Decision point

An individual item that is either required or suggested. You should separate the requirements from goals and then prioritize the goals, grouping them so goals that aren’t mutually exclusive are together. You can then score each group of goals by importance and create a packaged solution.

Implications

When you score the goals, be sure to take into account the effect that each goal has on the implementation of the others. If one goal would negatively impact many other goals, you may want to reconsider, even if the first individual goal is slightly more important than individual goals in the group it affects.

Risks

Consider both the technical and the financial costs of each solution. If adding a convenience feature poses an undue security risk, a client such as a lawyer or a bank has to abandon that feature.

Trade-offs

On the questions, you’ll often have one group that wants a feature that would adversely affect another group. You’ll have to do your best to weigh the options and be very careful with the wording of the questions of this sort.