Here are some home truths from being in the software requirements business:
- Most people can’t tell the difference between a good and bad requirement
- Most people don’t care, either
- Requirements – yawwwn
- The ‘perfect’ requirement doesn’t exist
- Many people place too much emphasis on format rather than substance
- No two people have the same understanding of what a requirement actually is
- Nobody wants to attend a workshop to agree on what a requirement is
- Not many people own books on software requirements; fewer still have actually read them
- Almost nobody has been formally trained in requirements
- A minority still believe agile means ‘no requirements’ (gnarly dude)
- A slightly larger minority try to write all the requirements before hiring agile developers
- Some people think ‘all you need are user stories’ is a Beatles song
- One person tried to write GDPR as user stories, unsuccessfully
- Acceptance criteria may be a hidden form of requirement, but true believers don’t come out in public
- No one spends three months writing a 300-page BRD anymore
- Traceability is a taught concept that doesn’t really happen in practice
- Companies buy expensive tooling thinking it’s necessary and will help
- Not everybody agrees Atlassian is in the software requirements industry
- Apparently, AI will completely automate the requirements industry, although I’m still waiting for Mars to be colonised
- Many don’t understand the difference between a requirement and a “nice to have”
And yet, everyone still expects quick, cheap, bug-free, regulatory compliant, impactful software ‘experiences’. Good luck with that Truman Show.
Although, if you did ask me, I do have one idea how it might happen…
Better Software UK specialises in software requirements for Legacy System Replacement 🔥; particularly for remote, outsourced and offshore development teams working in financial services.