REQUIREMENT ANALYSIS IN SOFTWARE ENGINEERING

Requirement Analysis in Software Engineering

Requirement Analysis is a crucial step that follows requirements elicitation. In this phase, the gathered requirements are analyzed, refined, and clarified to ensure they are consistent, complete, and unambiguous. This stage often involves reviewing all requirements and, where helpful, creating graphical representations of the system to improve understanding.

By the end of requirement analysis, the clarity of the project scope should be greatly improved. Ongoing interaction with the customer is essential—this helps resolve ambiguities, prioritize requirements, and ensure alignment with project goals.

Key Steps in Requirement Analysis

Draw the Context Diagram

• The context diagram defines the system’s boundaries and its interactions with the external environment.
• It identifies external entities and their interfaces with the proposed system.
• Example: A Student Result Management System context diagram shows how the system connects with students, administrators, and other entities.

Develop a Prototype (Optional)

• A prototype is a preliminary version of the system that simulates its key features.
• It helps customers visualize the proposed system and provide feedback for refinement.
• Benefits:

               Improves requirement clarity.

               Supports decision-making for uncertain elements.

• In cases where the product targets a broader market, prototypes can be shown to a sample audience to gather valuable insights.
• Prototypes are built quickly and inexpensively, with the understanding that they will have limitations and won’t represent the final product.

Model the Requirements

• Use graphical representations to depict the system’s functions, data flows, and relationships.
• Common tools:

                 Data Flow Diagrams (DFD)

                 Entity-Relationship Diagrams (ERD)

                 Data Dictionaries

                 State-Transition Diagrams

• Visual models help detect missing, inconsistent, or redundant requirements early.

Finalize the Requirements

• Once modeling is complete, the system’s behavior is better understood.
• Any inconsistencies or ambiguities are resolved, and data flows between modules are analyzed.
• The refined requirements are then documented in the prescribed SRS format, setting the stage for design and development.