Requirements gathering is the process of collecting required project information from the client or customer before beginning with the execution. This may sound very simple, and obvious, but if this is skipped, it can lead to serious open ends and roadblocks.

Although clients share a project brief, requirement elicitation is a must. It is a process of collecting details for every step of the project. The requirements gathering questions are asked to the clients considering all possible worst-case scenarios. Usually, the questions are asked using the 4W1H technique. This includes five types of questions. What, Where, Why, When, and How. In some cases, there can be a requirement gathering checklist that can come in handy.

You can use our requirement gathering template will give you a brief idea of what kind of questions you can ask. You can add more questions to it using the customization feature.

Here are some of the crucial questions that can be added to your requirement elicitation questionnaire,

What are the organizational goals that you are achieving with this project?

This question widens the scope of the project and gives you more flexibility for innovation. Knowing what is your clients’ long-term need for the project gives you more space to play around and give better solutions. Also, the clarity with which your client answers this question gives you an idea about their awareness and depth of knowledge. You can onboard team members with the same level of expertise.

What are the expected financial returns of this project?

This is one of those business requirement questions which probably you as a project executor should not think about. But, if you want to delight your client, then their response to these questions can be a boon to you. Knowing the financial returns they are expecting from the project well before execution begins, will help you to cut down on the resources and build the client’s trust.

Once the project is ready, Who or Which team will report, analyze and maintain the system?

Another question which, frankly speaking, you shouldn’t be concerned about. But, if you want to build client trust, like in the earlier case, the response to this question is gold. Here, you get to know the actual team who will be working on the system that you develop. So, if you know them before execution, you can keep them in the communication loop, while every step of the execution process.

Is there an architectural diagram available?

This question is specific to requirement gathering for software development (SDLC). If it is an app development project, an architectural diagram visually shows the elements constituting the functioning of the app or software. If the clients have an architectural diagram in place, that means they have a clear vision of the project and also the primary and secondary beneficiaries within their organization.

Apart from these, there can be many questions to ask during requirement gathering. One thing to note is, if your requirement gathering questionnaire is exhaustive, use section type questions from our builder and divide the questionnaire into parts.