Analyze and prioritize the feedback. Errors need to be fixed. Other corrections should be assessed based on their impact on the project scope, clarity, and alignment with business goals. Only incorporate feedback that improves accuracy, clarity, or alignment with stakeholder expectations.
Share working versions of the requirements early and often for informal reviews and refinements.
If the technical team struggles to understand requirements, schedule a review session—even during development. If requirements are misunderstood, it leads to faulty design.
Get a formal user sign-off after the requirements review to baseline the requirements.
Recommended Reading
· Chapter 8 of More About Software Requirements by Karl Wiegers: A great discussion on the importance of review practices.
· Chapter 17 of Software Requirements by Karl Wiegers: Detailed guidance on how to conduct reviews effectively.