When the Wisdom of Communication is Vital During the Requirements Elicitation Process: Lessons Learnt through Industry Experience

When the Wisdom of Communication is Vital During the Requirements Elicitation Process: Lessons Learnt through Industry Experience

Sabrina Ahmad, Noor Azilah Muda, Maslita Abd. Aziz, Emaliana Kasmuri
Copyright: © 2014 |Pages: 19
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-6026-7.ch003
OnDemand:
(Individual Chapters)
Available
$37.50
Current Special Offers
No Current Special Offers
TOTAL SAVINGS: $37.50

Abstract

Requirements elicitation is accepted as one of the most crucial stages in software engineering, as it addresses the critical problem of designing the right software for the stakeholder. It is seldom technical difficulties that cause problems in the process of requirements elicitation but rather human factors, especially communication. This chapter presents the requirements elicitation experience with the industry and the lessons learnt throughout the process. It highlights the requirements elicitation best practices and alternative options during the process. It also discusses the issues concerning communication disparity between the stakeholders, which may affect the software development project as a whole. The outcome of the requirements elicitation process experience is reported and analysed for future improvement.
Chapter Preview
Top

Requirements Engineering Best Practices

The focus of this chapter is the beginning stage of RE, which specifically looks at the requirements elicitation practice. However, an overview of RE is presented in this sub-section to provide a complete picture of where requirements elicitation fits in.

Key Terms in this Chapter

Requirements Engineering: Requirements engineering is the process, which enables us to systematically determine the requirements for a software product.

Stakeholder: A stakeholder of a system is a person or an organization that has an (direct or indirect) influence on the requirements of the system.

Requirements Elicitation: Requirements elicitation means gathering requirements or discovering requirements.

Effective Communication: Effective communication occurs when a desired effect is the result of intentional or unintentional information sharing, which is interpreted between multiple entities and acted on in a desired way.

Requirements: A condition or capability needed by a user to solve a problem or achieve an objective.

Walkthrough: Walkthrough is a form of software (requirements) peer review in which all interested parties sit together and go through the requirements statements, raise issues, give comments and finally agreed on the requirements (maybe subject to amendment).

Complete Chapter List

Search this Book:
Reset