Fun facts from the underbelly of the software requirements industry

Here are some home truths from being in the software requirements business:

  1. Most people can’t tell the difference between a good and bad requirement
  2. Most people don’t care, either
  3. Requirements – yawwwn
  4. The ‘perfect’ requirement doesn’t exist
  5. Many people place too much emphasis on format rather than substance
  6. No two people have the same understanding of what a requirement actually is
  7. Nobody wants to attend a workshop to agree on what a requirement is
  8. Not many people own books on software requirements; fewer still have actually read them
  9. Almost nobody has been formally trained in requirements
  10. A minority still believe agile means ‘no requirements’ (gnarly dude)
  11. A slightly larger minority try to write all the requirements before hiring agile developers
  12. Some people think ‘all you need are user stories’ is a Beatles song
  13. One person tried to write GDPR as user stories, unsuccessfully
  14. Acceptance criteria may be a hidden form of requirement, but true believers don’t come out in public
  15. No one spends three months writing a 300-page BRD anymore
  16. Traceability is a taught concept that doesn’t really happen in practice
  17. Companies buy expensive tooling thinking it’s necessary and will help
  18. Not everybody agrees Atlassian is in the software requirements industry
  19. Apparently, AI will completely automate the requirements industry, although I’m still waiting for Mars to be colonised
  20. 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…

If your developers are struggling, perhaps they need better guidance?

Our Software Requirements can help with that.

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