Exploring Student Perspectives on Generative AI in Requirements Engineering Education

Abstract

The rapid development of generative AI (GenAI) technologies in recent years has enabled new opportunities as well as new challenges in higher education. While many studies in computer science have focused on GenAI in programming education, fewer have examined its possibilities and challenges in requirements engineering (RE). This study aims to explore the impact of GenAI on the pedagogical aspects of RE in higher education, focusing on the student perspective, to analyse how GenAI might influence learning experiences, knowledge acquisition, and skill development. The main research question to answer was: "What are the students’ perspectives of the integration of GenAI in the educational practices of requirements engineering?" An Action research strategy was employed, with one of the authors also serving as teacher in the investigated course. A mixed-methods approach was used to collect both qualitative and quantitative data from workshops and surveys. During the workshops, students used ChatGPT to generate and evaluate software requirements and compared these to manually crafted requirements. Thematic analysis of the qualitative data captured students’ perspectives, while survey data identified trends and preferences. Findings show that while students generally had a positive experience with GenAI, valuing its efficiency and the quality of generated requirements, they also recognized the need for human oversight to maintain accuracy. The study highlights both opportunities and challenges of using GenAI in RE education. While GenAI increased learning engagement and helped with brainstorming, students faced difficulties in creating effective prompts and found it time-consuming to refine AI-generated requirements. A hybrid approach, combining AI-generated and manually created requirements, proved most effective by balancing AI's advantages with human insights. Further research is needed on how GenAI could be effectively integrated into computer science education.