Customers and stakeholders typically _.
a. want too many things and are impossible to control
b. understand the intent and parts of what they need, but struggle to articulate it, often missing some of the most critical requirements and parts
c. know exactly what they need
d. have no idea what they want and need
The Correct Answer and Explanation is:
Correct Answer: b. understand the intent and parts of what they need, but struggle to articulate it, often missing some of the most critical requirements and parts
Explanation:
Customers and stakeholders are essential to any project, as they provide the requirements and expectations that define the scope and objectives. However, in practice, most customers and stakeholders do not come with a complete, precise, and technically sound understanding of what they need. Option b most accurately reflects this reality.
Stakeholders generally understand the business intent—they know the problem they want to solve or the outcome they want to achieve. For example, a stakeholder might say, “We need a system to streamline our payroll process.” While this communicates a general goal, it often lacks detailed requirements such as the types of reports needed, system integration requirements, security constraints, user roles, or compliance needs.
Moreover, stakeholders may not fully appreciate technical limitations, budget constraints, or the broader impacts of certain decisions. They may overlook edge cases, scalability, performance expectations, or regulatory requirements—all critical elements for delivering a successful solution.
This gap in understanding and articulation is why techniques like requirements elicitation, interviews, workshops, prototyping, and use case development are so important. These methods help bridge the communication gap between stakeholders and development teams, allowing for a more complete and shared understanding of what is needed.
Options a, c, and d are inaccurate or overly simplistic:
- a is dismissive and unprofessional.
- c is overly optimistic and rarely true.
- d underestimates the insight most stakeholders have into their business problems.
In conclusion, stakeholders typically know part of what they need but struggle to express it fully and accurately—making communication, validation, and iteration critical to project success
