What issue does requirements elicitation help to avoid in project management?

Requirements elicitation is a critical process in project management that focuses on gathering the needs and expectations of stakeholders. One of the main issues it helps to avoid is miscommunication and mismatched expectations. When requirements are clearly elicited, stakeholders are given the opportunity to express their needs, desires, and constraints, which facilitates a shared understanding of project goals. This process helps ensure that all parties have aligned expectations from the outset, reducing the likelihood of misunderstandings that can lead to dissatisfaction, conflicts, or project failure.

Effective requirements elicitation allows project managers to clarify ambiguous terms and expectations, and to discover the underlying needs of stakeholders, thus fostering better communication throughout the project lifecycle. This clarity directly impacts the project's success and the team's ability to deliver a product that meets the agreed-upon criteria.

While budget overruns, scope creep, and stakeholder disengagement are significant challenges in project management, they stem from a lack of clear communication and understanding about the project's requirements. Properly executed elicitation can help mitigate those risks, but the primary focus remains on ensuring all stakeholders are on the same page, which directly addresses miscommunication and mismatched expectations.