The primary audience for this book includes developers and business analysts responsible for ensuring articulate and complete specifications of user requirements for software. While some in the user community will also gain insight into the various requirements models, the language and context of this book lends itself more to those with a background in software development.

From my perspective, Ellen Gottesdiener is an excellent communicator and provides acute insight into the missing requirements of the requirement elicitation phases of software development. Like a well written movie, there are many best parts of this book, and my favorites include:

• Requirements levels (user requirements vs. business requirements and the differences): Chapter 1;
• Using both sides of the brain to define requirements: Chapter 3;
• For More Information: book recommendations at the end of each chapter (together with an insightful paragraph on each);
• The Sieve model (one of the collaborative models that uses "smart filtering" of requirements): Chapter 9;
• How to Deal with Difficult Participants: Chapter 9;
• Workshop Case Studies: Chapter 11.

Requirements by Collaboration is intended to be a practitioner's guide, and is a refreshing departure from the textbook, lecturing style books of yesteryear. Ms. Gottesdiener describes real life, down to earth scenarios with which developers will easily identify, and provides low risk, high value solutions that can be implemented without major budget overhauls. In these times of economic and budgetary constraints, Requirements by Collaboration is a breath of fresh air. Practitioners will find a treasure trove of new ideas mixed with proven concepts - a welcome respite to the often times frustrating requirements articulation process.