Joint Requirements Planning (JRP) is a facilitated workshop process in which business stakeholders and information-systems staff work together to understand the current environment, agree on a proposed system’s scope, and document its requirements. It answers the question, “What should the system do?”—rather than deciding in detail how the application will be designed.
What happens in a JRP process?
JRP brings together people who understand the affected business work and people who understand the systems that may support it. The group reviews the current situation, defines the proposed system’s scope and requirements, and records decisions for review and approval. A JRP workshop is the collaborative working session; the wider process also includes preparation and follow-up.
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1. Research the current situation
Before defining a new system, the team examines existing systems and information, and looks for similar systems or structures that might be reused. This gives participants a shared view of the current environment and a basis for discussing what needs to change.
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2. Define requirements and scope
Participants outline the system’s scope and describe the functionality in terms of the business processes it must support and the data it will use. They also identify management issues that could affect development or the transition to the new system. Requirements may include both functional needs—what the system must do—and nonfunctional needs, such as constraints or qualities the system must meet.
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3. Review, document, and finalize
The team records the agreed scope and requirements, circulates drafts for stakeholder review when appropriate, and resolves additions, changes, or deletions. The process concludes with formal documentation and a decision about whether to proceed. In the Hong Kong Digital Policy Office’s RAD guide, finalization also includes preparing cost and duration estimates and seeking approval to proceed. If cost and duration are already fixed, the scope must be defined in a way that keeps the project viable within those constraints.
Who takes part in a JRP workshop?
Participants should represent the business areas directly affected by the proposed system, together with relevant information-systems professionals. Depending on the project, the group can include business executives, end users, and managers responsible for affected areas. A facilitator guides discussion and keeps the group focused; a scribe records requirements, decisions, and unresolved issues so the group can review an accurate account afterward.
Representation matters: a workshop cannot establish a dependable shared scope if an affected business area or the people responsible for technical feasibility are missing. Before the session, agree on who can make decisions, who is contributing operational knowledge, and what the group is expected to produce.
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Agree on expected outputs before the meeting. Depending on the organization’s method and project stage, useful outputs can include:
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- A defined system scope and an outline of the requirements.
- Descriptions or models of relevant business processes and data.
- A record of decisions, assumptions, open questions, and management issues affecting development or transition.
- A reviewed requirements document and a decision about whether the project should proceed.
Not every JRP uses the same artifacts. For example, a municipal procurement process documented by the City of Homestead began with preliminary functional and technical requirements, reviewed them in facilitated sessions, and circulated a draft list for stakeholder review before finalization. That is one project’s approach, not a universal JRP template.
How JRP differs from JAD and RAD
| Term | What it describes | Main focus |
|---|---|---|
| JRP | A facilitated requirements-planning process | What the system should do; its requirements and scope |
| JAD | A broader joint application design and development approach | How the application will work, including design decisions |
| RAD | A rapid application development lifecycle or methodology | A methodology context that can include JRP as a stage |
The Hong Kong Digital Policy Office’s RAD model places Requirements Planning before User Design, Rapid Construction, and Transition. That sequence describes the guide’s model; organizations do not have to use it as a universal lifecycle. In that context, JRP establishes requirements, while later work addresses design and implementation.
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When is JRP a useful choice?
JRP is a practical fit when a project needs business and technical representatives to develop a shared, documented view of scope and requirements together. It is especially relevant when requirements span several affected business areas or need explicit stakeholder review before a project proceeds.
It is not established as inherently faster or more effective than interviews or other requirements techniques. Choose it based on the need for joint decisions, the availability of the right participants, and the outputs the project requires. A workshop also depends on effective facilitation and reliable recordkeeping; without those, discussion can produce unresolved disagreements or an incomplete record rather than agreed requirements.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to prepare for a JRP
- Set the purpose: State the system or problem under discussion, the decisions participants need to make, and the expected outputs.
- Invite the right people: Include decision-makers, end-user and business-area representatives, and relevant information-systems staff.
- Prepare the starting material: Gather information about current systems and processes, existing data, and any preliminary requirements or constraints.
- Assign roles: Designate a facilitator to guide the work and a scribe to capture requirements and decisions.
- Plan review and approval: Decide how participants will check the written requirements, how unresolved issues will be handled, and who approves proceeding.
These are planning considerations, not a prescribed universal agenda. The scope, constraints, and intended deliverables should determine the session’s exact format.
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Sources and further reading
- Digital Policy Office, Government of Hong Kong: RAD Procedures Guide—JRP’s place in the guide’s RAD sequence, planning tasks, participants, scope, and deliverables.
- Pearson: Systems Analysis and Design Methods, sample chapter—the chapter’s discussion of JRP, JAD, facilitators, and scribes.
- City of Homestead: agenda enclosure dated September 8, 2015—an example of facilitated requirements review and draft circulation.
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