2. What do you understand by requirement? Can you differentiate between requirements and needs?

A Requirement is defined by the International Institute of Business Analysis as a condition or capability required by a stakeholder to solve a problem or achieve an objective. Requirements are things we need to do in order to achieve a need or a goal. A Requirement is basically the need of the client. This requirement will transform into a solution while taking various shapes and forms as it progresses from each stages of Software Development Life Cycle. The SDLC or Software Development Life Cycle is the function of these requirements and makes the basis of project and its life cycle. It is necessary to document the requirement for future references. Requirement serve as the foundation of systems and system components. A requirement can be thought of as something that is demanded or obligatory, a property that is essential for the system to perform its functions. Requirement vary in intent and its kinds of properties. They can be functions, constraints or other elements that must be present to meet the needs of the intended stakeholders. The BA always ensures that the clients requirements are properly gathered or collected, communicates the same to the technical team in UML language which is more understood to them. Business Analyst will be in continuous track of the requirements through all the different stages of product development life cycle. He helps the technical team to understand the requirements clearly and participates in UAT along with the client. In short we can say that business analyst takes the ownership of the requirements. From business analyst point of view there are four type of requirement, which are as follows-
1. Business Requirements
2. Stakeholders Requirements
3. Solution Requirements
• Functional Requirements
• Non-Functional Requirements
4. Transitional Requirements.
Difference between Needs and Requirements
The main difference between need and requirement is that requirements are the things we need to do in order to achieve the need, whereas the needs are goals and objectives a business must achieve. The difference between needs and requirements are mentioned below-

Need Requirement
1 Business needs are goals and objectives a business must achieve Requirements are the things we need to do in order to achieve the need
2 Needs can be segregated into lower level, detailed requirements A need can have more than one requirement
3 Needs are not as specific as requirements Requirements are more specific and detailed.


We can explain the difference between Needs and Requirements with the help of a simple example-
Need Requirement
To get a BA job 1. Enroll for a BA course
2. Attend the class
3. Prepare well
4. Give exams
5. Complete the projects
6. To create resume
7. Give mock interviews
8. Apply for BA openings, give interviews and clear the interview rounds

To conclude we may say that we sometimes use the two words i.e. Needs and Requirements interchangeably there is a difference between both of them as explained above. In business context needs and requirements are two separate entities and converting business needs into relevant, measurable and specific requirement is very important for business success.