REQUIREMENT ELICITATION AND VALIDATION BY PROTOTYPING AND DEMONSTRATORS: USER INTERFACE DEVELOPMENT IN THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY

Abstract

Incomplete or misinterpreted requirements are a significant source of customer and user dissatisfaction in development of software user interfaces. In these systems, where consideration of the human factor is a vital part of the development, the undertaking of understanding the real needs of the user must not be underestimated. Unfortunately, there are often organizational boundaries which restrict or limit the developer's opportunities to communicate with the customer and stakeholders. The result is often a weak link between the stakeholder needs, system requirements and the realization of the user interface system. This paper addresses how an approach to requirements engineering based on a combination of rapid prototyping and demonstrator sessions can be used to elicit requirements and obtain early feedback and acceptance from system stakeholders. The method was conducted on a user interface development project for gas turbine driven generator and compressor packages in operation at offshore oil-rigs. Stakeholders were presented with module prototypes with a varying degree of dynamics, simulation and interaction based on the stage of the development. Together with rationale-based questioning, the demonstrator sessions provided a context for constructive discussions and feedback. The developers returned with a better understanding of the rationale for stakeholder need and clarification of misinterpreted or poorly defined requirements. This enabled us to create an application better aligned with customer and user needs and a minimal amount of rework and updates after system deployment.