Answer.

Defining and prioritizing requirements is one of the key aspects of a business analyst's work. In practice, this involves gathering information from various stakeholders, applying prioritization techniques, and regularly reviewing priorities in light of changes in the business context.

The process includes the following stages:

• Gathering requirements through interviews, workshops, documentation analysis, and observing workflows.

• Classifying requirements (functional, non-functional, system, business requirements).

• Applying prioritization techniques: MoSCoW, $100, Kano, etc.

• Assessing the impact of requirements on business goals and identifying constraints (budget, time, resources).

• Regularly reviewing and adapting priorities based on changes in the project and stakeholder feedback.

Key features:

• the necessity of continuous dialogue with the business to accurately determine priority tasks.
• the use of formalized methods and prioritization matrices.
• the skill to justify decisions to the team and management.

Tricky questions.

What is the difference between functional and non-functional requirements?

Functional requirements describe what the system should do (functionality). Non-functional requirements are parameters, constraints, and quality attributes: security, performance, reliability, etc.

Can you just gather all requirements from stakeholders and implement them without filtering?

No, this often leads to budget and deadline violations. Requirements need to be analyzed, structured, and prioritized; otherwise, the project may become irrelevant and unviable.

What to do if two critical requirements contradict each other?

Organize a consultation with stakeholders, analyze the impact of each requirement, and negotiate compromises or a phased implementation.

Typical mistakes and anti-patterns

• Lack of formal prioritization, making decisions "on instinct"
• Ignoring the opinions of key stakeholders
• Rigid fixation of requirements at the start of the project without considering changes

Real-life example

Negative case: The business analyst implements all requirements without strict filtering and prioritization. The project exceeds budget. Pros: satisfaction of all client requests. Cons: budget overruns, missed deadlines, confusion in functions.

Positive case: The analyst gathers all requirements, prioritizes them using MoSCoW, regularly reviews priorities with the business and the team. Pros: relevant results, expectation management, project on time and within budget. Cons: requires more time for communication organization.