Requirements Change Management Process Research Articles

SRCMIMM: the software requirements change management and implementation maturity model in the domain of global software development industry

The software industry has widely adopted global software development (GSD) to gain economic benefits. Organizations that engage in GSD face various challenges, the majority being associated with requirements change management (RCM). The key motive of this study is to develop a requirement change management and implementation maturity model (SRCMIMM) for the GSD industry that could help the practitioners to assess and manage their RCM activities. A systematic literature review and questionnaire survey approach are used to identify and validate the critical success factors (CSFs), critical challenges (CCHs), and the related best practices of the RCM process. The investigated CSFs and CCHs are classified into five maturity levels based on the concepts of the existing maturity models in other domains, practitioners’ feedback, and academic research. Every maturity level comprises different CSFs and CCHs that can help assess and manage a firm's RCM capability. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed model, four case studies are conducted in different GSD firms. The SRCMIMM has been developed to assist GSD organizations in improving their RCM process in efficiency and effectiveness.

A Conceptual Model to Address the Communication and Coordination Challenges During Requirements Change Management in Global Software Development

Global Software Development (GSD) is a widely used development practice because of various advantages offered to the customers, vendors, and other stakeholders involved in a software project development. However, GSD is not a simple process as it faces multiple challenges that arise due to the mismanagement of the communication and coordination process. Meanwhile, Requirements Change Management (RCM) is a tedious and high resource-consuming process in GSD, which is further negatively affected by the poorly managed communication and coordination mechanisms. Multiple research studies have presented various theoretical and conceptual models to overcome the challenges during RCM in the GSD context. However, the current methodologies lack in handling the communication and coordination challenges during the RCM process in the GSD context. In the literature, the researchers have concluded that a conceptual model can effectively reduce the communication and coordination challenges during RCM in GSD. Inspired by this, the current work aims at proposing a conceptual model to overcome and mitigate the communication and coordination challenges, while ensuring the effective requirement changes at offshore software development sites. Moreover, it would help multiple stakeholders in understanding and managing the necessary resources before initiating the RCM process. To validate the proposed conceptual model, we have conducted a questionnaire-based survey to procure the results from the industrial experts working in the GSD domain. After analyzing the obtained results, we found that the proposed conceptual model is effective to handle the communication and coordination challenges up to 87%. In addition, almost 87% of the experts have agreed upon the correctness, identified challenges, and the mitigation practices in the proposed conceptual model necessary to improve the RCM process in the GSD context. Furthermore, it was observed that 75% of the experts also agreed upon the practical implementation of the proposed conceptual model in the software development industry to observe the heuristic performance of the proposed conceptual model.

A Study on Mitigating the Communication and Coordination Challenges During Requirements Change Management in Global Software Development

Global Software Development (GSD) is widely used by software development organizations to ensure the development of a cost-effective software product. GSD has now become a common engineering practice adopted by a significant number of multinational software development organizations, and even individuals (freelancers) are seeking numerous benefits including low development cost, highly skilled workers, and access to better development ideas. However, communication and coordination challenges remain a prominent research issue in the GSD context, while performing different project-related activities especially for Requirements Change Management (RCM). As a result, improper communication and coordination during RCM require additional time, cost, and development resources. Thus, it is of vital importance to ensure proper communication and coordination before initiating a software project. Inspired by this, current work aims at exploring and mitigating the communication and coordination challenges during RCM in the GSD context. To accomplish the targeted research objective, we performed a tertiary study to provide a landscape of the challenges that occurred during RCM in the context of GSD. Based on the performed study, we found 62 communication and 14 coordination challenges. In total, 107 mitigation strategies are explored and reported that effectively address the categorized sub-challenges of communication and coordination. Moreover, we proposed a conceptual model useful to address the communication and coordination challenges for the RCM process in GSD. Furthermore, we consulted the domain experts for the validation of the proposed conceptual model. Based on the promising results, we believe that this work supports the project managers in managing the cost and time-related issues in the GSD context. Consequently, the proposed conceptual model would help in optimally utilizing the scared software development resources.

Toward successful agile requirements change management process in global software development: a client–vendor analysis

Requirements change management (RCM) is an important and complicated phase in the agile for the software development process. The objective of this study was to identify and analyse the factors that can positively affect the agile RCM (ARCM) process in the context of global software development (GSD). To this end, a questionnaire survey was carried out with researcher and practitioner participants working in the field of GSD. From the 56 survey respondents, a total of 20 factors that can positively influence the ARCM activities in GSD were identified. The authors also performed a client–vendor-based analysis to investigate the significance of the considered factors for different organisation types. Additionally, they compared the data collected from researchers and practitioners. The comparison results (r s (20) = 0.076) revealed that there exists a positive correlation between the rankings in each data set. The investigated factors were mapped to ten project management book of knowledge areas, and the mapping results revealed that human resource management is the most significant knowledge area amongst the investigated factors. The findings of this study provide a robust framework to assist GSD firms in implementing ARCM activities.

