Requirements Elicitation & Documentation Flashcards

A project team is experiencing frequent requirement changes after baseline approval. What is the MOST likely root cause?

Answer: Requirements were not sufficiently validated with stakeholders before baselining

High post-baseline volatility usually indicates that requirements were not adequately validated with the right stakeholders before sign-off, leaving gaps that surface later.

What is 'gold plating' in the context of requirements, and why is it a problem?

Answer: Implementing features beyond what stakeholders requested, consuming resources without authorized business value

Gold plating occurs when the team adds unauthorized features, which wastes resources, may introduce defects, and was never validated as delivering business value.

Which of the following is an example of a NON-FUNCTIONAL requirement?

Answer: The system shall process 10,000 transactions per second with 99.9% uptime

Non-functional requirements define system quality attributes such as performance, reliability, and availability, rather than specific behaviors or features.

A BA documents an assumption that a third-party API will remain available throughout the project. Later, the API vendor discontinues it. What risk management action should the BA have taken?

Answer: Logged the assumption as a risk and developed a contingency plan

Every documented assumption should be assessed as a risk, since if the assumption proves false, it can impact requirements, scope, or delivery.

What is the difference between a constraint and a requirement?

Answer: A constraint is a restriction imposed on the solution; a requirement is a condition the solution must satisfy

A constraint limits the available solution options (e.g., budget, regulation, existing technology), while a requirement defines what the solution must do or be.

When should a BA formally re-baseline requirements?

Answer: After approved changes accumulate enough impact to warrant a new controlled baseline

Re-baselining is warranted when approved changes are substantial enough that the original baseline no longer accurately represents the agreed scope.

A BA is preparing the requirements package for handoff to the development team. Which element is MOST critical to include for each requirement to ensure testability?

Answer: Measurable acceptance criteria that define the conditions for satisfaction

Acceptance criteria provide the objective, measurable conditions under which a requirement is considered satisfied, enabling testers to verify the solution.