What outcome does effective requirements gathering aim to avoid?

Effective requirements gathering is crucial because it helps ensure that all stakeholders have a clear understanding of the project's needs and expectations. This clarity minimizes the potential for misunderstandings and miscommunication, which are significant factors that lead to increased project costs. When requirements are not thoroughly collected and understood, projects can veer off course, necessitating additional resources—both financial and time-related—to rectify issues that arise from the lack of clarity.

By prioritizing detailed and accurate requirements, project teams can enhance their efficiency, budget adherence, and overall project success, while avoiding costly rework resulting from misalignment between stakeholder expectations and the delivered solution. In contrast, a focus on detailed project timelines, innovative solution proposals, or stakeholder engagement are usually positive outcomes that contribute to the success of a project, making the avoidance of increased costs due to miscommunication the primary goal of effective requirements gathering.