Quiz Entry - updated: 2026.07.14
What are the four general groups of requirement elicitation methods and their pros/cons?
Four groups: analysis of documentation, interviews, workshops, and questionnaires — each trades reach against depth, so they're usually combined.
* Elicitation method groups — documentation analysis, interviews, workshops, questionnaires (reach vs depth). *
| Method | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| Analysis of documentation | Fast source of information; Independent of third parties | Not always available/complete/up-to-date |
| Interviews | Lots of information; Individual perspective; Allows to verify correctness of understanding | Takes lots of time and effort; Limited number of participants |
| Workshops | More/different participants in the same room; Results immediately verifiable | Certain participants dominate; Requires moderation |
| Questionnaires | Large number of participants; Good for clearly defined questions | Not usable for open questions; Often bad response ratio |
Tip: Combine multiple methods! Start with document analysis, then interviews for depth, workshops for consensus, and questionnaires for validation across larger groups.
Go deeper:
Requirements elicitation (Wikipedia) — interviews, workshops, questionnaires, and document analysis as complementary elicitation techniques.