Facilitated meetings. The purpose of these is to try to achieve a summative effect whereby a group of people can bring more insight into their software requirements than by working individually. They can brainstorm and refine ideas which may be difficult to bring to the surface using interviews. Another advantage is that conflicting requirements surface early on in a way that lets the stakeholders recognize where there is conflict. When it works well, this technique may result in a richer and more consistent set of requirements than might otherwise be achievable. However, meetings need to be handled carefully (hence the need for a facilitator) to prevent a situation from occurring where the critical abilities of the team are eroded by group loyalty, or the requirements reflecting the concerns of a few outspoken (and perhaps senior) people are favored to the detriment of others.