The magic wand of requirements

In some cases, requirements gathering can feel like pulling teeth.  How often has a feature been built, only to find out it is not what is needed long term.  In organizations without massive investment in this field, it can seem impossible to pin down what is needed.  Try the magic wand approach. So often, ideation occurs solving the small problems we see using the tools at hand.  Rather than trying to solve the big problem, we focus on several small issues that can be easily addressed. While this works on occasion, this can also cause its own problems.  Before solving the issues at hand, wave a magic wand to see what we need.  Learn how to ask about end goals and current problems, then help break those down further. Stop the immediate solving to find out how to really answer the questions at hand.