An overview of 10 different techniques that you can use to gather project requirements. This useful guide can help you mix and match the best requirement gathering approach for your project.

1. 10 methods to gather project requirements
Author: PM Majik
Copyright 2020. All rights reserved. www.pmmajik.com

2. Contents
1.0 Purpose of this presentation
2.0 8 project management reports
3.1 Communication plan
3.2 Project timeline
3.3 Project budget / financial plan
3.4 Project team contact data
3.5 Risk register
3.6 Project status report
3.7 Action register
3.8 Project dashboard
4.0 Important tip
5.0 Summary
6.0 PMO resources
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3. 1.0 Purpose of this presentation
The purpose of this presentation is to provide a guide to 10 methods that you can use to
gather requirements for your project.
Learning about these techniques will help you mix and match the right approach for your
project and organisation.
You do not have to use all of the techniques, you only should use the ones that work for
you.
Remember these are general guidelines. You should use them to help tailor a project
change control process that meets the need of your organisation.
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4. 2.0 Project Requirement Gathering Techniques
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The 10 techniques to gather project requirements:
1.
Brainstorming
2. Workshops
3. Interviews
4. Survey
5. Document
Analysis
6. Reverse
Engineering
7. Focus
Groups
8. Interface
Analysis
9. Prototyping
10.
Observation
Project Requirement
Gathering
Techniques

5. 3.1 Brainstorming
• Brainstorming amongst a group of individuals is used to gather as many
ideas, solutions and opportunities as possible.
• The brainstorming environment encourages participants to be free-thinking
and open and provides quirky ideas that may not be welcomed in more
formal situations.
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Additional Resource
https://www.pmmajik.com/pmo-tools-project-communication/

6. 3.2 Workshops
• More structured than brainstorming, workshops allow collaboration to
document the requirements of stakeholders.
• Here documents are drawn up, which may include static and activity
diagrams.
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Additional Resource
https://www.pmmajik.com/pmo-tools-project-planning/

7. 3.3 Interviews
• Conducting interviews with stakeholders is perhaps the most common
technique. To undertake and complete a successful project, it is essential
that the expectations and goals of stakeholders is understood fully.
• There are a number of things to remember when conducting interviews:
• Consider the individuals perspective, what one stakeholder may view
as important, another stakeholder may not.
• Ask open ended, probing questions and ask the stakeholder to
elaborate on any area which needs clarification.
• Listen. This might sound obvious, but it is very easy to ask questions
without fully listening to the answer.
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Additional Resource
https://www.pmmajik.com/pmo-tools-project-financial-planning/

8. 3.4 Project team contact data
• The team working on the project are often from various department,
companies and even spread across the world – a virtual team.
• The role of the project manager is to bring the group of people together to
form a productive team.
• Creating and distributing a list of team members, their roles and how to
reach them is an important step in ensuring clear channels of
communication.
Copyright 2019. All rights reserved. www.pmmajik.com
Additional Resource
https://www.pmmajik.com/pmo-contact-list/

9. 3.5 Project risk register
• Managing project risks is often overlooked or miss understood by project
managers.
• Creating an initial Risk Register is key to managing project risks. Start by
building a list of all the things that could impact the project.
• Early on in the project, there will be a lot of these. As the project progresses
and things become more clearly defined, many of these will be addressed.
• It is important to review and update this list often throughout the
project. Risk management is not a one-off event!
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Additional Resource
https://www.pmmajik.com/pmo-risk-management-plan/

10. 3.6 Project status report
A Project Status Report is an essential element of the project communication
strategy.
The project status report is the barometer of the project – it will give the project
manager, the project team and project stakeholders an overview of the health
of the project. The status report might include:
• RAG status for each of the project elements; Scope, Schedule and Budget
(budget optional)
• a list of the project milestones and their status
• items completed in period
• items due next period
• a current run of budget status
• any open risks
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Additional Resource
https://www.pmmajik.com/why-the-project-status-report-is-a-powerful-tool/

11. 3.7 Project actions log
• It is important to keep track on all action items needed for the
project. These should be captured on the Actions log.
• During critical periods of the project, you might distribute this list daily. What
is important is that important activities are captured and tracked to closure.
• Remember, if it is not documented – it is not getting done.
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12. 3.8 Project dashboard
• Stakeholders are not typically in project team meetings and they rarely
review Project Status Reports. But they still want to have an update on the
project progress.
• For this audience, it is a good idea to provide a high-level visual
representation of the project. Simple, easy to digest that gets to the point
quickly.
• Developing the content that will be included in the report or dashboard
should be done early in the project and provided regularly and in a
consistent format.
Copyright 2019. All rights reserved. www.pmmajik.com
Additional Resource
https://www.pmmajik.com/8-mistakes-to-avoid-on-project-reports-and-dashboards/

13. 4.0 Important tip
• Remember, just because you can produce a report or dashboard, it does not
mean that you should.
• You must ensure is that the data has value to the end user. If not, it is a
waste of both the end user and your time.
• When defining what reports are required (including what is included on each
report), make sure you discuss the requirements with the sponsors and end
users.
• You should also consider the audience and try to design the report to distill
the information so the critical messages can be quickly consumed and
understood. Senior stakeholders do not typically have a lot of time to review
long reports. Short and succinct will be well received.
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14. 5.0 Summary
Project reports are an important tool for the successful management and delivery of
your project. Using one or more of the 8 reports listed below may help.
1. Communication plan
2. Project timeline
3. Project budget / financial plan
4. Project team contact data
5. Risk register
6. Project status report
7. Action register
8. Project dashboard
If you are interested in ready made project change control templates, consider
investing in a set of professional PMO Templates. This will allow the rapid
implementation of tools and processes.
Copyright 2019. All rights reserved. www.pmmajik.com

15. 6.0 PMO resources
If you want more information, visit www.pmmajik.com where you will find lots of project
and PMO resources including the FREE guide, 7 Steps to Set-Up a PMO.
Visit http://www.pmmajik.com/set-pmo/
PM Majik Website
On the PM Majik website you will find over 200 articles that contain practical and
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articles are added weekly. Topic requests are encouraged from the community.
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