Defining User Needs and Requirements

Active learning works because defining user needs requires students to practice real-world thinking, not just memorize definitions. Students engage with the messy, human side of requirements through role-play and discussion, which builds empathy and skill in gathering accurate information from users.

• Year 8
• Technologies
• 4 activities
• 20 min–45 min

Learning Objectives

1. Analyze user feedback to identify specific pain points and desired functionalities for a software application.
2. Differentiate clearly between functional requirements (what the software does) and non-functional requirements (how well it does it).
3. Construct a comprehensive set of user requirements, including both functional and non-functional aspects, for a given software concept.
4. Evaluate the effectiveness of a software solution against its defined user needs and requirements.

Inquiry Circle

⏱ 30 min·Pairs

Pairs Role-Play: User Interviews

Students pair up: one acts as a target user for a study app, the other as designer asking 10 prepared questions on needs and frustrations. Switch roles after 10 minutes, then each drafts a shared list of key insights. Discuss as a class how questions shaped responses.

Prepare & details

Analyze how understanding user needs leads to more effective software solutions.

Facilitation Tip: During the User Interviews role-play, circulate and coach pairs to use open-ended questions like 'Can you tell me more about that?' to uncover deeper needs.

Setup: Groups at tables with access to source materials

Materials: Source material collection, Inquiry cycle worksheet, Question generation protocol, Findings presentation template

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Self-Awareness

Inquiry Circle

⏱ 45 min·Small Groups

Small Groups: Persona Creation Workshop

Groups survey five classmates on app preferences, then create visual personas with demographics, goals, and pain points. Combine into a class gallery for peer feedback. Translate top personas into initial functional requirements.

Prepare & details

Differentiate between functional and non-functional requirements.

Facilitation Tip: In the Persona Creation Workshop, remind groups to include both demographic details and specific pain points to make their personas feel real.

Setup: Groups at tables with access to source materials

Materials: Source material collection, Inquiry cycle worksheet, Question generation protocol, Findings presentation template

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Self-Awareness

Inquiry Circle

⏱ 25 min·Whole Class

Whole Class: Requirements Sorting Game

Project mixed requirements statements on the board. Class votes and sorts them into functional or non-functional categories, justifying choices. Reveal correct sorts and refine as a group.

Prepare & details

Construct a set of requirements for a simple software application based on user feedback.

Facilitation Tip: For the Requirements Sorting Game, prepare a mix of clear and borderline examples so students debate edge cases like 'data encryption' under non-functional categories.

Setup: Groups at tables with access to source materials

Materials: Source material collection, Inquiry cycle worksheet, Question generation protocol, Findings presentation template

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Self-Awareness

Inquiry Circle

⏱ 20 min·Individual

Individual: Feedback to Specs Challenge

Provide sample user feedback quotes. Students individually list three functional and two non-functional requirements. Share and vote on clearest examples.

Prepare & details

Analyze how understanding user needs leads to more effective software solutions.

Facilitation Tip: During the Feedback to Specs Challenge, require students to justify each requirement with a specific piece of user feedback to strengthen their rationale.

Setup: Groups at tables with access to source materials

Materials: Source material collection, Inquiry cycle worksheet, Question generation protocol, Findings presentation template

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Self-Awareness

Teaching This Topic

Teaching this topic effectively means focusing on the process of uncovering needs, not just the product. Students often struggle to see that requirements emerge from questions, not assumptions. Use low-stakes practice activities to build confidence in interviewing and feedback skills before expecting polished specifications. Research in design thinking shows that iteration and perspective-taking are critical, so emphasize these through repeated cycles of questioning and revision.

What to Expect

Students will demonstrate understanding by clearly distinguishing between functional and non-functional requirements in their own work. They will show growth in asking targeted questions to uncover true user needs, not just stated wishes.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

During the Requirements Sorting Game, watch for students who mislabel all requirements as functional, assuming everything relates to features.

What to Teach Instead

Use the game’s borderline examples to prompt discussion: ask students to explain why 'data encryption' or '5-second load time' belong in non-functional categories, and have peers challenge mislabeled slips.

Common Misconception

During the User Interviews role-play, watch for students who accept vague user statements like 'I want it to be easy' without probing for specific pain points.

What to Teach Instead

Coach students to follow up with questions like 'What makes it difficult now?' or 'What would make it feel effortless?' during the role-play, modeling how to push past surface responses.

Common Misconception

During the Persona Creation Workshop, watch for students who create generic profiles without tying needs to specific scenarios or frustrations.

What to Teach Instead

Require groups to include at least one 'day in the life' anecdote in their persona and a 'problem statement' that captures the user’s core struggle, using the workshop template as a guide.

Assessment Ideas

Quick Check

After the Requirements Sorting Game, collect the sorted slips and review them for accuracy, focusing on how students categorized borderline examples like 'automatic logouts' or 'dark mode'.

Exit Ticket

During the Feedback to Specs Challenge, collect students’ revised requirements and assess whether each one links directly to a piece of user feedback, checking for clarity and specificity.

Peer Assessment

After the Persona Creation Workshop, have students swap personas with another group and use a checklist to evaluate whether the persona includes goals, pain points, and realistic constraints before giving feedback.

Extensions & Scaffolding

• Challenge: Ask students to interview a real user outside class, then refine their requirements based on the new insights.
• Scaffolding: Provide sentence starters for functional requirements (e.g., 'The system must allow users to...') and non-functional examples to sort.
• Deeper exploration: Have students compare requirements for the same software idea across different user personas to analyze how needs shift with perspective.

Key Vocabulary

User Needs	The specific problems, goals, or desires that a target user has, which a software solution aims to address.
Functional Requirements	Statements that describe what the software system must do, detailing specific features, tasks, or operations it should perform.
Non-Functional Requirements	Statements that describe how the software system should perform, focusing on qualities like performance, security, usability, and reliability.
Target User	The specific individual or group of people for whom a software product is designed and intended to be used.
Requirements Documentation	A formal document that records all identified user needs and the resulting functional and non-functional requirements for a software project.