The W.E.T Framework: CAW’s Solution to Enhancing Requirements Elicitation

Following our exploration of the common challenges in requirement elicitation, let’s turn our attention to an effective solution developed by CAW — the W.E.T (Workflow, Entities, and Task) framework. This framework assists product managers and tech teams in extracting detailed and realistic requirements that align with business expectations, minimising the need for multiple rounds of discussion.

In this article, we’ll learn more about the W.E.T framework and its impact on project outcomes.

The W.E.T framework provides a structured approach to eliciting requirements by breaking down complex business processes into three core components.

1.  Workflows : Defines the sequence of steps and decision points in a project.
2. Entities :  Identifies key data objects and their relationships.
3. Tasks: Outlines specific actions users need to perform.

This systematic method ensures comprehensive coverage of the project requirements while minimising gaps in understanding between stakeholders.

Let’s explore the benefits of the W.E.T framework by project phase.

Bridging Requirement Gaps
Product managers often begin with a set of assumptions as they gather high-level requirements from business stakeholders. Extracting all possible workflows and making entities and tasks a part of these workflows helps cover most of the end-user scenarios and identify any missing information. This allows tech teams to work with fewer assumptions, resulting in the development of essential features that meet both client and end-user expectations.

Aligning Expectations
A significant challenge for product managers is ensuring clarity of expectations between business stakeholders and tech teams. Often, stakeholders may be surprised by how the product is shaping up when they see it in the development stages.
By documenting workflows, entities, and tasks, stakeholders gain a clear picture of what to expect — reducing the chances of expectation mismatch and, ultimately, stakeholder dissatisfaction.

Mapping Requirements With Business Goals
At CAW, when we receive a client requirement, we ensure the client understands all potential implications. If a requirement does not align well with their business goals, we collaborate to find a more suitable solution. This approach prevents critical features from being overlooked and avoids resource waste on features that may not benefit end-users.

Streamlined Development
When development teams have a complete understanding of requirements, workflows, entities, and tasks upfront, they can better plan sprints and allocate resources effectively. This leads to faster development cycles and reduced technical debt, allowing for meaningful and useful product releases.

Introduction of New Requirements
When stakeholders propose a new requirement, the W.E.T framework makes it easier to conduct a risk and impact analysis. By mapping new requirements against existing workflows, entities, and tasks, teams can quickly identify potential conflicts or dependencies. This analysis helps determine whether the changes may negatively impact current functionalities and whether they align with the overall project goals. The framework also enables teams to estimate resource requirements more accurately and adjust project timelines accordingly. This ensures the smooth integration of new features without disrupting existing development work.

Prevention of Delays and Potential Project Failure
Having a clear view of workflows, entities, and tasks from the outset enables project managers to set realistic timelines and identify potential bottlenecks early. By supporting swift risk and impact assessments for new requirements, teams can adjust timelines with minimal disruptions. This approach reduces scope creep and rework, preventing delays and potential project failure.

Clear Documentation
The W.E.T framework ensures that the project documentation is clear, consistent, and structured. Thus, all team members from developers to stakeholders can easily access and understand project specifications. This clarity also extends to future maintenance and updates, making it simpler for new team members to onboard and understand the product’s architecture. Additionally, standardised documentation facilitates knowledge transfer between teams and ensures consistency across different project phases and iterations.

The W.E.T framework offers a robust approach to project management that significantly improves requirement gathering, execution, and delivery. By breaking down complex processes into workflows, entities, and tasks, teams gain a clearer project scope, reduce expectation mismatches, and deliver solutions that align with business objectives. The resulting products are not only high quality but also built to easily adapt to changing business needs over time.

Additionally, the ease of risk and impact analysis makes the W.E.T framework particularly well-suited for regulated industries such as pharma and banking—something we’ll explore in our upcoming series.

In the next article, we will dive into an exhaustive case study that showcases the W.E.T framework in action. Stay tuned!