Stop 02 · Requirements ElicitationTopics · 10/10

Choosing the Right Elicitation Technique

In short

You don't have time for every technique on every project. Picking the right one comes down to a simple question: what do you need to learn, and from whom?

Matching the technique to the situation — time constraints, stakeholder availability, and the nature of the problem all influence which method (or combination) will actually work best.

The purple blob stands at a street corner choosing between an auto-rickshaw, a bicycle and a bus.

Think of it like this

Picking transport in a big city

For a 200-metre trip, you walk. Across town at rush hour, you take the metro. For a short trip with bags, an auto. Nobody uses one mode for everything. Elicitation techniques work the same way: match the method to the trip.

Watch it happen

What do you need to learn?

What you need

Deep 'why'

Many opinions

Real behaviour

Group agreement

React to idea

Interview

Survey

Observation

Workshop

Prototype

1/5Start with what you need to learn, not with the technique you like best.

The big ideas

What you need to know

Start from the question

Write down what you need to learn first. The technique follows from that, not the other way round.

Check time and access

Busy executives may give you 30 minutes, not a full-day workshop. Remote users may only be reachable by survey.

Combine for confidence

Use one technique to explore and another to confirm, like interviews first, then a survey to check how common it is.

Consider the setting

Sensitive topics suit private interviews. Cross-team handoffs suit workshops where everyone hears the same thing.

Save yourself the pain

Common mistakes

Oops

Sending a survey to understand a problem you don't understand yet.

Do this instead

Explore first with a few interviews, then use a survey to check how widely your findings apply.

Oops

Running a big workshop on a politically sensitive topic.

Do this instead

Talk to key people privately first so you understand the tensions before bringing them together.

Your mission

Write an elicitation plan

~25 min

Quick check

You've done five interviews and found a possible pain point. You want to know how many of your 2,000 users share it. What fits best?

Go deeper

1Match 3 hypothetical scenarios to the most appropriate elicitation technique(s).
2Learn to combine techniques (e.g. document analysis before interviews) for richer results.
3Practice justifying your technique choice with specific reasoning, not just habit.