Requirements engineering process selection at Hewlett-Packard

Abstract

The requirements engineering (RE) processes used at Hewlett-Packard (HP) are many and varied. They range from informal to formal on projects that are short, agile, and at Internet-speed as well as long and methodical ones. Typically, the RE approach is influenced by business drivers as well as constraints or attributes of the project. Some of the major attributes that affect HP's RE selection process include: level of understanding of the user's domain/needs, project size and complexity, schedule, resources, cost, quality expectations, project personnel expertise, development model (in-house versus outsourced), tolerance for requirements volatility, cost of requirements changes during development and after release, and the speed at which changes can be applied to the product after release. Attributes of the RE approach for two HP projects are examined in This work. The first project is agile with an Internet-speed release schedule. It is based on experience with the Web site and consumer award-winning eservices hpshopping.com organization. The other project is large, complex, and makes use of outsourced development. It is based on experience with the development of an HP worldwide (WW) IT customer communications system that cuts across all of HP's businesses. Many different RE processes are used at HP. The most effective ones are those customized to closely fit the business drivers and project attributes.