One of the first steps of most software development processes is requirements gathering: learning about and collecting the needed or desired functionality of the software from its stakeholders (often users of the software in some way).
Overview¶
A few concise high-level overviews of and best practices for requirements gathering:
- Requirements Gathering 101
- 10 Techniques for Gathering Requirements
- IT Best Practices: Requirements Gathering
User Stories¶
One particular tool often used in requirements gathering is the user story. These articles introduce the concept of user stories and how to use them effectively in project planning:
- How to write meaningful User Stories — a simple overview of user stories.
- INVEST in Good Stories and SMART Tasks — two mnemonics that provide guidance for writing user stories.
- User Stories: An Agile Introduction — some more detailed advice on writing user stories well and using them in project planning. (I recommend using your browser’s “reader view” to format this page for easier reading on most screens.)