The Emergence of Mutual and Shared Understanding in the System Development Process

Abstract

[Context and motivation] In interdisciplinary requirements engineering, stakeholders need to understand how other disciplines think and work (mutual understanding) and agree on the system they develop (shared understanding) in order to collaborate effectively. [Question/problem] In this paper we analyse extent and forms of (lacking) mutual understanding according to the periods in the process of conceptual change. [Principal ideas/results] We analyse the communication of a multidisciplinary team while developing a mobile application. Although the team tried to resolve differences in meaning early on by applying approaches for clarification, questions for consolidation, exploration and elaboration occurred at different points in time throughout the process. Even when artefacts were already agreed upon, the development team explored lack of mutual understanding to underlying concepts or relationships. A revised shared understanding led to adjustments of the artefacts and thus hampered the process. [Contribution] We therefore call for research that explores ways of systematically building mutual and shared understanding in the development process.