Stage 1 & 2: Planning & Requirements

The foundation of any successful software project lies in how well it is planned and how clearly its requirements are defined.

Stage 1: Planning & Requirement Analysis

This is the most crucial phase. Senior members of the team, including project managers and stakeholders, perform a feasibility study and define the project scope.

• Goals: What are we trying to achieve?
• Feasibility: Is it technically and financially possible?
• Costing: What is the estimated budget for the project?
• Timeline: How long will it take to reach the first milestone?

Stage 2: Defining Requirements

Once the planning is done, the next step is to clearly document the product requirements and get them approved by the customer.

The SRS Document

The Software Requirement Specification (SRS) is a formal document that describes all the features and behaviors of the system.

• Objective: Ensure everyone (Devs, QAs, Customers) is on the same page.
• Product Requirements: Detailed list of what the software should do.
• User Expectations: Understanding the "Who," "Why," and "How" of the target audience.

[!TIP] Don't Rush Requirements Ambiguous requirements are the leading cause of project failure and expensive re-work later in the lifecycle.