Requirements engineering: In search of the dependent variables

  • Authors:

  • Tony Gorschek;Alan M. Davis

  • Affiliations:

  • Department of Systems and Software Engineering, School of Engineering, Blekinge Institute of Technology, P.O. Box 520, SE-37225 Ronneby, Sweden;College of Business, The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, 1420 Austin Bluffs Parkway, P.O. Box 7150, Colorado Springs, CO 80933-7150, USA

  • Venue:
  • Information and Software Technology
  • Year:
  • 2008

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Abstract

When software development teams modify their requirements engineering process as an independent variable, they often examine the implications of these process changes by assessing the quality of the products of the requirements engineering process, e.g., a software requirements specification (SRS). Using the quality of the SRS as the dependent variable is flawed. As an alternative, this paper presents a framework of dependent variables that serves as a full range for requirements engineering quality assessment. In this framework, the quality of the SRS itself is just the first level. Other higher, and more significant levels, include whether the project was successful and whether the resulting product was successful. And still higher levels include whether or not the company was successful and whether there was a positive or negative impact on society as a whole.