A multivocal study to improve the implementation of global requirements change management process: A client‐vendor prospective

AbstractSoftware development is a complex task, and the introduction of multi‐site development teams spread across the globe makes it even harder. Requirement changes during the software development process are inevitable, and failing to manage evolving requirements is one of the contributors to project failures. Requirements change management (RCM) becomes difficult in global software development (GSD) projects due to the need to communicate and coordinate between stakeholders in a distributed environment. This research work aims to identify the factors that have positive impacts on RCM activities in GSD. We conducted a multi‐vocal literature review (MLR) and a questionnaire survey study to identify the RCM success factors. The results of the t‐test (ie, t = 0.0347 and P = .700 > .05) and correlation (rs (25) = 0.573, P = .003) indicates that there is no significant difference between the findings of MLR and the questionnaire survey. The identified factors were further analyzed in the context of client and vendor organizations to better understand the RCM success factors in both types of GSD firms. The findings of this study can provide a useful framework for tackling problems associated with RCM in a GSD environment that is significant to the progression of GSD firms.

Requirement change management challenges in GSD: An analytical hierarchy process approach

AbstractMajority of software development firms are adopting the concepts of global software development (GSD) in order to develop high‐quality and low‐cost products. However, the requirements change management (RCM) becomes a significant challenge in the GSD environment because of the unavailability of proper RCM framework and taxonomy. The objective of this study is to develop a taxonomy of the challenging factors of the RCM process in GSD. The taxonomy is developed based on the results of the data collected during the survey study and the implementation of the analytical hierarchy process (AHP). Total 25 challenging factors are identified and mapped into four core categories, ie, “organizational management,” “team,” “technology,” and “process.” Moreover, the AHP analysis is performed to prioritize the challenging factors and their categories. The prioritization process highlight that “process” is the most significant category of the RCM challenging factors. The taxonomy developed in this study provides a robust framework to tackle problems associated with RCM activities in GSD environment, which is significant to the success and progression of GSD firms.

Requirements Change Management Challenges of Global Software Development: An Empirical Investigation

The software organizations rapidly adopting global software development (GSD) to gain the economic and strategic benefits. Besides, GSD faces many challenges that mainly concerned with the requirements change management (RCM). This study aims to identify and empirically validate the factors that can negatively influence the RCM process in GSD. To this end, literature review and questionnaire survey were conducted for the investigation and validation of RCM challenges. A total of 31 RCM challenges were identified. We have further classified the identified challenges in organization types, organization size and based on experts' opinions with the aim to provide a clear understanding of the RCM process and its challenges to the practitioners. Based on these identified challenges, we believe that this study can provide a framework for tackling problems associated with RCM activities in GSD environment, which is significant to success and progression of GSD organizations.

Systematic literature review and empirical investigation of motivators for requirements change management process in global software development

AbstractMost software development firms have adopted the concepts of global software development (GSD) to develop high‐quality and low‐cost products. However, GSD is not a straightforward process. It is associated with many challenges that are mostly related to requirements change management (RCM). In this study, we explore the motivators that contribute to managing RCM activities in the GSD environment. We extracted a total of 25 motivators using the systematic literature review (SLR) approach and conducted a survey study to empirically evaluate the findings of the SLR. The results of the applied Spearman's statistical test show that the findings of the SLR and survey study had a positive moderate correlation (rs(25) = 0.566). We further analyzed the reported motivators according to organization size. Finally, we developed taxonomies of the identified motivators based on the framework proposed by Ramasubbu and the project management body of knowledge. We believe that the taxonomies provide a robust framework for tackling the challenges of RCM, which is significant for the success and evolution of GSD firms.

Investigation of the requirements change management challenges in the domain of global software development

AbstractThe phenomenon of global software development (GSD) has been adopted by a majority of the software development firms to achieve the significant benefits it offers. However, there are many challenges faced by the GSD organizations, which are mainly related to requirements change management (RCM). The key objective of this study is to identify the challenges of RCM process in GSD domain. The systematic literature review (SLR) approach has been used to investigate the challenges of RCM activities, and a total of 30 challenges were identified. We have further classified the identified challenges in the domain of client and vendor GSD organizations, aiming to provide a clear understanding of the RCM process and its challenges in the context of both types of GSD organizations. The identified challenges were also categorized into three core types according to the organization size (small, medium sized, or large), which highlights the significance of each challenge for a specific organizational size. In addition, the criticality of the identified challenges was assessed using the criteria of challenges having a frequency greater than or equal to 50%. According to the findings of this study, a framework is provided that could help GSD organizations address the problems related to RCM in a GSD environment.

