Do's & Don't mentioned of Requirement Gathering

Do's :

1. Understand the system properly and ask as many questions you want unless you are completely clear of it.
2. Speak in layman's terms while explaining the proposed system to the clients/customers or end users.
3. One of the best ways to minimise the risk of different interpretations is to include examples: diagrams, pictures, or sample data that illustrates what the requirements mean.
4. Be extremely patient as you will have lots of doubts and questions to deal with.
5. Never use big Jargons while talking to clients/customers.
6. Ask open-ended questions that cannot be answered simply with a yes or no.
7. Loop simple questions to delver deeper. For example you might ask "What happens next?" Keep asking that question after each subsequent answer to get a full picture of the detailed flow of a process.
8. Approach your inquiry with genuine curiosity. If you proceed with curiosity and use appropriate tone and language, the customers are more likely to relax and open up rather than feel threatened or act defensive.
9. Ask the same question to people who are involved at different points within the process to corroborate their stories and ensure that your requirements reflect reality.

Dont's :

1. The most important point to remember is "NEVER ASSUME ANYTHING". To be more precise let me explain with an example; Example of a Medical Insurance claim. If customer wants a certain field to bear "Customer ID" then does not assume it to be the SSN which is usually taken as default. Many organizations create a special "Customer ID" which is other than the SSN.
2. When you don't know something, don't stay calm with your doubts with the threat of sounding incompetent. If you do so then you are making the worst mistake which will end up writing wrong requirements.
3. You set aside your ego and ask skillful open-ended questions until such time as you have sufficiently distilled the facts and can mold them into a requirement.

Guys these are a few of then I had mentioned but there are many more simple details which are situational as every customer is different and every project is different.

Hope it was of some help.

Courtesy :: http://businessanalyst.collectivex.com/