Some of the common problems I've encountered or heard about include:- Unclear requirements. This is the most common source of difficulty. The more unique a project, the greater the risk of unclear or imprecise requirements. Requirements are dynamic and ever-changing because they are defined in relation to their environment. Unclear requirements can result from changes in budgets, stakeholders, technology, or the business environment. They might also result from uncertainty about who will ultimately use the product or service or from the sponsor's inability to recognize what is needed. You must guide the process and work closely with the sponsor to identify clear requirements.
- Premature solutions. Coming up with answers before asking all the right questions can result in a premature and incorrect solution offering.
- Lack of clarity about who the sponsor is. You might find yourself on a project that has conflicting needs. In this instance, your first job is to find out who the sponsor is.
- Biases. When analyzing requirements, avoid inadvertently altering requirements to reflect one person's biases, rather than the needs of the sponsor.
To help avoid these pitfalls, work closely with the sponsor, avoid shortcuts in the requirements-gathering process, clearly identify the sponsor, and try to avoid imposing your biases, or those of anyone else, on the sponsor's needs.
The requirements-gathering process is iterative. It is important to redo the process and ask a lot of questions.