Success factors influencing requirements change management process in global software development

Abstract Planning and managing requirements changes in Global Software Development (GSD) is a challenging task. While requirements change has received much attention from researchers, Requirements Change Management (RCM) process is still an emerging area in GSD. The objective of this paper is to identify the success factors of RCM in the GSD environment. We applied the Systematic Literature Review (SLR) approach and identified 23 success factors that influence RCM in GSD projects. The findings of the SLR indicate that change impact analysis, change understanding, management support, RCM process awareness, standard for RCM, progress measure, updated requirements and minimize project failure risk are key factors that influence RCM in a GSD project. We present a comparison of success factors identified in client and vendor organizations. Moreover, we present a framework to classify the identified success factors for RCM process implementation. We believe GSD organizations can use the framework to better manage requirements change in GSD projects.

A Domain Ontology for Software Requirements Change Management in Global Software Development Environment

Ontology and its role in both software engineering and knowledge management fields have been widely reported in the literature. Numerous studies have proven the effectiveness of using ontologies to support the process of requirements engineering. One of the main problems facing requirements engineering is that the requirements are exposed to change. In fact, this problem swells even more in global software development (GSD) environment. Given that this problem is unavoidable, we need to improve the requirements change management (RCM) process. In this paper, a systematic domain ontology for RCM especially in GSD environment is proposed. A hybrid method combining Methontology and the 101 method is used for its development; Web Ontology Language (OWL) for its representation; and Protege for its implementation. It was validated using ontology content evaluation and competency question evaluation methods. Also, it was verified using both ontology taxonomy evaluation and FOCA evaluation methods. Validation and verification results showed that the proposed ontology was successfully built. Building this ontology can be considered as a base contribution in supporting the RCM process in GSD.

Multilevel Ontology Framework for Improving Requirements Change Management in Global Software Development

Requirements engineering is one of the most important pillars of software engineering. Its success contributes greatly to that of the software as a whole. In fact, the software development process is not devoid from changing requirements, which affects the cost, time, and quality of the final software. The change problem is unavoidable and also swells when the development of the software is made globally. Therefore, there is a need to improve the quality of requirements change management (RCM), especially in global software development (GSD) environments. Our research hypothesis is that the RCM is naturally a knowledge-intensive process that can benefit substantially from ontology. Indeed, we assume that using a multilevel ontology framework will greatly support RCM in GSD environments by ensuring the semantic correctness of the requirement change request and accordingly solving miscommunication and misunderstanding problems. The framework was successfully evaluated using a questionnaire and a case study. The results indicate that using the proposed framework can intensely improve the semantic correctness of requirement change requests. Accordingly, the entire RCM process is then improved by increasing the reliability of the change and reducing the time consumed for dealing with semantically wrong change requests.

Knowledge Factors and Models of Requirements Change Management Process Based on Causality Analysis

Knowledge Factors and Models of Requirements Change Management Process Based on Causality Analysis

A Proposed Framework for Communication Risks During RCM in GSD

Presently, software is an important module of business in the world. Most of software organizations are distributing their work all over the world in order to develop software through collaboration via electronic network and it is continually getting fast. Software development companies are trying to globalize their work throughout the world in order to get the various benefits. The phenomenon of this software globalization is called Global Software Development (GSD).However, globalization of software development is not a simple job and the software companies face numerous challenges. In GSD Communication is a main issue and it became more complicated during Requirements Change Management (RCM) process .This paper presents the various factors which causes different communication risks in GSD during RCM process. A proposed framework is developed that consolidates relevant factors, which have been categorized into geographical, socio-cultural and temporal distances. A quantitative research method has been used to collect data from GSD organizations.

A Survey Based Study on Factors Effecting Communication in GSD

Presently, most of software development companies are trying to globalize their work throughout the world in order to get the various benefits. The phenomenon of this software globalization is called Global Software Development (GSD). However, GSD is not a simple job and the software companies face various challenges. In GSD Communication is a main issue and it became more complicated during Requirements Change Management (RCM). This research will result to explore different factors that can negatively affect communication during the RCM process by conducting a survey in GSD industry. A framework is proposed for the factors effecting communication and total nine hypotheses are developed. A quantitative research method has been used to collect and analyse the data. The results show that total seven out of nine hypotheses are supported and two hypotheses are rejected.

Communication Risks and Best Practices in Global Software Development during Requirements Change Management: A Systematic Literature Review Protocol

Currently, software systems are becoming an essential part of business in the world. The majority of the software production companies are adopting Global Software Development (GSD) and it is incessantly getting faster. Most of the software development organisations are trying to globalize their study worldwide in order to get the different benefits. However, GSD is not a simple task and the organizations face various challenges. But communication is a major issue and it becomes more complicated during the Requirements Change Management (RCM) in the context of GSD. This research will explore communication risks, their causes, negative effects and those mitigation practices which can be used to allay communication risks during the RCM process. A Systematic Literature Review (SLR) protocol has been developed and the implementation of the protocol is in process. The SLR protocol provides in depth and more comprehensive results than common literature review.