Lets start with the most basic statement about your IT projects requirements. The definition of requirements is something that is obligatory or demanded; something that is needed for a particular purpose. Requirements are what someone is going to hold you accountable for delivering through your IT project. That someone is the key here because projects have various stakeholders. As you just learned, stakeholders are those people who have a vested interest (of one type or another) in the project. For instance, users, corporate executives, and the project sponsor are common stakeholders. As you talk with stakeholders, your requirements will begin to form. As you begin to define your requirements, you may identify additional stakeholders.

If the project does not meet user requirements, the project is, fundamentally, a failure. Keep in mind that users are defined as those people who use or rely upon the results of your project; so the project must meet their needs, or its a failure by definition. It s important to learn to listen effectively when talking with users (we re defining users here as those who will use the result of the project). The project should be solving the user s problem(s), which is not always the problem you think the project should solve. Keep that in mind as you develop project requirements. There s a story about a police mobile radio project where the police say there s a problem with the radio. The engineers look over the radio and the...