A Framework for Managing Knowledge in Requirements Identification: Bridging the Knowledge Gap Between Business and System Developers

Abstract

This chapter reflects on experiences when traditional IT approaches were used to design large IT systems and ended in failure (Etheridge, 2001). The main reflections focus on the reasons for system failure and how they relate to the diversity of knowledge, managing knowledge, and the understanding gaps that may exist between the business and the system developers. The study reveals that the understanding gaps mainly result from lack of knowledge of business operations on the developer side, matched by lack of technical appreciation and knowledge on the user side. To help address the knowledge gap problem, a Knowledge Requirement Framework (KRF), employing soft-systems, diagramming and set mapping techniques, is proposed and d