Requirements Engineering Process Improvement Research Articles

Status Quo in Requirements Engineering

Requirements Engineering (RE) has established itself as a software engineering discipline over the past decades. While researchers have been investigating the RE discipline with a plethora of empirical studies, attempts to systematically derive an empirical theory in context of the RE discipline have just recently been started. However, such a theory is needed if we are to define and motivate guidance in performing high quality RE research and practice. We aim at providing an empirical and externally valid foundation for a theory of RE practice, which helps software engineers establish effective and efficient RE processes in a problem-driven manner. We designed a survey instrument and an engineer-focused theory that was first piloted in Germany and, after making substantial modifications, has now been replicated in 10 countries worldwide. We have a theory in the form of a set of propositions inferred from our experiences and available studies, as well as the results from our pilot study in Germany. We evaluate the propositions with bootstrapped confidence intervals and derive potential explanations for the propositions. In this article, we report on the design of the family of surveys, its underlying theory, and the full results obtained from the replication studies conducted in 10 countries with participants from 228 organisations. Our results represent a substantial step forward towards developing an empirical theory of RE practice. The results reveal, for example, that there are no strong differences between organisations in different countries and regions, that interviews, facilitated meetings and prototyping are the most used elicitation techniques, that requirements are often documented textually, that traces between requirements and code or design documents are common, that requirements specifications themselves are rarely changed and that requirements engineering (process) improvement endeavours are mostly internally driven. Our study establishes a theory that can be used as starting point for many further studies for more detailed investigations. Practitioners can use the results as theory-supported guidance on selecting suitable RE methods and techniques.

A theoretical framework for requirements engineering and process improvement in small and medium software companies

Purpose– Requirements engineering (RE) and process improvement has been identified as one of the key factors for improving software quality. Despite this, little scholarly work has been done on developing ways to improve the RE process. The situation of RE and process improvement is even worse in small and medium enterprises that produce software. Consequently, the quality of software being produced by these companies has kept deteriorating. The purpose of this paper is to design a framework that will help small and medium software companies improve their RE processes in order to compete favorably with larger software companies, more especially in terms of software quality.Design/methodology/approach– A qualitative research approach was adapted. Four software companies in Uganda were purposively selected to participate in the study. Data were collected using questionnaires. The requirements for designing the framework were gathered and refined from both primary and secondary data.Findings– The key requirements for process improvement in small and medium software companies were identified as user involvement, use of evolutionary requirements engineering process improvement (REPI) strategy, change management, training and education, management support and commitment.Practical implications– The designed framework was validated to ensure that it can be applied in RE and process improvement in small and medium software companies. Validation results show that the proposed framework is applicable and can be used to improve RE and process improvement in small and medium software companies.Originality/value– The paper presents an improvement of the systematic approach to REPI by Kabaale and Nabukenya which is decomposed for easy understanding by non-technical readers and users.

Validation of a Systematic Approach to Requirements Engineering Process Improvement in SMEs in a Design Science Framework

Requirements Engineering (RE) acts as a conduit between the needs of system users and the capabilities of software produced. Because of this, many Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have been tempted to invest in improving corresponding processes. Regrettably though, many process improvement approaches for RE do not meet SMEs' needs and are often hard to apply in these companies especially in transitional countries such as Uganda. This study therefore, presents a validation of a Systematic Approach to Requirements Engineering Process Improvement that can be used to enable RE process improvement in SME software companies in transitional countries. The validation was conducted following a design science research approach where four (4) case organizations were used. From the study, it is reported that the approach is indeed easy to use, understandable and is applicable to all kinds of SMEs that would wish to conduct RE process improvement.

Requirements Engineering Process Improvement Challenges faced by Software SMEs in Uganda

Despite the numerous benefits of Requirements Engineering Process Improvement, many Ugandan software developing companies seem not to properly conduct it. This has implications on the quality of software being produced by these organizations. Moreover, little research has been conducted to establish the challenges being faced by the Small and Medium Enterprises that produce software in Uganda. This study examines the challenges of requirements engineering process improvement in Ugandan SME software companies with an aim of coming up with recommendations for improving the quality of software produced by Ugandan SME software companies. A qualitative research approach was used where four software producing companies in Uganda were selected to participate as case studies. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze data. The main challenges hindering successful Requirements Engineering Process Improvement were identified as ambiguous requirements from the clients, lack of user’s involvement and lack of management support. The study recommends that for successful Requirements Engineering Process Improvement in Ugandan software companies, there should be training, user involvement and establishment of proper change management strategies.

A Requirements Engineering Process Assessment Model for Small Software Development Organization

Requirements Engineering Process Assessment (REPA) was conducted prior to Requirements Engineering Process Improvement (REPI) activities to identify the Requirements Engineering Process area to be improved. The Requirements Engineering Process Assessment methods such as REPM, R-CMM, REMMF, Uni-REPM were available to all enterprises, but they were difficult for most of the small organization because of complexity and consequent large investment in terms of time and resources. In order to conduct Requirements Engineering Process Assessment (REPA) activities with few efforts in small organizations effectively. We have presented a quantitative Requirements Engineering process assessment model based on Quantitative Assessment Model for Software Process Improvement in Small Organization. It was an efficient approach to evaluate the quality of the Requirements Engineering process execution for improvement of the organization Requirements Engineering process maturity. We present Requirements Engineering process assessment results for four software companies, describe milestone compliance score distribution and compliance score distribution for Requirements Engineering assessment items. All these companies reported satisfaction with their participation. Our conclusion is that quantitative Requirements Engineering Process Assessment model is useful in assessment of Requirements Engineering process in small organization and in identifying the strength and weakness of the Requirements Engineering processes.

