# Requirements Analysis and Product Planning

> Think clearly about what to do, to do it better

Hello everyone, I'm Yupi. Before developing any product, the first thing we must do is **requirements analysis**.

What is requirements analysis? Simply put, it's about analyzing and clarifying user needs.

Why do we need to do requirements analysis? How to do it well? Are there any precautions?

In this article, I'll share methods and techniques for requirements analysis based on my product development experience. Whether you're working on a personal project with Vibe Coding or aiming to create a real product, these methods will be helpful.

## Why Do Requirements Analysis?

Let me share a personal experience. Once, a good friend I hadn't seen for years came to Shanghai to visit me. Since we're close, I decided to treat him to a seafood buffet and made a reservation. However, when I took him to the restaurant, he told me: "Buddy, I'm allergic to seafood..."

It was quite awkward, wasting both the deposit and time. This is what happens without requirements analysis.

The same applies when developing projects or creating products. If you act on impulse or subjective assumptions without considering users' real needs, you might invest significant resources only to create a product that users don't need at all.

When I first started sharing programming knowledge, I suffered from not doing requirements analysis. I enthusiastically created many videos I thought were useful, but they received few likes. Looking back, it was just self-indulgence.

Therefore, requirements analysis is crucial. Think of it as a bridge connecting our product to users, helping us better understand users' hearts and clarify what we need to do.

> Note: Requirements analysis isn't just for product managers and bosses! For programmers, it's equally important as it determines whether your subsequent development work is meaningful. Don't just be a "robot" that follows orders and writes code.

## What Does Requirements Analysis Involve?

There are many methodologies for requirements analysis online. I've summarized them into three aspects:

### Three Aspects

The first aspect is **starting from yourself**, which I call "free analysis". Product development should be fun - there shouldn't be too many constraints. Record all your ideas and what you want to do as freely as possible.

When I decided to create Yupi Smart AI, I already had a rough idea of the features I wanted, like AI chat, AI painting, AI Mask, AI navigation, AI book writing, etc. This step doesn't require actual "analysis" - just let your imagination run wild.

The second aspect is **starting from users**. If you're just learning or doing it for fun, free analysis alone is fine. But if you want to create an attractive online product with many users, you must focus on users.

In short: confirm **what users need and their pain points** to filter or improve our features, avoiding self-indulgence.

There are many methods, like surveys, user interviews, group discussions, etc. For our small startup team, we are the users, so we start with group discussions where everyone thinks: "Would I use this feature?" If we wouldn't use a feature, we definitely won't develop it; if everyone thinks "Wow, this is awesome", it might be our core feature.

The third aspect is **starting from competitors**, i.e., competitive analysis. When you're unsure what features to include or lack ideas, try similar products - you'll gain many insights.

Many programming students often ask: how to expand a project? The answer is: see what features similar projects have and add them to yours.

However, note that competitors might not have perfected certain features. When analyzing competitors, record your genuine user experience, take the best and discard the worst, giving you potential to surpass them.

### Clarifying Requirements

Through these three aspects of thinking and practice, we can basically confirm the core features to develop (like writing an outline for an essay).

Next, we need to break down and refine the requirements, clarifying each small feature and what exactly needs to be done (like filling in the essay outline).

For example, our Yupi Smart AI's core feature is AI chat, which can be broken down into:

1. Create AI chat
2. View my AI chat list
3. View chat information
4. Send chat messages
5. AI intelligent responses
6. View chat message history
7. Message toolbar

Some features can be further divided, like the message toolbar: copy message, voice reading, download message, etc.

### Prioritization

After refining requirements, you might be surprised: there's so much to do!

At this point, some might want to give up: "This is too troublesome, forget it!"

Don't panic. No system is perfect from the start. We need to prioritize requirements, decide what to do first and what later, then implement step by step.

How to prioritize?

Common methods consider factors like importance, urgency, impact scope, and implementation complexity, dividing requirements into P0 - P3 levels.

