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With neat diagram explain requirement analysis process.

Requirement Analysis Process​

Requirement Analysis is a systematic process of discovering, analyzing, documenting, and validating the requirements of a system. It serves as the foundation for software development by ensuring that the right system is built according to stakeholder needs.

The Requirement Analysis Process Diagram​

┌───────────────────┐     ┌───────────────────┐     ┌───────────────────┐
│                   │     │                   │     │                   │
│  1. Requirement   │     │  2. Requirement   │     │  3. Requirement   │
│     Elicitation   │────▶│     Analysis      │────▶│   Specification   │
│                   │     │                   │     │                   │
└───────────────────┘     └───────────────────┘     └───────────────────┘
          │                        │                         │
          │                        │                         │
          ▼                        ▼                         ▼
┌───────────────────┐     ┌───────────────────┐     ┌───────────────────┐
│                   │     │                   │     │                   │
│  6. Requirement   │◀────│  5. Requirement   │◀────│  4. Requirement   │
│    Management     │     │    Validation     │     │   Documentation   │
│                   │     │                   │     │                   │
└───────────────────┘     └───────────────────┘     └───────────────────┘

Explanation of Each Phase​

1. Requirement Elicitation​

This is the initial phase where requirements are gathered from stakeholders through various techniques.

Activities:

  • Identifying stakeholders and their needs
  • Conducting interviews, surveys, questionnaires
  • Facilitating workshops and focus groups
  • Observing users in their work environment
  • Analyzing existing documentation and systems
  • Brainstorming sessions
  • Prototyping for feedback

Outputs:

  • Raw requirements data
  • Stakeholder feedback
  • Initial understanding of needs

2. Requirement Analysis​

In this phase, the gathered requirements are examined, refined, and organized.

Activities:

  • Categorizing requirements (functional/non-functional)
  • Resolving conflicts and contradictions
  • Identifying missing requirements
  • Analyzing feasibility (technical, operational, economic)
  • Prioritizing requirements
  • Creating user stories or use cases

Outputs:

  • Refined requirement statements
  • Requirement models (data flow diagrams, entity-relationship diagrams)
  • Use case scenarios
  • Prioritized requirement list

3. Requirement Specification​

Here, the analyzed requirements are formalized into structured documentation.

Activities:

  • Defining requirements precisely
  • Creating formal models and diagrams
  • Establishing acceptance criteria
  • Defining interfaces
  • Specifying constraints

Outputs:

  • Software Requirements Specification (SRS) document
  • Formal models and diagrams
  • Interface specifications
  • Quality requirements

4. Requirement Documentation​

The requirements are organized into comprehensive documentation suitable for various stakeholders.

Activities:

  • Creating user-friendly documentation
  • Developing requirement traceability matrices
  • Organizing requirements by categories
  • Establishing unique identifiers for each requirement

Outputs:

  • Comprehensive requirement documents
  • Requirement repositories
  • Traceability matrices
  • Visual representations (diagrams, models)

5. Requirement Validation​

This phase ensures that the documented requirements accurately represent stakeholder needs.

Activities:

  • Reviewing requirements with stakeholders
  • Conducting inspections and walkthroughs
  • Developing prototypes or simulations
  • Verifying consistency and completeness
  • Validating feasibility

Outputs:

  • Validated requirements document
  • Prototype feedback
  • Change requests
  • Sign-off from stakeholders

6. Requirement Management​

This ongoing activity focuses on managing changes to requirements throughout the project lifecycle.

Activities:

  • Establishing change control processes
  • Tracking requirement changes
  • Managing requirement versions
  • Assessing impact of changes
  • Maintaining traceability through development

Outputs:

  • Change history
  • Updated requirement documents
  • Impact analysis reports
  • Baseline requirements

Importance of the Requirement Analysis Process​

  1. Foundation for Development: Creates a solid basis for system design and implementation
  2. Alignment: Ensures the system meets stakeholder expectations
  3. Error Prevention: Catches misunderstandings early when they're cheaper to fix
  4. Communication: Establishes clear communication between stakeholders and developers
  5. Quality Assurance: Provides the basis for testing and validation
  6. Risk Reduction: Identifies potential issues before they impact development

A systematic requirement analysis process is critical for project success as it ensures the development team builds the right system that fulfills user needs while minimizing costly changes later in the development lifecycle.