3. First Steps – Requirements Analysis and Specification

One of the most difficult tasks in any project is to establish precisely what the system requirements are. This is a problem that has been faced by project managers since time immemorial. They recognize that getting it right at the start of a job is of the utmost importance. Engineers have long realized that a disciplined, organized, and formalized approach must be used when evaluating system requirements (whether that's always been practiced is another matter). This hasn't been done through a sense of "doing the right thing." No. Experience, frequently painful, has shown that such methods are necessary. In particular, with projects of any real size, they are essential.

What is the situation concerning software projects? Considering the number of major failure stories in circulation, the answer must be "pretty awful." In the past, this situation has frequently been condoned on the...