- P0: Highest priority, must-have. Without this, the product can't launch. Like Yupi Smart AI's chat and content moderation.
- P1: Important features, best to have. Not urgent initially but must-have later. Like Yupi Smart AI's sharing, image-to-image features.
- P2: Medium priority, nice to have. Features that improve user experience or bring some value, can do if resources allow. Like Yupi Smart AI's assistant advanced configuration.
- P3: Lowest priority, optional. Either low value or high complexity, can do when team has spare time. Like Yupi Smart AI's... well, we don't have P3 features yet - no one slacks under Yupi! (🐶 just kidding!)

After prioritization, focus on P0 first. Complete P0, launch a version quickly, validate with users whether the requirements are reasonable and valuable, then proceed with further development and iteration.

### Requirements Management

Even with few initial requirements, it's important to record and manage them. Don't keep all information in your head, or you might wonder later: "Why did I want this feature?"

How to manage requirements?

The simplest way is document recording. Don't overcomplicate it - just make a list like you'd list what to eat today.

Recommend using online knowledge bases like Yuque or Feishu rather than local records, enabling real-time team synchronization and collaborative editing.

More formally, use tables to create a requirements schedule, recording each feature, module, details, priority, etc.

![](https://pic.yupi.icu/1/image-20230704115312375.png)

You can also use mind mapping tools like XMind for hierarchical requirements organization, making team collaboration clearer and presentations for funding more impressive.

For more formal approaches, use professional requirements (project) management systems like Jira, Tapd, or Teambition, which help manage more complex, interdependent requirements.

Note: Requirements management is ongoing. You won't think of all requirements and features immediately, but whenever you have any ideas or inspiration, don't miss them - immediately record them on your phone!

## Don't Let Fake Requirements Harm You!

Last but most important: don't let fake requirements harm you!

This isn't just for product managers and bosses, but especially for those actually implementing requirements (like programmers, testers).

If complete system features are like a puzzle, fake requirements are like irregular puzzle pieces - they seem useful but actually waste time without helping complete the puzzle.

So how to avoid fake requirements?

Besides requirements analysis, user feedback, prioritization, and requirements management mentioned above, we should involve as many team members as possible, communicate and validate more, repeatedly evaluate, and use data analysis for scientific validation.

As team members, we should actively participate in requirements review, grasp more information, and help the team make better decisions.

Sometimes, as a small developer in a large corporate team, we might not participate much in requirements analysis and project decisions. But if we find requirements unreasonable, we should raise concerns early rather than waste time implementing useless requirements (or even useless systems).

Our Yupi Smart AI also had fake requirements due to a decision mistake of mine, resulting in a nearly useless feature. Later we discovered this and optimized the system, but that's a story for another chapter.

So, developers, when encountering fake requirements, I hope you can confidently tell the product team: "This requirement is unreasonable! I won't do it!"

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## Final Thoughts

Requirements analysis is the first and most crucial step in product development. Whether you're working on a personal project with Vibe Coding or aiming to create a real product, take requirements analysis seriously.

Remember these key points:

1. Requirements analysis should consider yourself, users, and competitors
2. Break down requirements into specific features
3. Prioritize requirements, focus on core features first
4. Continuously manage and optimize requirements
5. Beware of fake requirements, communicate and validate more

In the Vibe Coding era, implementing requirements has become low-cost. But thinking clearly about what to do remains most important. Only with the right direction can you achieve more with less effort.

Keep going, looking forward to seeing you create valuable products! 💪

## Recommended Resources

1) Yupi AI Navigation Site: [AI Resource Collection, Latest AI News, Free AI Tutorials](https://ai.codefather.cn)

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4) Programmer Resume Builder: [Professional Templates, Rich Examples, Direct to Interview](https://www.laoyujianli.com)

5) 1-on-1 Mock Interview: [Essential for Internship/Campus/Social Recruitment Interviews to Get Offers](https://ai.mianshiya.com)