A New Maturity Model for Requirements Engineering Process: An Overview

It is widely acknowledged that Requirements Engineering (RE) has an important implication for the overall success of software or system development projects. As more and more organizations consider RE as the principal problem areas in the projects, improving RE process therefore appears critical for future business success. Moreover, nowadays there are evidences that support improving RE process maturity can contributes to improved business performance. There exist generic Software Process Improvement (SPI) standards, specialised RE process improvement models as well as guidance and advices on RE. However, they suffer from various issues that limit their adoption by organizations that are interested to assess and improve their RE process capability. Therefore, the research presented in this paper proposes a new RE process improvement model. The model is built by adapting and expanding the structure of the continuous representation of the formal maturity framework Capability Maturity Model Integration for Development (CMMI-DEV) developed by the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) through three rounds of development and validation stages, which involved RE and CMMI expert panel in the software industry. This paper aims to provide an overview on what, why and how we build the maturity model for RE. The intention is to provide a foundation for future development in the area of RE process improvement.

Combining Perceptions and Prescriptions in Requirements Engineering Process Assessment: An Industrial Case Study

Requirements engineering (RE) is a key discipline in software development and several methods are available to help assess and improve RE processes. However, these methods rely on prescriptive models of RE; they do not, like other disciplines within software engineering, draw directly on stakeholder perceptions and subjective judgments. Given this backdrop, we present an empirical study in RE process assessment. Our aim was to investigate how stakeholder perceptions and process prescriptions can be combined during assessments to effectively inform RE process improvement. We first describe existing methods for RE process assessment and the role played by stakeholder perceptions and subjective judgments in the software engineering and management literature. We then present a method that combines perceptions and prescriptions in RE assessments together with an industrial case study in which the method was applied and evaluated over a three-year period at TelSoft. The data suggest that the combined method led to a comprehensive and rich assessment and it helped TelSoft consider RE as an important and integral part of the broader engineering context. This, in turn, led to improvements that combined plan-driven and adaptive principles for RE. Overall, the combined method helped TelSoft move from Level 1 to Level 2 in RE maturity, and the employees perceived the resulting engineering practices to be improved. Based on these results, we suggest that software managers and researchers combine stakeholder perceptions and process prescriptions as one way to effectively balance the specificity, comparability, and accuracy of software process assessments.

Defining a Requirements Process Improvement Model

Both software organisations and the academic community are aware that the requirements phase of software development is in need of further support. We address this problem by creating a specialised Requirements Capability Maturity Model (R-CMM1). The model focuses on the requirements engineering process as defined within the established Software Engineering Institute’s (SEI’s) software process improvement framework. Our empirical work with software practitioners is a primary motivation for creating this requirements engineering process improvement model. Although all organisations in our study were involved in software process improvement (SPI), they all showed a lack of control over many requirement engineering activities.This paper describes how the requirements engineering (RE) process is decomposed and prioritised in accordance with maturity goals set by the SEI’s Software Capability Maturity Model (SW CMM). Our R-CMM builds on the SEI’s framework by identifying and defining recommended RE sub-processes that meet maturity goals. This new focus will help practitioners to define their RE process with a view to setting realistic goals for improvement.

An Industrial Case Study of Immediate Benefits of Requirements Engineering Process Improvement at the Australian Center for Unisys Software

This paper describes an industrial experience in process improvement at one of the Unisys development labs in Australia. Following a capability maturity model (CMM) mini-assessment, the organization is undertaking significant changes in the requirements management process, which include the introduction of group session approaches to requirements analysis and a structured method for writing requirements. An empirical evaluation which investigated other aspects of the process improvement than the CMM model indicates tangible benefits as well as perceived long-term benefits during design and testing. Findings confirm that a more thorough requirements analysis results in more clearly defined, better understood and specified requirements, and an enhanced ability to address the market needs and product strategy requirements. The catalyst behind these improvements included project management leadership, managing the human dimension, collaboration among stakeholders and senior management support.

Requirements process improvement through the phased introduction of good practice

Current process improvement and maturity models pay little attention to requirements engineering. Typically, requirements engineering is considered to be a single activity in the overall development process. Even where this is not strictly the case, the requirements activities are not elaborated in sufficient detail to permit the derivation of an improvement plan. This is unfortunate because requirements engineering is increasingly recognized as a problem. Despite the regular improvement of techniques for eliciting, analysing, validating and managing requirements, even otherwise mature organizations repeatedly experience requirements problems. This paper describes a good practice-based approach to requirements engineering process improvement which aims to fill the gap left by existing process improvement methods. This distils practical information from over 60 requirements practices and provides a framework to help organizations identify their problem areas and deploy the practices most appropriate to their needs. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons Ltd