Nurturing requirements
D. A. Thomas, Andrew P. Hunt · IEEE Software · 2004
We focus on requirements engineering. The fundamental problem here is that we believe that underlying every project there's some absolute, discoverable set of requirements. If only we could find them, and then build accurately against them, we'd produce a perfect solution. The requirements would be a kind of map, leading us from where we are to our project's final destination. Software construction is a metaphor that the software industry has embraced when describing what we do. Iterative development is often seen as a way of controlling costs and mitigating risks, but it's also a great way to capture and verify requirements.