A variety of tools are used to assist in the requirements gathering process. Each type of tool provides alternative means to illustrate, explain and specify exactly what must be delivered to meet the business goals. They simplify the understanding of requirements by application of the truism ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’. They encompass process documentation, graphical illustrations and detailed specifications to help in eliciting requirements, communicate proposals and decisions, provide details for the development process, and identify missing or incomplete requirements.

This section of the Guidebook uses examples for the many requirements that might be associated with the goal of acquiring a new car. The customer must decide what car to buy, the car dealer needs to be able to provide the car to the customer and the legal compliance requirements applied to ensure that public goals for safety and information are met during the transaction. Each of these players has different needs and constraints that must be satisfied to accomplish the delivery of a new car to the customer. Examples provided below will illustrate the tools that might be used when capturing the requirements for this scenario.

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