Which technique involves conducting tests to gather requirements?

Conducting experiments is a technique that involves performing tests in order to gather requirements. This approach allows business analysts to validate hypotheses or assumptions through empirical evidence. By creating controlled environments and manipulating different variables, analysts can observe outcomes and determine how changes impact results. This method is particularly useful when exploring unknowns or when the requirements are not easily expressible through traditional methods.

In the context of business analysis, conducting experiments helps gather quantitative data that can lead to insights about customer behavior, product performance, or market dynamics. It enables a practical approach to understanding needs and expectations, which ultimately aids in shaping effective requirements.

While focus groups, stakeholder interviews, and benchmarking are valuable techniques for gathering information, they do not incorporate the experimental or testing component that is unique to conducting experiments. Focus groups involve discussions among selected individuals to gather qualitative data, stakeholder interviews capture insights directly from relevant parties, and benchmarking compares business practices to industry standards. Each of these methods has its strengths, but they do not utilize testing as a means to refine or define requirements in the same manner as conducting experiments does.